Managing change in India

October 4, 2010 at 10:42 AM | Posted in Demography, Fertility, Family planning, Population, Gender/Women's Rights | Leave a comment
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Measuring progress and societal changes
from global project to stiglitz report
How to go beyond MDGS
OECD World Forum Busan 2009: workshop

Images of exclusion?

July 7, 2010 at 10:00 AM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights, Incidents that opened my eyes. | Leave a comment

The elderly are major consumers of media and entertainment. Yet they continue to be portrayed in negative, gendered stereotypes, as victims. Are these images promoting social segregation?

The danger is that stereotypes reduce people to simple categories and convert assumptions into realities…

Beyond stereotypes: Growing old and loving every moment.

More and more Indians are joining the ranks of the educated elderly. They are the most avid among readers of newspapers and magazines, and even more ardent as television viewers. It is hence ironic that despite their growing numbers and their propensity to devour all that media has to offer, the elderly are either discarded by media or relegated to age-old stereotypes. The depiction follows a set pattern which, far from reducing the gender-based divide, perpetrates social segregation.

First, there is the belief that the best things in life are the preserve of the young and upwardly mobile. Producers, editors, copy-writers, and marketing buffs naturally target a world which has influence or money or they resurrect the world they are accustomed to. Like Jane Austen who never describes two men in conversation, because she never witnessed such scenes in her own life, the drivers of image creation appear unconvinced about women’s empowerment, career advancement and economic independence; certainly not representative enough to be captured and projected. In conversation, Professor Srivastava of the Institute of Economic Growth queried whether this had only to do with the spending proclivities of the elderly, or it might also relate to the historically conservative role that media has played when it comes to social issues.

Disproportionate coverage

A study conducted last year by Archana Kaushik from the Department of Social Work in Delhi University has looked at the images of the elderly portrayed by newspapers, television, and cinema. In the case of print medium, her samples covered six English and Hindi newspapers having the widest circulation in India. In 30,000 articles that she scanned, the print media accorded less than one per cent space to the subject of the elderly. Considering that 60-plus people are eight per cent of the population, with a projected doubling of this proportion within the next 10 years, it is surprising that the elderly are of so little consequence to the print media. Kaushik also scanned 500 articles featured by two leading magazines over three months and found only one article on the elderly — that too on dementia, where only the threatening aspects of what lies in store received primacy.

Easy victims?

What the print media does however cover with ghoulish interest and that too on its front pages is the susceptibility of the elderly to become victims of crime, so reinforcing images of old people as feeble, lonely and vulnerable. The media’s portrayal of such stories immediately gets a knee-jerk reaction from governments. The result: insecurity of the elderly takes centre stage for a few weeks while the more important issues of their positive well-being get ignored.

The experience with telly-commercials is diametrically opposite. In over 300 TV commercials scanned by the research study, the elderly were featured in double their proportion in the population. Another difference — while elderly men were shown as jovial extroverts, the wives were invariably confined to home settings. Observes Professor Srivastava, “A fundamental aspect of this (difference) has to do with sexuality. Such depictions of elderly men leave open possibilities that are closed off to women; it is one of the enduring taboos of Indian society.”

Perhaps the only rather refreshing exception was the Asian Paints advertisement where the grandmother contradicting her husband recalls the colour of their grand son’s knickers, smugly asserting, “I’m always right!”

Again all insurance advertisements project men as ‘providers’, and by inference show women as dependent beneficiaries. Another stereotype is the use of young models for selling products like disposable syringes, gels for the treatment of wrinkles and arthritis — as though images of the elderly who primarily use these products might attach some kind of odium to their marketability.

Among television serials, the elderly occupied almost 30 per cent of the major roles — four times higher than their proportion in the population. The obvious difference was that the men were shown in their sixties whereas the women were octogenarians swathed in traditional white saris reinforcing the belief that old age spells detachment from vibrancy. Similarly, while elderly men exercised power and patriarchal authority, elderly women were shown as family bonders, willing to make huge personal compromises to restore domestic accord. Although the manipulative genius of both sexes was depicted, women’s roles were confined to making and breaking families while elderly men played challenging roles as patriarch, villain or Godfather.

An exception is a mammoth Marathi telly serial “Chaar diwas sasu che” where the main character, acted by Rohini Hattangadi, plays the protagonist’s role, even influencing the selection of the state Chief Minister and the Home Minister through her proximity to the High Command at Delhi. What is refreshing is how her intelligence and strategic thinking surmount obstacles, in contrast to her industrialist husband and sons who come through as naïve wimps. If an elderly woman protagonist can dominate a Marathi serial for years together, it is a sign of what people may just like watching — might even welcome.

