We the Women

India is a country where the majority Hindus worship female deities like Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth or Saraswati, the goddess of learning and where the female form is revered as the Universal Mother- women are continue to be abused and disrespected.

Historical figures such as Rani Lakshmi Bai, Indira Gandhi and Mother Theresa and contemporary figures like Kiran Bedi, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai and Kalpana Morparia, Joint Managing Director of ICICI, were able to create an unprecedented impact upon the minds of native people. But unfortunately, not enough has been done, till date, to stop the rampant abuse and chauvinism in the nation.

Wall of silence

Women are beaten at home, sexually abused, face harassment on the streets and at the work place ... even when they are raped, they are often treated by police as the culprit, rather than the victim and blamed for wearing provocative clothing.

There are also frequent reports of spurned men disfiguring women by throwing acid in their faces due to unrequited love and of husbands and their families setting women ablaze for not providing sufficient dowry.

However, in majority of the cases, women do not come forward because of fear or ’shame’ that they will inflict upon their ‘perpetrators’.

Is the government doing enough in bridging the divide?

Government officials say a new domestic violence law passed in October empowers these victims by giving them rights over their abusers’ assets and legal protection. The landmark legislation is one of many laws introduced in this patriarchal society to bridge the gender divide since India’s independence almost six decades ago. But has it really offered any solace to the women victims?

Legislation banning dowries, a custom that frequently lead to women being abused by husbands and parents in-law, was passed in 1961 but is still widely flouted.

Sati, the custom of burning widows alive along with the bodies of their deceased husbands, was outlawed in 1987 but rare cases still occur in parts of rural India.

The intensifying number of abortions of female foetuses by parents preferring male babies has led to legislation barring the use of ultrasounds to determine gender of unborn fetuses. But has it properly implemented?

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After 59 years of independence, women still facing slavery in society. We call our self literate society, but still women are facing physical or sexual abuse by their husbands.
According to the survey done by National Family Health Survey-III reveals that 37.2 per cent married women had experienced violence by their husbands. Among all states of country, Bihar tops in women victims that are physically or sexually abused by their husbands. Survey says that lack of education is main reason behind it. Illiterate Women have suffered more spousal violence in comparison to literate women. Women in rural areas (40.2) are facing more violence as compared to urban areas (30.4). In Bihar, women in urban areas fared worse than those in rural areas. The percentage of spousal abuse in various states:

Rajasthan (46.3)

Madhya Pradesh (45.8)

Tripura (44.1)

Manipur (43.9)

Uttar Pradesh (42.4)

Tamil Nadu (41.9)

West Bengal (40.3)
Arunachal Pradesh (38.8)

In Bihar,While 62.2 per cent underwent the trauma in urban areas, it was 58.5 per cent women in villages. In case of metros, the fairer sex was better off in Delhi (16.3) and Mumbai (19.5). Can somebody tell up to how long women have face this abuses?

Via

Women irrespective of profession are subjected to face sexual harassment and there’s hardly any field left where they are not exploited.

Recently, a similar case has come up which postulates the abuse of women in sports.

The International Olympic Committee Medical Commission Experts Panel observed,

Sexual harassment and abuse occur worldwide. In sport, they give rise to suffering for athletes and others . . . No sport is immune to these problems which occur at every performance level.

Abuse of women in sports is common because nearly all the authoritative positions have been occupied by male figures. Coaches, managers, promoters and organizers are usually men and some of them often use their authority to exploit women.

Often sexual harassment and abuse becomes a barrier in the career of budding sports women.

While some leave sport completely, others continue to face harassment and abuse from coaches, managers and other athletes because of the desire to win awards or simply because of fear.

Sexual harassment can be open or subtle but its major characteristic is that it involves any form of sexual elements that are unwelcome. These can be physical or verbal.

The consequences of abuse are also disastrous to the sufferer as she may develop low self-esteem, emotional imbalance, may perform badly or completely hate the sport.

Sexual harassment in sport, if not checked, persists and worsens with time.

Often clubs and organizations are responsible because they fail to shield athletes and other female officials from stalking. It is their role and accountability to ensure that the sporting environment is free from any form of sexual harassment.

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Once a sex slave by Japanese soldiers during the world war II, Lee Yong-soo requested Japan’s government to ask for forgiveness in the midst of an escalating international row over the fate of the so-called ‘comfort women’, a Japanese euphemism for wartime sex slaves.

Historians say some 200,000 women, mostly from Korea and China, served in the Japanese military brothels throughout Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. Many victims say they were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops and the top government representative accepted the unlawful activity in 1993.

Why did Japan have to take little girls, some only 14 or 15 years old, to give these horrific services? 78-year-old Lee told a news conference, wiping away tears as she recalled her ordeal.

The idea of apologizing has ignited a spark with South Korea criticizing Japan’s handling of its wartime past and some Japanese politicians denying that the army had ever forced women into prostitution.

Japanese right-wing groups and several politicians in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have questioned the testimonies of former ‘comfort women’ in Korea, China and Southeast Asia. However, supporters of the women asserted that the Japanese authorities famously burned incriminating documents or kept them hidden.

