A Global Experience
On May 23, 2017, a panel of four professors – Dr. Rathi, Dr. Shanti, Dr. Anand, Dr. Indira – all with sociological doctorates openly discussed the effects of India’s societal power structure on gender based discrimination. India’s societal power structure is undoubtedly governed by patriarchal values. A patriarch is defined as a system or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. Such patriarchal values not only marginalize, but also portray women as being subordinate to men.
After the panel discussion, I approached Dr. Indira to get a better insight into the direct impact of gender based discrimination pertaining to Indian women. Dr. Indira explained how gender based discrimination can make women feel powerless within their own gender. The severity of such discrimination varies among socioeconomic class. Typically, women who fare from an impoverished background experience the worst forms of discrimination, starting prior to birth until death. This of course leads to severely divided and unbalanced societal norms.
Traditionally, sons are typically valued greater than daughters in the Indian household. Sons are permanent members of the family, as they inherit the family property and carry on the family lineage. Daughters are transient members of the family they eventually get married and move in with their husbands. From a financial viewpoint, sons are an asset to the family while daughters are a liability. The family of a daughter is burdened by a hefty dowry which is to be paid to the groom’s family upon marriage. To avoid such an unwanted burden millions of families across India, has gone to the drastic extent of aborting female fetuses. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, approximately ten million female fetuses were aborted over the past two decades. Drastic declines in sex ratios grasped the attention of congress members to pass a law prohibiting healthcare officials from disclosing the sex of the fetus.
Gender based discrimination has not only affected India’s sex ratio, but it has also affected the nation’s literacy rate. According to UNESCO, there is a 26% literacy gap between genders. Such findings may be contributed to the prevalence of gender based discrimination within the education sector stems. In hopes of minimizing the literacy gap between gender, India’s government ratified the 86th amendment in 2002, making primary education universal. The literacy gap has dropped since the ratification of the 86th amendment, however, it continues to exist due to cultural attitudes associated with education.
Cultural attitudes neglect the importance of providing daughters with a proper education. Daughters are discouraged from schooling and forced to partake in household tasks, such cooking, cleaning, and looking after younger siblings. Daughters are meant to take on the role that of domesticated homemakers as Indian women traditionally do. However, families understand the importance in investing their son’s education as it will increase his future prospects and the family social status.
According to Dr. Indira, a proper education is imperative to combat gender based discrimination. A lack of education subjects women to a lifelong financial dependence on their husbands, diminishing their sense of sovereignty. The government of India has passed a variety of legislations and welfare schemes with the intentions of bettering women economic conditions and improving their social status. However, such legislations are trumped by tradition values and cultural practices. For change to occur patriarchal values must be replaced with values that are inclusive of equality for all. Families must be willing to shift the power dynamic within their household in a way where everyone in the household is equally powerful.
India’s feminism movement does an amazing job using their platform to fight against gender based discrimination. The movement sheds light and bring awareness to a culturally sensitive topic. Gradual changes within India’s societal power structure are beginning to occur and will continue to occur over time which expectantly will lead the Indian populace toward a more balanced and inclusive society.