In cinema the research found that the elderly constituted almost 50 per cent of the total characters — almost five times more than the proportion of older persons in the general population. But no elderly woman played a single central character and less than a fifth of them played a major role. On the other hand older men played both central characters and major roles in several films like “Umar”, “Shararaat”, “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” and “Baghban” where elderly abuse was fought. But everywhere women played only the supporting role. Even while fighting the system as in “Virrudh” and “Dhup”, only the male lead is shown taking up the cudgels while the woman actor simply tags along.

Gendered take

On the whole, cinema seems to depict the elderly at a turning point — at risk, yet resilient; abused by some but respected by others. Be that as it may, elderly females do not move out of their age old stereotypes and the conclusion that emerges is that the box office would prefer no change.

At the end of the day, news, entertainment and advertising perforce hunt for the widest possible audience to absorb their messages. Hence the compulsion to create stereotypes. The danger is that stereotypes reduce people to simple categories and convert assumptions into realities, so accentuating inequalities and prejudice. They even resurrect taboos and cultural traditions which in practice may actually be on the wane. With life expectancy and disposable incomes of the elderly increasing each year, it is time the elderly, particularly women (who outlive men) are projected as leading fulfilled lives. Otherwise far from integrating in society, the elderly will believe what they see and read — and accept their roles as appendages, afraid to relate with a wider society.

The media’s role as an agenda setter for society, as an information provider and an opinion maker is critical because of its inherent power to alter awareness, priorities and mind-sets. The media does not need a regulator to oversee these things. They need only ask the educated elderly what they think. The fear of being discarded for being incompetent and unwanted needs to be allayed, not reinforced.

Towards protecting women

June 17, 2010 at 11:48 AM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights | 2 Comments
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In the absence of whole-hearted steps to implement the provisions effectively, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 is falling short of expectations.

The Delhi High Court ruled recently that a woman can also be held liable under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. This the court did on the basis of the interpretation that ‘relatives’ included not only male but also female members of a family. The absence of such a provision, it felt, could encourage men to instigate women members of a family to commit violence.

In this file photo women take part in a procession demanding effective implementation of the Domestic Violence Act.

The Act came about in response to decade-long pressure from international organisations and activists in India. But five years later, despite noble intentions, it remains an unviable proposition. Little thinking has gone into understanding the context in which spousal abuse overwhelmingly occurs in India. The ground realities have been ignored and the implementation aspects left woolly and unprovided for.

A senior lawyer in the Supreme Court, K.K. Rai, who is conversant with matrimonial cases, says: “The law just does not take into account the realities of the joint family system where female members of the family heap both physical and emotional aggression against a woman. We need guidelines and mechanisms which ensure continuance of the joint family ethos, yet cushion the woman against violence.”

Whereas domestic violence takes place in all social, economic and cultural settings worldwide, in India the difference is that families are conditioned to tolerate, allow, even rationalise domestic violence. Most of the violence takes place inside homes which should offer the woman maximum security. The 2005 law focusses on the prohibition of marital aggression, the issue of protection and maintenance orders against husbands and partners who abuse a woman emotionally, physically or economically. This sounds fine on paper, but a one-size-fits-all approach ignores women who need such protection the most.

The National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS) shows that the prevalence of violence increases sharply in the absence of education and reduces by half in the case of women who have acquired 10 years of schooling. Both physical and sexual violence are highest among women in the poorest wealth quintile, and it declines steadily with increasing wealth. Given the scarcity of resources, the legislation should have initially focussed on the conditions in which illiterate and uneducated women reside in joint families. Instead, it has painted the subject with one broad brush, seeking to rely on the efficiency of the courts to decide such matters within 60 days.

Administratively, the Act requires each State government to appoint protection officers, register service providers and notify medical facilities for the implementation of the Act. While the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of Home Affairs have issued advisories to State governments, with the exception of West Bengal and Delhi no State is known to have appointed independent protection officers even five years hence. Most States have fobbed off the requirement by giving “additional” responsibility to existing functionaries. Rajasthan, a high-prevalence State for domestic violence, has entrusted the already overburdened anganwadi workers who are striving to ensure the supply of nutrition to infants, children and lactating mothers, with the responsibility.

In Delhi where at least an attempt has been made to recruit independent protection officers, Yasmin Khan, a member of the State Women’s Commission, laments that it is just not possible to appoint dedicated staff on a salary of Rs. 15,000 a month. “How can a newly recruited MSW [degree-holder], even if she agrees to join, visit homes, draw up reports, seek protection orders from magistrates, create and maintain legal documentation and pursue court directions when she has no help, no transport, no office and no training?”

Tabling figures regarding protection orders issued so far, Parliament was recently given information only in respect of a handful of States and Union Territories. Even here, nothing is known about what the majority of them are doing. The numbers, which have not crossed four figures in five years, are too sparse to inspire confidence. Looking to the findings of country-wide surveys that have shown that over 40 per cent of all married women had experienced physical or sexual violence, the Act does not touch even the fringe of the problem.

