Funds and Fears: How Crime Against Women Undermines Gender Equality in India

This paper aims to analyze the role of women in Indian politics and its implications for gender equality. Despite the constitutional provisions and affirmative action policies, women's participation in politics remains limited in India. This paper examines the factors affecting women's political participation, the challenges faced by women politicians, and the initiatives taken by the government and civil society to enhance women's political empowerment. The study also explores the impact of women's political participation on gender equality and social development in India. Through an analysis of existing literature and empirical data, this paper argues that enhancing women's political participation is crucial for promoting gender equality and social justice in India. The findings of this study have important policy implications for enhancing women's political empowerment and promoting gender equality in India and other developing countries.

This analysis began with the question of how much progress has been made in gender equality in India over the past three decades where economic advances have been remarkable. This question was addressed through focusing on processes and outcomes in an Indian community where impressive gains in many areas had taken place over this period. Using social research methods, the challenges highlighted in the above quotation from The Hindu were examined. Areas of progress and stagnation with respect to gender equality and son preference were identified. In this chapter the findings of this study are briefly discussed in the light of the above-mentioned question. The policy implications of these findings are then explored, and a number of recommendations made, for addressing the challenges noted above and in the previous chapters.

Gender equality has become a topic that people discuss about a lot over the last few years. A condition where women and men should have equal position on every aspect of life is indeed should be realized in everywhere part of the world, including India. Therefore, this article will discuss an overview of the condition of gender equality in India and how the situation of women there. India was named by the Tom Reuters Foundation as the 4th most dangerous country in the world. One of the many factors why this is happen because of the existence of cultural traditions that have deeply rooted for generations. Because of that, it is necessary to discuss further the importance of gender equality in India. It will be explained about the solution of the culture that have deeply rooted in India, especially the culture that bring harm to women. Education is one aspect that is used to reduce any discrimination that is exist in India. The main goal of India in education is to overcome high illiteracy rate and also educational inequality for women. It will also be discussed, what are the roles of outsiders involved in the realization of gender equality in India. How conventions such as the Convention on Elimination of the All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) also play a role in helping India achieve gender equality and fulfillment of human rights, especially for women. . As well as how the role of the Indian government to create a good environment for women.

This chapter looks at the condition of human rights and gender equality in India, highlighting progress, challenges, and opportunities for future action. Despite constitutional guarantees and legislative measures, women and marginalized communities in India continue to face discrimination and inequality. The chapter explores the complex interplay between patriarchal norms, limited access to healthcare, education, violence against women, and intersectional discrimination. It also discusses policy reforms, education and awareness, women’s empowerment, and intersectional approaches as opportunities to address these challenges. By analyzing the Indian context, this chapter seeks to inform initiatives for a more equitable society by adding to the current conversation on human rights and gender equality.

Abstract
 This study takesup” Dimensions of Gender Equality in India.”While examining the dimensions the researchers compares the gender development index reports of states in India Gender equality-a driver for economic growth, matters in its own right,and as as pre requisite for the health and development of families and economies. The term gender equality has been on the corpet for the past two decades. The millennium development goals set gender equality and women empowerment at 3 rd place. Earlier women empowerment had been assessed interns of access to resources and later on moved to control over resources. The resources include physical resources. Fiscal resopurces, financial resources and intellectual resources. The term empowerment has been pronounced with the term empowerment after the millennium year. The post 2015 framework present a unique opportunity to build on the achievement of the millennium development goal, while also addressing that lag behind. The sustainable development goal also set Gender equality at fifth place. The reason is that Gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates the progress of a country. The un equal treatment or perceptions of the individuals on the basis of gender have been witnessed not only in developing countries like India, but also in developed countries aswell. Gender related inequality in human well being is one of the most crucial issues in many states in India.The female dis advantage in survival is the important dimension that has drawn the attention of policy makers. InIndia the situation is not even among the states; Kearela has lesser discrimination while Odissa has higher discrimination. The sex ratio is also high in kerela which shows positive symptoms of women empowerment. Maharastra introduced property rights for women. Its percapita income is high compared to kerela but GDI is low. Female Education growth in kerela promotes gender equality.Has education alone dis appear inequalities is the million dollar question? Per capita income is not so high in kerela as compared to other southern states.
 