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Discrimination at work place is a ubiquitous phenomenon, whether its corporate sector or government job, inequity against women would always exist. Even women correspondent is paid less than men under the flagship of BBC.

The same has happened with Michiko Koseki in Japan. She gave many years to the company which she worked for but lately she was offered no credentials for her work instead the company decided to move all the men in her department to nicer offices while keeping the women in the old work space.

The situation became worse when she was asked to offer tea to male colleagues and during the official meetings.

When she complained, her boss replied, We can’t hire a new woman just to pour the tea. So this is what actually these Y- chromosomes think of their female colleague.

A U.N. study released last year revealed that Japan ranked behind all other industrialized nations in terms of empowerment of women, with 10.7% of senior corporate and political positions held by women, compared with 42% in the United States.

In general, women on average earn 44% of what men earn in Japan.

Talking about the present case, Koseki and five other women launched their discrimination suit against Kanematsu Corp. (the company in where they worked) in 1995, alleging the company systematically created a caste system and kept female employees on the lower rungs. Company officials however, declined to be interviewed, citing the pending lawsuit.

Japan is a home to the world’s second-largest economy, women have entered the workforce in record numbers over the past 15 years. The phenomenon was once heralded by many as the start of a new era of sex equality in a country where women have long lagged a step behind men professionally.

But this is not the ground reality. Women have taken long strides and have been through many testimonials in order to prove their efficacy towards work along with their household chores, yet this gender prejudice especially regarding pay and incentives is all pervasive.

Can anybody tell me, why?

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Being abused is a horrifying reality for many women in Canada. Approximately one in ten women in a relationship with a man is abused. This violence is evident in all communities, cultures and income levels. Verbal, sexual and emotional force, as well as threats and intimidation are all forms of violence used against women.

Thus, looking at this growing menace, Peel Committee Against Woman Abuse and the Peel Committee on Sexual Assault are working in unison to educate people about violence against women. They hope that through education and community initiatives, a safer society for women can be created.

What’s more worse is that, these numbers are still escalating, victim blame and shame are just two of many reasons women are not stepping forward to report these incidents.

The prevalence of male violence against women needs to be acknowledged. Any form of abuse can be devastating to a woman and can serve to erode her self-esteem and self-confidence. Abuse affects women of all cultures, ages, educational levels, socioeconomic backgrounds and sexual orientation.

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India is a country of 1.1 billion people, where 5.7 million are living with HIV/Aids. But unfortunately, more than 40% of women in the nation have not heard about AIDS.

According to a research conducted by the National Family Health Survey, only 57% of women have heard about the fatal disease.

Activists said that poor awareness among women especially in the rural region is fueling the epidemic.

In the past few years, there has been a growing ‘feminization’ of the epidemic in India with nearly 40% of all those infected now being women, including housewives.

One reason for low awareness is that the government has focused prevention efforts on high-risk groups like prostitutes and intravenous drug users, rather than on the general population.

Many rural women have been infected by their husbands who work in the cities and visit prostitutes. Stigma stops infected husbands from telling their wives they are HIV-positive.

Thus, the government needs to spend more training and enough health workers are required to disseminate AIDS education among rural women at grass root levels.

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Prevention of Domestic Violence Against Women, a project, which aimed towards combating the biggest problem of the century, violence against women, has been initiated by the UN in collaboration with European Commission in Turkey.

Nimet ubukcu, Minister of Women and Family in Ankara have unveiled the project.

She said

With this project, we are taking the first of many steps to be implemented. This project aims at protecting and improving human rights of women and preventing the custom and honor-related murders. Also, their social, political and cultural status will be strengthened and improved. It is our fundamental target to eliminate all kinds of discrimination against women.

Initially, a thorough research would be performed in knowing the extent of violence committed against women. Then the government will establish a database to record and follow future violence against women nationwide. Finally, a national activity plan will be formulated to decide to whom, how and where to intervene in order to prevent violence.

Now, time will only tell how far the government and other authorities will go in safeguarding women’s rights.

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Lately, Equal Opportunities Minister, Barbara Pollastrini has called for an imperative action to tackle violence against women.

A study by national statistics institute Istat has postulated some disturbing levels of abuse.

The most common forms of physical violence were being shoved, slapped, having hair pulled, and being kicked or punched, while sexual violence took the form of being touched without consent and agreeing to sex out of fear.

Sexual violence is rooted in discrimination, thus the only way to end this disturbing trend is by changing the mindset of men at large. Until they understand how important it is to respect the women, the vogue of violence won’t stop.

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Economy of the nation is growing and is moving a step closer towards meeting the international standards but unfortunately the public health is has massively declined over a past decade. And women and children are its worst victims.

According to the National Family Health Survey-III, over 56.2% of married women in the age group between 15 and 49 were anaemic in 2006 as against 51.8% in 1999.

If we look at the states, Assam is the worst affected, with 72% of its married women suffering from anaemia, followed by Haryana (69.7%) and Jharkhand (68.4%).

Likewise, 79.1% children between the ages of three to six years in the country in 2006 were anaemic as against 74.2% in 1998-99.

The reasons for this trend have been attributed to low social status of women, poor food quality, high cost of healthcare facilities and also some genetic problems.

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