The experience of Rajasthan is vividly described by Kavita Srivastava, who represents the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and who has been pursuing women’s causes. According to her, while the protection officers are in acute need of legal training, the magistrates before whom the cases are presented also need orientation. She feels that scant regard is paid to the 60-day limit, and domestic violence matters are treated in a most routine manner — thus defeating the purpose for which the Act was made. Every case decided against the husband automatically goes up in appeal, and it becomes an unending story. Lawyers get busy converting practically all domestic violence cases into maintenance matters, in the process missing the point of preventing immediate assault and violence against the woman. In some instances, magistrates have issued contempt orders against the very protection officers who stand as a bridge between the woman and her aggressor. In such a climate, how can women expect immediate and sustained protection?

Unlike in the U.K. and the U.S., domestic violence has not been on the radar of the political executive, politicians in general, the police or the media in India. Such cases would seem to lack the sensationalism or ghoulish appeal of murder or rape cases. Repeated surveys have shown that in Indian society, both men and women believe that domestic violence can be tolerated in certain circumstances. These include being rude to the in-laws, not caring for children, preparing food badly or going out of the house without permission. If the vast majority of people accept that this is cause enough for domestic violence, it is doubtful if even the most rigorous protection officer would ever succeed in making inroads into a battered wife’s household, leave alone haul up the husband before a district court.

The 2005 Act is impractical and consequently non-implementable in favour of those that need protection the most. Looking at the size of the country and the problem, it would be better to have a law that targets the poorest and the most uneducated and illiterate among women to start with, at least until the mechanisms to implement this nuclear family-lawyer dominated law are in place, if that is what the legislature wants. Until then, the plight of the poorest women — both rural and urban — who get repeatedly thrown out of their homes in the dead of night should be confronted. In the full knowledge of neighbours, thousands of the really poor and uneducated are repeatedly subjected to slapping, kicking, being dragged by their hair; twisted by the arm, forced to have sexual intercourse, even threatened with knives and household implements, as NFHS-3 surveys have vividly shown.

There is no use having a law that is meant for the whole country when there is no one to implement it. Until full-time and properly oriented protection officers are recruited — which seems to be an unattainable target now — a more practical way would be to prescribe summary disposal of cases through weekly courts organised at the tehsil or ward level. The protection officer’s responsibility should be confined to giving a report before a mobile magistrate citing two witnesses from the neighbourhood. For every case where a protection order is issued, the protection officer and the witnesses should be compensated in recognition of having successfully brought forward the case for intervention. At the village level, the panchayats as well as the health, education and social welfare fieldworkers and non-governmental organisations could be permitted to voluntarily take on the role of protection officials, to be compensated for every case that ends in favour of a battered woman.

The U.K. took several years to train its police, its health workers and its judicial magistrates on handling the domestic violence law. Such a process has hardly happened in India. The mindset of those who deal which domestic violence has first to be changed before the law can subserve the interests of those for whom it was primarily intended. Until then, it is essential to protect those who have no voice and whose situation is well known to the entire neighbourhood. If the National Rural Health Mission’s Accredited Social Health Activists can be compensated for accompanying a pregnant woman to hospital, why not those who accompany a battered woman and present her case before a magistrate? A separate section in the law that addresses the special needs of the most vulnerable would help change the focus of the Domestic Violence Act in their favour.

Innovation, information and institutional change, next challenges for gender equality

May 13, 2010 at 3:11 PM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights | Leave a comment
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interview from key speaker Shailaja Chandra, Former Exec Director National Population Stabilization Fund Government of India, talk about policy related to womens rights at the OECD/UNESCO International Workshop Gender Equality and Progress in Societies 12 March 2010.

Going against the grain

May 2, 2010 at 10:42 AM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights | Leave a comment


As the Alumni Association of Miranda House chose to honour three of its former students, new generations continue to graduate as indomitable women with minds of their own, unshackled from the stereotype of ‘Indian womanhood’ that the founder sought to mould

Last week the Alumni Association of Miranda House chose to award three of its former students, resurrecting two of them from the 1960s and one from the 1970s. This article recapitulates a few earthy gems that shone before a hall packed with faculty, students and alumni of Miranda House.

But first a little background about Miranda House. This college for women was the dream-child of Sir Maurice Gwyer, Delhi University’s first Vice Chancellor. The then principal recalled three reasons Sir Maurice gave for naming the college Miranda: First, Carmen Miranda was his favourite actress; second, his daughter’s name was Miranda; third, Shakespeare’s Miranda would be a good example for the young women passing out from the college. Miranda is the lone female character in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest the very embodiment of purity and goodness, undefiled by the (male) world outside.

This year the youngest recipient of the Alumnae Award was Anita Pratap the first Indian woman to become a television journalist with CNN and an intrepid war reporter. Dressed in a closely fitted silk jacket in flaming red she dazzled onlookers — as far removed from pictures of the virtuous Miranda as was conceivable.