 The study examines gender equality on the basis of Gender Development Index, which measures gender gap in human development by accounting disparities between men and women in three dimensions of human develoipme3nt, a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living. The global gender gap report places India at 135 out of 146 countries. India has moved from 140 to 135 from last year. Though India is moving towards one of the developed nations in the world, Gender inequality pulling its growth. Which factor is hindering the SGDs 5 the goal gender equality in India? The issue of gender inequality had been in the lime light in all academic conferences, seminars and symposiums. Why gender inequality prevails in higher degree in some states of India? What are the policy measures have to be pinned up? What are the measures to be added in those states? Any other indicators to be included along with HDI indicators? These are the research questions to be addressed. This paper is an attempt made by the researchers to address these issues

Economic theory suggests that growth may improve gender equality directly by raising women’s employment and indirectly by reducing poverty–thereby causing poorer families to discriminate less against females in intra-household allocations. This paper argues that growth in India has not substantially improved gender equality because it has not sufficiently activated either of these mechanisms. I analyze structural changes from 1982/83 to 2011/12 to show that India’s high-growth period has not been pro-poor. While female employment levels have actually declined since the 1980s, growth has not expanded remunerative employment opportunities sufficiently, even for poor males. This suggests that better-paid jobs for men—by lowering poverty—might actually have led to greater gender equality in India—by reducing poverty-linked gender discrimination. The analysis thus highlights the importance of pro-poor growth, illustrating how structural changes can shape employment, thereby altering the quality of growth and its impact on gender equality.

In Adjudication in Religious Family Laws: Cultural Accommodation, Legal Pluralism, and Gender Equality in India, Gopika Solanki provides a convincing defence of the Indian policy of legal pluralism for governing marriage and divorce among Hindus and Muslims. The author contends that, by ‘‘split[ing] its adjudicative authority with social actors and organizations in the regulation of marriage and divorce among a sector of religious and caste group and the other actors’’ (p. 10), the Indian state simultaneously avoids leaning towards legal centralism and an essentialist version of legal pluralism. Solanki supports this claim with reference to state laws, societal laws, legal actors, and their interactions in formal and informal legal arenas. This ethnographically rich text begins by describing and explaining, a model of ‘shared adjudication’ (p. 10). The author contends that this model is unique to India. Founded on values of both state and customary law, this model focuses on state-society interactions and their relation to resolving conflicts in family, marriage and divorce. Although the state ‘‘does not relinquish its authority to govern the family’’ (p. 11), it shares the adjudicative authority with societal actors and institutions in order to avoid legal centralism. Similarly, even though the state recognizes both religious and customary laws—and provides an option to its citizen to opt out of religious laws—it avoids complete legal pluralism by expressively not establishing religious and customary courts and by enacting secular law to govern interreligious marriages. In Chapter 2, Solanki explains, how the dual functions of the shared adjudication model overcomes the classic state versus society/legal versus illegal dualism by opening up the possibility to make, unmake, or reform the fixed construction of religious memberships in diverse legal sites.

Promoting gender equality and improvement in the status of women are specifically stated to be central goals of development and social policy in India. However, women in the country are still far behind men in most indicators of human development. Women’s subordination status and inequalities are reflected in almost every sphere in Indian society. Hence, promoting gender equality in patriarchal social order is impossible without the consent, mindset, and involvement of male population. In order to improve the status of women in India, the efforts need to get the support, assistance, understanding, and involvement from the major partner – the “male” of the society. There is the need to empower the boys and men in terms of their understanding, information, and capacity building regarding equal opportunity for both the sexes. This article tries to justify the need for empowering boys and men to achieve gender equality in India, without which any amount of women reservation and welfare programs will not be able to enhance the status of women folk.

