INTRODUCTION:

Gender inequality is a pressing issue in Indian society. Despite a

constitution that guarantees equal rights for men and women and
decades of legislation, some deep-rooted gender discrimination in
India takes a brutal toll on women’s lives. Even after rapid
economic growth, gender disparities remain all too familiar: 1,000
girls die each day before reaching the age of five due to neglect.
India has been ranked low on various indices that measure gender
equality — including economic participation and opportunity;
educational attainment; health and survival; political
empowerment; and legal protection — due to multiple factors
such as high levels of women discrimination in India as well as
various discriminatory social norms, laws and cultural practices.
Some of the key areas or examples of gender inequality in India
where women face discrimination include less access to education
and employment, under-representation in political positions,
poorer health and nutrition than men, and the most obvious
violence against women.
While deeper analysis of the problem may cause disagreement
with respect to the relative importance of various causes and
therefore approach to the solution, it is necessary to bring
together the major issues that contribute to making gender
inequality in India as deep and widespread.
They form the viewpoint that male children are assets, who will
render an important contribution in promoting well-being of their
families and communities. On the other hand, girls will make
demands and will not yield any returns on investment. From the
stage of earlychildhood, girls are trained in terms of household
responsibilities and taking care of needs and requirements of
family members. On the other hand, male children are provided
with the opportunities that would contribute significantly in
promoting enrichment of their overall quality of lives. Therefore, it
can be stated, there is prevalence of gender inequality in rural
communities. The gender inequality specifies, when female
children are not given equal treatment. The education is regarded
as the instrument, which would not only impart information in
terms of academic subjects and lesson plans, but the individuals
are able to augment their knowledge in terms of ways that are
necessary to emerge into moral and ethical human beings and
productive citizens of the country. The male children are
encouraged to get enrolled in educational institutions and acquire
education . Whereas, girls are trained in terms of household
responsibilities and taking care of needs and requirements of
family members. There has been prevalence of the viewpoint that
girls have to eventually get married and in their marital homes,
they need to carry out all types of household responsibilities.
Education would not be of any use to them. Their male siblings
are sent to schools to acquire education. The girls do express
willingness to hone their literacy skills. Hence, in some cases,
they learn from their male siblings. Therefore, there is prevalence
of gender inequality regarding acquisition of education.

Causes of Gender Inequality in India:

Gender inequality is a pressing issue in Indian society. Despite a
constitution that guarantees equal rights for men and women and
decades of legislation, some deep-rooted gender discrimination in
India takes a brutal toll on women’s lives. Even after rapid
economic growth, gender disparities remain all too familiar: 1,000
girls die each day before reaching the age of five due to neglect.

India has been ranked low on various indices that measure

gender equality — including economic participation and
opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; political
empowerment; and legal protection — due to multiple factors
such as high levels of women discrimination in India as well as
various discriminatory social norms, laws and cultural practices.
Some of the key areas or examples of gender inequality in India
where women face discrimination include less access to
education and employment, under-representation in political
positions, poorer health and nutrition than men, and the most
obvious violence against women.

While deeper analysis of the problem may cause disagreement

with respect to the relative importance of various causes and
therefore approach to the solution, it is necessary to bring
together the major issues that contribute to making gender
inequality in India as deep and widespread.

Causes of Gender Inequality in India:

Gender inequality is a pervasive issue in India, impacting Indian women and
girls in a variety of ways. While there are many causes of gender inequality,
some of the most common include:

Poverty
Given all the development and recent rise to prominence, we often forget
that India is still one of the poorest countries in the world, and it is one of the
biggest reasons that lead to gender inequality in India. Despite the
availability of education in rural areas, families prefer sending their boys to
school rather than the girls of the family, which is one of the biggest
disadvantages.

Patriarchal Setup in our Indian Society

Since time immemorial, India has been an extremely patriarchal society. The
patriarchal setup in Indian society contributed to the fundamental inequality
between men and women. As women were considered a part of the
household belonging to their father or husband, they were unable to get a
say in any matters concerning their own development or that of the
community at large.

Lack of Education or Illiteracy

The disparity between the literacy rates of men and women in India is a
known issue. Some regional states have higher disparity, while some other
states have better disparity. The problem is not that there are few literate
women in India, but rather the problem is the lack of awareness among
women to use their rights.

Lack of Awareness Among Women

One of the major causes of gender inequality is the lack of awareness among
women about their rights and their ability to achieve equality. This lack of
awareness is often due to the prevailing cultural and social norms, which
dictate that women should be subservient to men. It is important to break
down these barriers and help women become more aware of their rights so
that they can demand equality.

Social Customs, Beliefs and Practices

The views of society, customs and cultural practices play a big role in
keeping women at lower places in the society – refusing them opportunities,
which are generally provided to men, who are considered the dominant ones
in India.

The Need For Awareness:

Women are treated as second-class citizens in India, and the situation is
getting worse. The country’s record on gender equality is dismal. According
to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), India ranked 134 th out of
145 countries for gender parity in 2018, down from 130 th in 2017.

Without a doubt, this is a wake-up call for all of us. We all have to join hands
and help women overcome these discrimination crises. We need to create
awareness among Indian women about their legal rights. There are various
organisations that work towards creating awareness about women’s rights
and equality, like Care India. We need to support such organisations
vigorously working to provide women with equal opportunities and rights.
Additionally, we need to bring about a change in the mindset of people,
especially men, who still believe that women are inferior to them. We need
to inject the concept of women’s empowerment into everybody’s minds. We
have built a result-oriented process of enhancing and promoting the social,
political and economic status of women. Majorly, we have to work on five
main concerns-

• Give women access to education just like men

• Give women opportunities to be in power and achieve economic success.

• Stop the violence and sexual assault against women.

• End child marriages

• Aware women about women’s rights in India

By focusing on these five major points, we can hope to achieve equality

between men and women in our society. It is neither difficult nor impossible;
we all can do it, together.
Women and Gender in South Asia:
Women and Gender in South Asia South Asian women arc commonly
portrayed as among the most oppressed peoples in the world. Indeed, The
experiences of the majority of women of the subcontinent are grounded in
both poverty and patriarchy. In what Is Patriarchy (1993), Basin notes that
the term used refer to male domination, to the power relationships by which
Men dominate women; and especially to the system through which women
are kept subordinate. There are different Theories surrounding the origins of
patriarchy, and the extant to which there have ever been a matriarchal
society. Indeed, the precise nature of patriarchal beliefs and behaviour vary
across cultures and communities and over time. It is clear that patriarchal
ideologies and practices pervade political, economic, legal, socio-cultural and
religious Structures around the world. Patriarchy constrains women in all
facet of life. Control of women’s reproductive Abilities and sexuality is place
in men’s hands. Patriarchy limits women’s ownership and control of property
and Other economic resources. Including the product of their own labour.
Women’s mobility is constrained, and their Access to and information
hindered. In these ways, patriarchal structures perpetuate the enduring gaps
between the Opportunities available to South Asian women and men.