Anita began by describing hostel life in Miranda House where she roomed in close vicinity to the feisty film director (to be) — Mira Nair whom she described as a compelling senior, her flashing eyes commandeering complete obeisance from the hoi polloi of female undergraduates. The intensity of a single look made her targets cower and scamper from sight, so overpowering was her personality even then. Recounted Anita Pratap, “One night Mira sent for me. I was scared stiff” she continued, “but there being no alternative I lugged myself to the drama queen’s room not knowing what to expect. Mira was reclining on the bed in Begum like splendour as she beckoned me with two raised fingers to come and sit by her.”

Mira leaned over and asked, “Do you like boys?”

“I don’t know,” the 16-year-old Anita replied. She recalled then what Mira had sighed in response: “I like girls.”

The audience exploded as Anita’s eyes glinted with mischief and mirth. (How, now Sir Maurice?)

Ms Indira Rajaraman, one of India’s leading economists and the only woman member of the present Finance Commission (and perhaps its one dozen predecessor Commissions too,) stood behind the podium next, dressed in a non-designer sari, no make-up but still looking as she had some 45 years earlier — the same earnest, thoughtful face and the same soft, but blunt way of talking complete sense. In her speech she decried the fact that men (in office) spent so much time doing absolutely nothing, obsessed with cricket scores and similar trivia. She spoke passionately about hurdles that women encountered in a chauvinistic world where men’s attitudes had changed not a jot.

Her daily experience of 18 years as one sardine packed in the front half of the Karnataka State Transport bus while commuting to IIM-Bangalore where she was a faculty member, had exposed her to the throbbing realities of a world of illiterate, peasant women and their brood of bawling infants; but it was there that she imbibed lessons about the strength of togetherness and compassion, something her pristine education had never prepared her for.

As first among the speakers I regaled the audience with my status as Miranda’s Prima Donna on stage and how from bagging one leading role to another, I found myself in the dream role of the goddess Hera in a hilarious comedy titled The Rape of the Belt. I recounted how as I ascended the dais from one end of the stage, I scrutinised a gangly youth seated on Zeus’ throne at the other end. His gloomy face and long legs and ‘pap’ white pants made him look even gawkier. I tossed my long, thick plait behind me and asked my female co-star snootily, “Who is that ugly fellow? I have never seen him in Stephen’s before.” With similar disdain she replied, “He’s some guy from Kirorimal yaar — his name is Amitabh Bachchan.”

That brought the roof down but even more so when I told them that after three rehearsals, I was yanked off the stage when my mother confronted the principal with my third division marks in the terminal examination. Alas there was no option but to renew reciting Paradise Lost.

Drawing on experiences from my long career in public administration I encouraged the students not to equate a career in the civil services with babugiri or boredom. Working on a scale in public service could open opportunities to improve not just hundreds, but millions of lives. Given perseverance, stable domestic arrangements and a little luck, success was assured, no matter what people who could never clear the civil service examinations might say.

Sir Maurice Gwyer’s Victorian ideal of the perfect female figurine inside a gilded box was shattered long ago. New generations of Mirandians continue to graduate as indomitable women with minds of their own, unshackled from the fixed stereotype of ‘Indian womanhood’ that Gwyer sought to mould.

We the women of India

May 2, 2010 at 10:30 AM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights | Leave a comment

It is futile to debate the physical and mental strength of women in our country. Those are issues long settled. What we need to discuss is how the abilities of women can be harnessed in a way that their voices begin to matter and they cannot be fobbed off by tokenism

Last Sunday’s ‘We the People’ show on a television news channel dealt with women’s right to full equality in the armed forces, including active combat. Practical difficulties like being confined inside a battle tank or ill treated as PoWs were brushed aside by fiery champions of complete gender equality.

But combat in uniform is not the only way of registering prowess, independence and capability. Much as we decry Ms Mayawati or Ms Mamata Banerjee, perhaps they are the sturdiest examples of women power. Even if the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister inherited the mantle from her mentor Kanshi Ram, she was neither his daughter nor a close family member. She was born in a Dalit family and her father was a clerk. She worked as a schoolteacher in JJ Colony in Delhi and joined full-time politics only at the age of 30. Despite this background she became the Chief Minister of India’s most populous State for the fourth time in 2007. Whatever depths she may have stooped to conquer, neither physical stamina nor questions about her mental agility prevented her from trouncing the most powerful, moneyed and formidable among her opponents.

Another extraordinary example is Ms Banerjee. She started her political career as a virtual nonentity and yet in the 1984 general election she became India’s youngest parliamentarian, defeating the renowned Communist candidate Somnath Chatterjee. Ever since, she has held the South Kolkata seat in five general elections and has recently succeeded in wobbling CPI(M)’s complacency, besides bringing the house of Tata’s to tears. Whatever be her methods, she has displayed how a woman could pull off what no man has yet succeeded in doing — challenging CPI(M)’s iron grip over West Bengal. Significantly, neither Ms Mayawati nor Ms Banerjee has been launched by lineage, stardom or personal wealth — factors which are largely responsible for women’s political success.

