May 7, 2009 - Microscope-Ready

Good news, today, in the form of a news article about government allocations for medical research. The article in Bloomberg News reports on what one researcher calls “a stunningly large number” of dollars – $10.4 billion of ‘em, to be exact – that will be devoted to curing what ails us. “Breakthrough findings on obesity, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cancer” are on the way, the article predicts.

President Obama has included this amount as part of his $787 billion shot in the arm for the economy. There’s been lots of talk about rebuilding the nation’s crumbling infrastructure through “shovel-ready” projects like bridges and highways. It’s nice to know there are some microscope-ready projects, as well, to benefit those of us with chronic illnesses.

There are some who say that, once you have cancer, never a day goes by that you don’t think about the disease, at least once. I’m pretty sure that’s continued to be true for me, during this extended period of watch-and-wait. Some days I think about it a lot, other days it’s no more than a fleeting thought. Yet the though is always there, if only lurking below the surface.

I would a great thing, indeed, if I didn’t have to think about it anymore.

It would be a great thing, as well, if some additional billions would be used to buy health insurance for those without it – although I suppose that’s coming down the pike soon enough, along with the rest of the President’s healthcare-funding proposal.

Why is this important? Check out this 7-minute video that tells what an impossible fix a hard-working American family can get into when cancer comes knocking at the door:



Quite apart from the humanitarian factor, cleaning up our nation’s broken healthcare-funding system – that leaks dollars like a sieve – will actually strengthen the economy.

Now, that’s the sort of win-win scenario that even a fiscal conservative ought to be able to appreciate.

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN INDIA

If the principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution, then why are Indian women treated as second citizens in their own country? The Constitution officially grants equality to women and also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. However, the varied forms of discrimination that women in India are subject to are far from positive.

It is claimed that from the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78) onwards, there has been a marked shift in the approach to women’s issues from welfare to development. Where is the development? Yes, the status of the urban woman has shown some improvement but the changes in their lifestyle were not coupled by changes in the general mindset of the people in our patriarchal society. Thus, some laws should have been framed for the protection of the newly emancipated and urbanized Indian women. What is the percentage of urban women in India, anyway? What about the rest? These privileged few would have prospered with or without the laws. Has there been any significant change in the status of rural women after the Fifth Five Year Plan?

The National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. “The 73^rd and 74^th Amendments (1993) to the Constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of Panchayats and Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their participation in decision making at the local levels.” These reserved seats often go unoccupied or are taken up by male candidates because women rarely contest for such seats. Why? The mere existence of laws cannot automatically bring about a revolutionary change in the society. In a country where women have no control over their own lives and do not even have the decision-making power in their own household, do you think they will be encouraged to join local governing bodies?

In India gender disparity is found everywhere. The declining ratio of the female population, in the last few decades is a proof of this. The stereotypical image of a woman haunts her everywhere. Domestic violence is commonplace. The underlying causes of gender inequality are related to the socio-economic framework of India. As a result, the women belonging to the weaker sections of the society i.e. the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/ Other backward Classes and minorities, do not have easy access to education, health and other productive resources. Therefore, they remain largely marginalized, poor and socially isolated.

The following are some of the provisions made in favour of women, in our constitution:

Article 14 in the Indian Constitution ensures equality in political, economic and social spheres. Article 16 provides for equality of opportunities in matters of public appointment for all citizens. However, the ratio of women in Politics is far less as compared to men. How many women hold positions of power in government run institutions? Single women do not get jobs easily because the employers fear that they might get married and quit. They also find it hard to get rented accommodation whereas that is not the case with single men. Cricket is a religion in India. Is the government promoting cricket for women or any other form of team sport for women for that matter?

Article 15 prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex etc. There are certain places of worship in South India where women are not allowed entry. Advertisements of ‘Fairness’ creams are aired on television without any restrictions. It is shown in these ad-films that the ‘brown’ Indian woman can’t get a job, can’t find a man and is generally looked down upon by everyone but when she becomes fairer, the story changes.

Article 15 (3) of the Indian Constitution allows the State to make any special provision for women and children. Wife bashing is a favorite sport in India. Women are subject to physical and mental torture by their husbands and their families. Women and children are always under the control of the ‘Male’ head of the family. A child is identified by his father’s name in this country. Whereas in western countries, the mother’s name forms, the middle name, of a child.

Article 39(a) mentions that the State will direct its policies towards securing all citizens, men and women, the right to means of livelihood while Article 39 (c) ensures equal pay for equal work. When a male government employee is transferred from one place to another, is his wife given a new job in the new place? Her career goals are of little importance to anyone. She can be displaced and uprooted anytime! The daily wages of women labourers in India are lesser than that of male menial workers. Bollywood Actresses also get less money as compared their male counterparts.

Article 42 directs the State to ensure just and humane working conditions. More often than not, women are exploited by their bosses. It is believed that women who keep their bosses happy get promotions very easily in the Corporate world! What about the others? Male colleagues never fail to make passes at women. Women have to put up with their bawdy jokes, lascivious remarks and glares, all the time. The plight of women labourers at construction sites, tea and rubber plantations etc, cannot even be described.