Gender inequality as a social construction in India: A phenomenological enquiry

Over an extremely extensive stretch of time, Gender Inequality and contrasts existed in practically all societies of the world and thus the issue with respect to gender inequality in India is certainly not an ongoing advancement. There’s a huge difference between men and women and the society makes sure to maintain this difference by discriminating women against men. Women are not being treated equally as men and are being deprived of the liberties that a man exercises but not a woman. The conceptions that are stereotypically attributed to females are passed on age by age in light of the fact that these over a range of time became accepted practices and have not been addressed. This paper doesn't fret about Feminist Jurisprudence merely; rather it attempts to evaluate the status of a female in the light of Indian Constitution and how the Constitution as an establishment can play an instrumental job in getting gender equality in India and whether the objective has been at all accomplished. At the point when we examine the different provisions of the Constitution it appears to be obvious that the Rights ensured to women are at par with the Rights of men. Along with that, women enjoy some special provisions too in some cases. Here emerges the subject of gender equality which I have dealt in my paper. I put accentuation on the Preamble of the Constitution, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental obligations and certain legal proclamations. This paper investigates the laws identifying with gender equality in India.

The present research looks at the importance of gender audits and budgeting as essential instruments for advancing gender equality in India's financial system. This study examines the possibility of gender-neutral budget allocations as a means of addressing the persistent gender-based inequality in Indian society. It explores the history, application, difficulties, and effects of gender budgeting and auditing on the creation of policies and the distribution of resources. This paper presents an efficient framework for gender-neutral budgetary allocations targeted at promoting gender equality in India through an analysis of successful case studies and methods.

Gender Equality and Women Empowerment are the two facets of the same coin. The progress towards gender equality requires empowerment of women and vice-versa. Gender equality and Women Empowerment have been specifically recognized over the past decades as vital not only to the welfare of nations but also to social and economic growth. Globally, women always have had fewer opportunities in economic participation than men, lesser access to basic and higher education, greater risks to health and safety, and less representation on the political level. This paper highlights the importance of gender equality in women empowerment, gender inequality in development, and gender mainstreaming in development. The study aims to assess progress in India towards the twin goals of gender equality and women empowerment. The present paper investigates the pivotal role of women in India's socio-economic landscape and explores strategies to advance gender equality. The study adopts a comprehensive approach for analyzing the historical perspectives, current challenges and potential opportunities for the women empowerment and primarily focuses on key areas such as education, healthcare, political representation, workforce participation and societal attitudes. Moreover, the research examines the broader societal impacts of women's empowerment, including its role in fostering economic growth, social cohesion, and sustainable development. The findings of this research contribute to the ongoing discourse on gender equality in India by providing various actionable insights for policymakers, NGOs, and other stakeholders. The proposed blueprint aims to serve as a roadmap for the implementation of effective strategies that will not only elevate the status of women but also foster an environment where India can fully harness the potential of its entire population for sustained growth and prosperity. The study clearly states that gender equality plays a pivotal role in promoting economic growth. Ultimately, "Women Rising, India Thriving" advocates for a collaborative and inclusive approach towards achieving gender equality as a cornerstone for the nation's holistic development. Keywords: Gender Equality, Gender Parity, Women Empowerment, Inequality, Sex Ratio, Education

The concept of “Gender Equality” is a fundamental human right. Gender equality refers to the equality of responsibilities, rights, and opportunities for every human being. Every individual of the society yearns to achieve equal status and rights in their life. Indian Constitution gives fundamental rights and basics duties to the citizens of India. Women’s rights are recognized as a right in itself, a transformative tool for achieving progress in all other areas of social and economic development. In the present time women’s rights denote the gender equality, and that plays a pivotal role in society. Women’s rights in Indian Constitution leads to a transformation of the structural factors and that reduced gender inequality. Women are getting opportunities in every aspect in their lives, including political, social, economic and cultural. The main objectives of this research are to understand how women are getting their rights through Indian Constitution and to explore the issues and challenges for women.. This is a qualitative and secondary data based study. This paper also focused on how gender equality plays a role in Indian Constitution. Indian Constitutional articles defined equally rights for every human being; Constitution gives rights for being economically independent, for achieving equal status in society, and for equally participation in politics. This paper discussed about the important constitutional articles for gender equality in India. In this research some obstacles have defined on the path of women’s rights and gender equality. In the conclusion part, this paper has been described that Indian constitution mentions lots of articles for gender equality and human rights. Women’s social and economic conditions are improving through constitutional rights; now they have rights to live their life. But because of some strictly taboos and customs in society women are not utilizing their constitutional rights, and still they are facing gender inequality problems. And it can be seen that gender equality is a far cry. Women should be educated; through education, they will be aware of their rights and be able to utilize all those constitutional rights.