That brings us to women professionals. Indra Nooyi was born into an ordinary Tamil family. A convent education, a chemistry degree and an IIM Calcutta MBA gave her the same openings as hundreds of others. While an education at Yale and consulting jobs must have added substance, they were not extraordinary enough to explain her meteoric rise to become the head of Pepsi within seven years. She is listed among Time’s 100 most influential people in the world and Forbes put her down as the third most powerful woman. While immense credit has to go to an environment which rewarded competence, regardless of roots or gender, Ms Nooyi’s own achievements have been nothing short of extraordinary. Unquestionably she must have displayed supreme combative skills in the corporate world of cut-throat players. It is that quality that needs close watch particularly as Ms Nooyi’s brilliant smile gives nothing away.

Let us consider women doctors and women lawyers: As a bureaucrat in the health sector I had the benefit of dealing with the largest cross-section of doctors, super specialists and clinicians for over 15 years. When it came to competence and skills, men and women medicos were regarded as equally competent. But invariably, women, having opted for softer specialities like obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and dermatology, found themselves overshadowed by high-profile super specialists from cardiology and orthopaedics, who advised Government behind the scenes. Prime ministerial knees and hearts have occupied the best brains and time of specialists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. At one point an endicrinologist influenced the health policy of India simply because he was treating the then Prime Minister for diabetes.

Women doctors, for opting for certain career options, are automatically relegated to the somewhat routine area of delivering babies or tending to the female reproductive cycle. Critical as these areas are, they shut opportunities to gain in relevance, a prerequisite for being taken seriously.

Let us come to lawyers. One never hears of a woman lawyer being made the Solicitor General of India or taking on prestigious cases dealing with the Constitution or white-collar crime. When Mr AR Antulay, himself a barrister-at-law, set up a high-powered committee as Health Minister, he put together a galaxy of jurists and lawyers featuring 12 legal luminaries. Among them there was only one woman lawyer, more seen than heard.

During hearings in the Supreme Court I had occasion to sit behind the three different Solicitor Generals who defended the Health Ministry at different points of time against private medical colleges. At those hearings the courtrooms were packed to capacity as each matter had important constitutional and federal ramifications. Notably women lawyers were not present. By selecting to work in important but niche areas of the legal profession, women have side-lined themselves from the all important process of having a hand and a say in determining state policy.

It is not the physical or mental strength of women that needs debate. It is how their abilities can be channelled in a way that their voice begins to matter and they cannot be fobbed off by tokenism. Instead of espousing the role of permanent protesters for women’s rights to be taken seriously, women have first to stir themselves and select the most decisive roles within their chosen careers. The battle field is not the only arena to determine female combat worthiness or competence.

Plan the Indian family

May 2, 2010 at 8:54 AM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights | Leave a comment
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If Iran has been able to bring down its fertility rate from 5.6 births per woman in 1985 to 2 by 2000, India can definitely do the same, if not better. What is needed is political will, apart from better planning and coordination
In January this year, an All Party Parliamentary Group of the UK’s House of Commons published a report on Population, Development and Reproductive Health. The forecast: The Millennium Development Goals espoused by 189 Govern-ments in the year 2000 are practically unachievable, given the current levels of population growth.

The report assumes significance because the evidence of all population stalwarts the world over was recorded before releasing the findings. “Population issues have lost priority,” says the report and “funding has stagnated or decreased at a time when unmet need for family planning information and services is increasing.” Women in developing countries are dying for lack of access to family planning services and having to confront unwanted pregnancies and forced abortions even when options are available.

Ironically, if there is any concern about population it is related only to the extremely low fertility of European countries and Japan. The End of World Population Growth in the 21st Century, a book, which is considered a must for policy-makers, simply overlooked that in the country like India, 17 million more births than deaths take place every year. Western thinking about global warming has overtaken even the Indian psyche, despite the fact that India emits less than half the carbon dioxide of Brazil, only a third of China and a not even a fifth of the European Union, leave aside the United States.

The fact that population pressure is eating into agricultural land, forest, water, and biodiversity is never even mentioned. In countless meetings about ecology, climate change, deforestation, urban migration, demographers are notably absent or unheard.

It was in the late 1980s that the subject of population growth began to be swept away from policy agenda. The 1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development successfully muffled it behind the nebulous nomenclature of reproductive and child health (RCH). Any mention of numbers and sankhya still draws the wrath of activists, who in their zeal to end coercion and sub-standard family planning services have unwittingly helped to overturn the family planning programme.

India’s discreditable memories of 8.3 million sterilisations, performed in a single year 1976-77 – four times higher as compared to the year before – have sealed the lips of politicians of all hues forever and drawn stony silence from the media.