The constitution imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen through Article 15 (A) (e) to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women. What is the government doing about eve-teasing? Can a woman spend an entire day on the streets of the National capital without getting a series of comments, derogatory to her dignity? Another law that protects women against a seemingly milder crime is Section 509 of the IPC. This law punishes individuals who have insulted the modesty of a woman. Offensive language, sounds, gestures and intrusion of a woman's privacy are punishable under this law. Outraging the modesty of a woman is also punishable under Section 354 of the IPC. Under this law, an individual who has assaulted a woman, used criminal force on her or outraged her modesty in any other way can be punished with imprisonment of up to 2 years. In fact the people who are employed by the State to ensure that people don’t flout any rules, the policemen, are the ones who have given consequence to many crimes against women. Policemen are often found mouthing obscenities, glaring and passing bawdy remarks on women, not only on the roads, but also inside the police station. Many of our honourable politicians are also involved in all manner of crimes against women.

Laws such as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, Sati Prevention Act, Dowry Prohibition Act and Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act protect women from the more "traditional" crimes such as rape, abduction, dowry, torture, molestation, sexual harassment and selling of girls into slavery. However trafficking of women is still very common in this poverty-stricken country. Women from economically backward families are kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Incidents of women being charred to death after their husbands’ death, have been reported recently. Giving and taking dowry is officially, a crime but the practice goes on. In fact, it is taken for granted that if you want to get your daughter married you should arrange for her dowry first, even when your daughter is educated and financially independent.

Female foeticide and infanticide are common practices in this country. If at all the girl is allowed to live, she is subject to all forms of torture in her own house. She is not allowed to go to school, instead she is forced to take up menial jobs and married off almost as soon as she enters teenage. People in rural areas fear that their daughters might be raped so it is better to get them married. Ironically, The Child Marriage Restraint Act specifies the cut-off age for marriage as 18 years, protecting women from child marriage. Women, be it urban or rural, face all forms of sexual harassment throughout their lives. So what is the use of these laws?

There are many women in India, who are caught in violent marriages. Owing to the social stigma attached to divorce, not many women have the courage to break free. Housewives account for 52% of the total female suicide cases in India. Section 306 of the IPC can punish the suicide victim's husband with up to 10 years imprisonment if found guilty. How many such men have been punished till now?

Thus, there are a number of laws to protect women, but what is the use of having these laws when no one follows them? In fact, the people whose business it is, to enforce these laws are the ones who publicly flout them. Besides, not many women are conversant with law and few are aware of the rights and privileges accorded to them by the constitution. So they suffer all forms of discrimination, passively.

References:

Ø http://wcd.nic.in/empwomen.htm

Ø specials.msn.co.in/sp08/wmday/women_rights.asp

STATUS OF SINGLE WOMEN IN INDIA

Since time immemorial, Indian women have suffered at the hands of men. They have been subject to all forms of mental, physical, psychological and emotional torture. However, due to the hard work and dedication of feminists and social reformers, there has been a considerable improvement in the status of women in urban India. Education has helped the urban woman to understand the rights that have been accorded to her by the constitution and she is learning to make full use of it. Besides, she is now financially independent and does not need a man to support her. So she does not need to tolerate any form of torture and has the confidence to fight for her rights. Women have stopped sacrificing their dreams for the happiness of others. They choose to remain single as long as they want to and the divorce rate in India has reached an all time high. Thus, there are a large number of women in our society who are single. But does our society accept single women? The answer is a definite ‘No’.

The life of an urban Indian woman is far from easy. She is expected to have recognized academic and professional qualifications, a good job, stunning looks, polished manners, good communication skills, social contacts and family background. She should be an expert at multi-tasking. She is expected to be perfect by the age of twenty-three / four, because, without the aforementioned qualities, she cannot expect to get an Indian man. The man can be as old as he wishes to be, but his wife should be young. However, not many women manage to acquire the qualities of an ideal urban wife by the age determined by society and remain single. When a fifty-year old man marries a twenty-five year old girl, our society accepts it willingly. But they are shocked when a woman falls in love with a man, couple of years younger than her. She is insulted and derided by everyone. Alas! A spinster is tortured all her life for not finding the right man.

The plight of a married woman is unimaginable. Owing to the high standard of living, most husbands want their wives to work. The wife is expected to look after the house, raise her children and shape their future, satisfy the whims of her mother-in-law and also earn a living. Not all women have these superhuman qualities and sometimes they give up.

As a result of globalization, Indians have started aping the West blindly. They have imbibed all the wrong things. The infidelity rate has gone up. Men love to have young mistresses. However, these days women don’t put up with such humiliation and they walk out on such men. Thus, the divorce rate in India has gone up. A divorced man easily finds another wife but a divorced woman is looked down upon, by society. Children from happier families make fun of her children and her female friends don’t want to be seen with her. Her original family is ashamed of her and if she chooses to live alone, her character becomes the topic of popular discussion. And if the poor thing just about manages to find a respectable man, he becomes the general object of pity, ‘Poor guy, the shameless woman has cast her spell on him’.

The situation of the widowed woman isn’t any better. Her husband’s family inevitably disowns her, because she is not related to them in any way. Besides, she is also believed to have conspired with the forces of nature, to kill her husband. She brings bad luck to the people she associates with and everyone is generally afraid of her. Widow remarriage was made legal way back in 1856, but how many widows in India remarry? Forget marriage, if a widowed woman chooses not wear a doleful expression at all times, that is also considered a sin. Happy people don’t associate with her because she might hurl her bad luck on them.

These days’ people do not reject and ignore these women overtly. It is fashionable to be sensitive. They pretend to be very good, kind and gentle towards them. This hurts more. The rich and the ultra rich have been forced to accept ‘singles’ because there are more number of spinsters and divorced women in these classes. So, the level of discrimination faced by single women who belong to these classes is lesser than that faced by their counterparts in the middle and low income groups. The truth is clear; our society in general, still finds it hard to accept a woman without a man.