PurposeThis paper discusses the problems of gender equality in society, the workplace and the household in the specific context of India. It explicates the past and the present gender diversity initiatives by government machinery to bring gender equality through affirmative action.Design/methodology/approachThe design, methodology and approach involve a general review.FindingsDeveloped countries have taken initiatives for gender equality almost in the pre-20th century and were partially successful. Despite gender diversity and affirmative action and legislation, bias still prevails in varied forms. In the case of India, the movement for gender equality started post-independence (1947). Still, there is a high disparity between men and women in society as well as in various occupations, as it is evident through a huge difference in salary, responsibilities, perquisites, recognition and promotions offered to men and women. India needs more transformation in the culture, statutory bodies and the mindset of patriarchal societies, to achieve gender equality. The legislative changes have faced resistance in their implementation due to social, cultural and religious issues, and the expectations and perceptions toward females have not been changed by the patriarchal society.Originality/valueThis paper deciphers the gender equality movement in developing countries like India, and how the planning commission of India focuses on women’s development and government machinery tries to bring down the gender gap through affirmative action. Why, in spite of all these efforts, India is not able to minimize the gender gap and concludes with reasons and implications.

Achieving gender equality in India without the full participation of women is not possible. The government is actively advancing the Sustainable Development Goal of human development, particularly focusing on gender development. Several schemes have been implemented to empower women in education and employment. However, entrenched stereotypes portraying women as burdens on families have led to neglect of their physical and mental well-being, resulting in higher female mortality rates compared to males. To address this, the Department of Women & Child Development offers financial and material assistance to pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality. Initiatives like the Sukanya Yojana allow parents to utilize funds from their daughter's account for her education or marriage after she turns 18, positively impacting societal attitudes and improving the sex ratio. Programs such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana provide subsidized Liquified Petroleum Gas to women, reducing health risks associated with burning coal and biomass. Despite progress in sex ratio, health, and education for females, there remains a substantial journey ahead. India, categorized as a middle-income country, still witnesses low female political participation. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated this issue, with many women opting to either work from home or prioritize childcare over employment, resulting in decreased participation in the labor force. Addressing the barriers preventing women from engaging independently in jobs and politics is imperative. Feeling of equality should begin from the family itself. Moreover, active engagement from men is crucial in supporting women's advancement. While strides are being made towards gender equality, societal stereotypes and biases must be eradicated. Introducing gender sensitization education in schools and colleges from an early age is essential for fostering a more inclusive and equitable society. Then we can be ranked under gender equality index proudly. The Indian government is trying to follow sustainable development goals, which achieve welfare and well being of each and everyone of the society. One of the sustainable development goals is gender equality because we believe that without women’s development from all aspects such as physical, mental, financial, societal and so forth, the country cannot be called to be developed. This paper shows that governmental schemes are showing phenomenal results over sex ratio, due to stringent laws such as PC-PNDT act, 1994, the government implemented interesting schemes in order to increase the rate of female literacy. Today the females are on the verge of equaling males in case of population and literacy. This paper also indicates that there is gradual improvement in maternal health. Although women's position in political participation is still unsatisfactory. Compared to males, females choose to engage in household chores instead of working outside and its aftermath is that their participation rate in the workforce is not satisfactory. Researchers are trying to indicate that women’s empowerment should be done from all the parameters and she should not lag behind in any aspect. Because once “Women Achieve power, all the barriers will fall”