The RCH alternative has not provided the synergy that was expected observes a paper by Srinivasan et al (IIPS Mumbai). They found no co-relation between per-capita expenditure incurred on RCH and the level or pace of change of indicators. The National Commission on Population charts display decline in sterilisations and IUD insertions – attributable largely to the low performance of Bihar, Rajasthan, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. The IIPS study ends on the unhappy note, “The RCH umbrella seems to be leaking.”

Against this backdrop the story of Iran bears telling. There the equivalent of the Planning Commission painted such a grim picture of the country’s economy and how the nation’s resources simply could not support the services stipulated under its Constitution, that all Government departments were directed to review the population growth rate impact.

The Iranian media disseminated how the country’s population growth was too high and if left unchecked, would have serious negative impact on the national economy and the welfare of the people. Iran’s Health Ministry and its Judicial Council then declared that there is no Islamic barrier to family planning.

Families were encouraged to delay the first pregnancy, and space out subsequent births, to discourage women to become pregnant younger than 18 and older than 35; to limit family size to three children (not even two). Resources were poured into family planning services and to help couples prevent unplanned pregnancies.

The village health workers (two instead of our one ASHA) put up charts of the age and sex profile of each village at a central place, which were updated each month. The data showed the number of children who had been born since the beginning of the year, the number of children vaccinated, the number who died and the cause of death. The data also showed the number of married women, their age and the contraceptive method used.

Contraceptive pills became the most popular method. Population education remains an integral part of the curriculum at all educational levels; university students must take two credit courses on population and family planning. Couples planning marriage have to participate in a family planning class before receiving a marriage license and these pre-nuptial classes are mandatory for both the bride and groom-(to-be). Women’s average age of marriage had crossed 22 years by 1996.

The result of all this has been astounding. From a total fertility rate of 5.6 births per woman in 1985, Iran brought total fertility down to 2.0 by 2000. Infant Mortality, Maternal Mortality, Under 5 Mortality, have all reduced; literacy has gone up, and now more women than men have entered Universities.

What we need is less looking the other way; less emotional outbursts in donor-driven seminars and much more by way of sustained family planning services. And an effective leadership in the northern States which are disproportionately delaying India’s population stabilisation.

Holding India back

May 2, 2010 at 8:41 AM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights | Leave a comment
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The unmet demand for contraception is the highest in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Together with Madhya Pradesh, these States produce the maximum underweight, stunted and wasted children born to under-aged mothers
Were it not for the Hindi-belt States, India might well have been another country. Girl’s married before the legal age, high fecundity of adolescents, recurring childbirths and absence of birth spacing make tedious reading. But when the findings of the National Health Survey-3 are read alongside the Ministry of Human Resource and Development and National Population Commission data, a few surprises and some shocks emerge.

First, Orissa has crawled out of the BIMARU (now EAG) stranglehold. It has among the lowest annual growth rates (2001-2010) projected for the country — just a shade higher than Kerala and Tamil Nadu. As far as the age of marriage and adolescent fertility are concerned, Orissa is lower than Gujarat and Haryana. Female drop-out rates from classes’ I-X are better than the All-India average and far better than neighbours Assam and West Bengal. High infant mortality, however, pulls back other achievements.

Let’s move over to Himachal Pradesh. The female dropout rate from class I-X stands only slightly above Kerala. HP also has the lowest percentage of women married before 18 — far ahead of Kerala, Tamil Nadu or any other State. As a natural outcome the percentage of women that started childbearing before 19 was just 3 per cent compared with 27 per cent in Jharkhand and 25 per cent in Bihar and West Bengal. No wonder that the fertility rate of Himachal Pradesh is equal to that of Kerala. This also blasts the belief that only the Southern States have the commitment to propel population stabilisation.

Another shock is how poorly West Bengal performs when it comes to the age at which girls start childbearing. The State is at the level of Bihar on this index with 62 per cent of girls married before 18, belying lofty claims that women’s welfare has pervaded the proletariat. In terms of educational attainment, the class I-X female dropout rates are worse than even Madhya Pradesh.

When it comes to the use of contraceptives, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab come out the best. Predictably the unmet demand for contraception is the highest in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, with the gaps in contraceptive cover resulting in high fertility and appalling levels of maternal, infant and child mortality. Together with Madhya Pradesh these States also produce the maximum underweight, stunted and wasted children in India.

Ultimately, faster development cannot take place unless fertility rates come down much sooner. Much as education, electrification, safe drinking water and toilets are necessary, absence of these can hardly be an alibi for denying reproductive rights, now. Pushing up the age of marriage as exemplified by Himachal Pradesh is a single achievable goal which can make the biggest difference. If we could simply ensure that girls do not get married before the legal age of marriage, up to 3.4 million births each year could be averted. That is 12 per cent of the total annual births in the country. Is it too much to ask Governments to ensure that marriages are stopped before the legal age? The road to population stabilisation need not be preceded by citing the education first approach all the time. Important as education is, Himachal Pradesh and Orissa have shown that other things too can make a difference to fertility and population growth.

The new Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 was notified on 10th January 2007. With its enactment, the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 was repealed. Legally and administratively no law exists today to restrain or stop child marriages in States that have failed to notify the rules that accompany the Act. In effect no cognisance can be taken of those who marry off their daughters before 18.

According to information available with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, only Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala and Manipur have enacted the rules which are necessary for enforcing the Act. This despite a lapse of nearly 20 months and repeated exhortations to speed up the process. Chief Ministers need to be confronted with their perfunctory attitude to an all important subject which directly affects the health and well-being of mothers and children.

Laws apart, when did the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgargh, and West Bengal last review early marriages or order an audit into high levels of maternal mortality? What directions did they give? With what result?

None that is apparent from any published work.

Laws alone will not change the face of India. But in the absence of law and with more than 65 per cent of the girls in several States being married before 18 it is shocking that Chief Ministers can ignore what is happening.

A year ago on the World Population Day, 500 adolescents were brought to Delhi to be sensitised about population issues. It was a sad commentary on the prevailing situation when they stepped on the stage to castigate their Chief Ministers for incentivising more and more deliveries by offering saris and other goodies to reward every birth. If only Chief Ministers cared to listen to what the youth of this country seeks, election manifestos may start caring about fulfilling population goals and reproductive rights.

Women at work

May 2, 2010 at 8:27 AM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights | Leave a comment
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If adolescents watch women employed in various professions, it will sensitise them on the gender issue

Another Inter-national Women’s Day has come and gone. Celebrities and celebrations once again cemented women’s solidarity. Twenty years ago, such a phenomenon was unthinkable. Ten years ago, it was a Page-3 fling-time for elite women. But things are fast changing, at least in the metros. Recently, when a woman Secretary to the Government of India quipped as she replaced her Minister who was held up, “Once again the woman stands in place of the man”, the audience burst into appreciative laughter and after a momentary pause, applause. The jibe had gone home, although the audience was mostly male.

Around the same time, a presentation on the status of maternal and infant mortality in the country was heard in pin-drop silence. Ten years ago, those present would have said: “That is Health Ministry’s problem.” Five years ago, it would have evoked the mantra – first provide literacy and education to women. This time there was universal recognition that something drastic was needed to be done.

The waning sex ratio, the huge percentage of early marriages in nearly half the districts, anaemic teenagers mechanically forced to produce babies, the growing spectre of underweight children evoked disquiet. Instinctively, people rallied around and promised to involve their organisations and associations in bringing these issues to the forefront. Uneasiness was beginning to show, at least in public.

But what would generate a change that penetrates into homes and bedrooms? While men may not proactively promote sex determination tests, they do remain passive partners and acquiesce silently to female relative’s wishes and wants. They happily embrace early marriages for their daughters on the plea that they have to “fulfil a responsibility” – quite forgetting that higher education, the acquisition of greater skills and competencies, necessarily requires pushing up the age of marriage.

How many men would abandon the prospect of marrying a daughter to the proverbial “bada sona munda”, if she insists on pursuing a career instead? How many in-laws would actively encourage sons to delay the birth of the first child, instead of raring to announce a pregnancy to busy-body relatives?

Fourth of April is celebrated in the US as “take our daughters and sons to work”. It was created by a foundation for women to provide an educational experience for America’s children. I witnessed this phenomenon at work in an office in Washington some years ago.

Recognising that adults continually face challenge of balancing work, family, social and personal responsibilities, including late sitting, making time to pick up a child, providing care for a sick parent and taking decisions that are difficult to explain, the “take our daughters and sons to work” day encourages children to think about these questions. The programme is designed to expose children to what adults do during the working day, to show them the value of education, hard work and the occasional price one has to pay for others.

Of course, America is the land of celebrations and gimmicks, ensnaring the gullible consumer to spend slavishly on cards, gifts and SMS messaging – all part of a multi-million dollar business. But the point about drawing attention to a situation is well taken. The younger generations do need to know the pressures and deadlines at work, the environment that surrounds their parent in office, and more importantly, why work has to take precedence at times.

Taking a positive cue from that idea, if today’s adolescents could watch professional women at work, scientists, doctors, lawyers, sportswomen, TV anchors, it would sensitise them as nothing else can. When they grew up (which will happen very soon,) they will shun sex determination and understand the value of careers for their sisters, daughters, daughters-in-law and daughters-to-be.

A cacophony of voices will no doubt chastise me for thinking only of urban elite and health hounds and activists would decry such simplistic ideas. That is precisely why I write this article. Because sometimes even lip service can make the point.

Even if a few schools, teachers and parents were to make a beginning, providing children the opportunity to watch parents at work, even the values of a good citizen might yet get imbibed, creating just the impact we seek. No father would treat his job with disrespect in the presence of children. If he shows off how important the task before him is, perforce his sense of pride would percolate into the psyche of young onlookers. A man’s self-esteem at work be he a bus driver or a CEO, would make children understand the importance of every kind of work, while imparting dignity to those who perform thousands of dead-end jobs that are none-the-less critical for our lives.

Abhorrence for nepotism and bribery could all be woven into the theme of “take your daughters and sons to work”. We can yet change mindsets if we focus on important principles seen through the eyes of children. Who knows it might still restore the sense of self worth we all seek – an infinitely superior strategy to holding out threats of hanging minions, while the master continues to make hay.

Womenomics revolution

May 1, 2010 at 5:34 AM | Posted in Gender/Women's Rights | 2 Comments
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Affluent countries have recognised the power of professional women who are now increasingly playing an important role in shaping their economies. Sadly, despite the clear advantages, India’s top corporates, are not yet ready to take advantage of the ‘womenomics revolution’

A day after International Women’s Day, women’s empowerment received a huge boost with the passage of the women’s reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. But, apart from rejoicing over future political representation, little was done to celebrate Indian women’s present achievements which are by no means small. Today, thousands of professional women are occupying decision-making positions in the corporate sector, in senior bureaucracy, in IT, in the media, as engineers, doctors and lawyers. Affluent countries having already recognised the power of professional women have begun forecasting Indian women’s (spending) power by drawing a parallel with Western developments.

Aviva Wittenberg Cox is the author of Women Mean Business which was named the business book of the year. Last week she was the keynote speaker on gender equality at a workshop organised by OECD in Paris. I listened to her as she presented fact upon fact which has begun to make business sense in Europe and the US. According to independent research as well as surveys and data collected by Goldman Sachs, Mackenzie and her organisation ‘20-first’ which works with companies around the world, BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China )women will become an increasing force on account of their spending power.

In the US women now make 80 per cent of the consumer goods purchasing decisions; they were responsible for starting the majority of new business initiatives in Canada; in the UK they are expected to own more than 3/5ths of all personal wealth by 2025. More than half the university graduates in Europe and North America are women and the majority of the eight million jobs created in the European Union since 2000 have been filled by women. Since 2007, more than half the managers and professional staff in the US are women. No wonder then that top consulting and investment banks have been busy identifying companies that can benefit from increased female disposable income. According to Goldman Sachs, the Indian middle-class will throw up millions of new consumers with expanded purchasing power. And within that women’s purses are going to become increasingly significant as they become economically more successful.

With greater influence, and an ‘edge’ of a different kind, women are also destined to rise higher as members of the board of management of companies whatever be their current representation. Studies in Canada have shown that women board members contribute immensely because they pay a lot more attention to important areas like audit and risk oversight. They take into account the needs of a wider variety of stakeholders. They are prepared to go into the details of management and organisational performance. They have been more responsible than men for insisting on conflict of interest guidelines as well as performance evaluations. Makes for good corporate sense.

But according to Aviva Wittenberg Cox, despite these attributes, the boardroom may not be the best way of judging gender balance in decision-making. According to her, it is relatively easy to appoint a woman or two onto a corporate board but it is very difficult to actually groom women to exercise power. Boards are oversight bodies which do not operate the levers that actually run the company. Cox has, therefore, demanded more representation for women on what she called the executive committees, which she identifies as those members of senior management that report directly to the chief executive officer. But according to her, even within the executive committees there are those occupying ‘line’ or ‘staff’ roles with the former having direct responsibility for profit and loss decisions-to be distinguished from those that function in staff areas like HR, communications or legal-with no responsibility for operational judgements.

Seen in that light, she has exposed how India’s top companies, despite clear advantages are yet not ready to take advantage of the “Womenomics” revolution. A survey of the top 10 ET500 companies undertaken by her organisation, using published data, showed that Indian Oil Corporation had one woman on the executive committee as a line manager and ICICI bank also had just one. The rest of the top industries, Reliance, Tata Steel, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, State Bank of India, Oil and Natural gas Corporation, Tata Motors and Hindalco Industries had zero women on their executive committees, responsible for line responsibility.

At the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women held on March 5 at Geneva, India’s permanent representative harked back to the mother goddess of the Indus Valley civilisation and the special place that women have occupied in the Indian psyche since times immemorial. Followed by a resolve to provide literacy, education and health to bridge the gender divide, he ended with a quote from Manusmriti:

“Yartra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devataha.”

(Where women are worshipped, there the gods reside.)

Instead of worshipping women as goddesses, perhaps a mention of the expanding Indian middle-class and women’s achievements within that might have better signified the prospects that lie ahead — whether women get worshipped on merit or on the potential of their purse. As India grapples with improving women’s health, literacy and education, the possibility of gender equalisation within the middle-class is definitely cause for celebration.

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