Womens Rights in India - Essay Example

Women’s Rights in India Women in India are vulnerable to several societal risks that threaten their physical, mental, and psychological wellbeing. Living in the midst of traditionally defined norms, women feel trapped among a plethora of social issues such as marital violence, property status, rape, workplace harassment, and so on. Beyond being mere issues of women’s rights, these issues are important in understanding women and their position as society members and individuals. The health implications of the anxiety are immense and many women find themselves creaking under pressure. As a result, not only does their health decline but their cognitive capacity is also impacted. This paper explores the various aspects of women’s rights breaches and how the events impact the psychological wellbeing of women as individuals before being part of the larger society. Traditional Indian society is an essentially patriarchal society dominated by men. A closer look into the family structure gives a clearer idea: men are responsible for earning income while the women perform all household chores which includes, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, household chores, taking care of children, and other income generating works performed inside or outside the house (Mathu and Jain, 2008). It is a social norm which prevails in the Indian culture that generally restricts the movement of women outside the house although this may vary across religions, communities, economic hierarchy, social class and location. As a result, most women are restricted within the bounds of their homes. In each case concerning women, their personal development as individuals has been impacted that tends to have a reciprocation effect on their roles in the society. The gender disparities become more and more prominent as one considers social cases such as rape, marriage, divorce, widowhood, child care and the various domestic roles that women are expected to take. Although some primitive norms have been given up, the traditional Indian society still incorporates various biases against women which impact their roles as individuals within the society (Edder, 2013). One example of a primitive practice which is now banned includes that of sati which was the ancient Hindu practice of burning women along with their husbands after they died. Not only does this act represent an act of severe obscurity but it also reflects the status of women in the society that play a greater role as objects that have come to terms with its inequalities as individuals. Although gender disparity and discrimination is quite a common phenomenon in the world, it has intensified in India. In India, gender inequality takes a more serious turn due to the societal construction of gender and their associated roles. Inequalities are obvious in various social situations such as availability of opportunities, especially educational. Schooling opportunities greatly vary for girls and boys in India where boys are more likely to be encouraged to pursue studies rather than girls (Dreze and Sen, 2002). Women are usually confined within the boundaries of their house and lack of education means that women are lead to ignorance thereby inhibiting them from demanding their rights. The connection between female education and domestic violence is also very obscure. Domestic violence is more common among smaller communities of uneducated people exposing women to physical, mental, and psychological harm at the hands of their husbands. While seldom are cases of domestic violence actually reported, women suffer great pain and mental stress due to domestic violence and threats from the in-laws. Following globalization and a booming economy, many women in India have started entering the workforce. This notion is contrary to the traditional concept of women as caregivers and household women rather than capable of sharing the financial load of the family. But their entrance to the workforce is not without its problems. Many women are faced with a strong anti-women organizational culture, harassment, and an unsupportive work atmosphere (Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields, 2008). The immediate effect of this is that women become increasingly unsatisfied with their jobs and hence lose motivation as an employee. Increasing pressure from the society for conformance and deep pressure to remain consistent with the long held traditions, many women develop a feeling of purposelessness and surging helplessness impacting their psychological well being and internal satisfaction as equal contributors to the family. Many women even become victim of crimes while a significant remaining chunk of the gender populace develops depression and other psychological issues as they encountered with resistance. Thus, women not only as employee but also a family member develop a sense of purposelessness and dissatisfaction. Many women’s rights movement have looked upon how feminism relates women to their contexts and environment so as to yield positive results that empower women in an essentially patriarchal society (Walter, 2001). Of great importance is the issue of widow remarriage which takes on quite serious stance in a society driven by males. In India, widowhood is followed by an increasingly difficult life which seems to leave women unprotected to societal harshness. Women, whose husbands die, occupy a marginalized group within the Indian society where they are considered to be of a very low social status (Malik, 2013). Thus, being a widow is followed by harsh treatment from the society and then the matter of widow remarriage becomes even more difficult and complex. Despite formal laws, widows have always been looked upon as dependent individuals who have become more of a burden for the society. In such situations, many widows do possess the willingness to remarry as human beings however the societal pressure is normally against such actions. Widow remarriage is often looked at as a social taboo although levirate marriages, that is, marriage to the younger brother of a woman’s husband is common among many high castes communities so as to retain the property rights left by the widow’s late husband. Since many of the widows have remarried following widowhood, it is important to trace the inculcation of the social taboo within the Indian society. Increased practice of sati, which the burning of a widow along with the funeral pyre of her husband, and female infanticide, is responsible for sparking the anti widow remarriage notion. To examine the psychological impact of the anti widow remarriage societal view, it is useful to consider the widows as individuals. Despite the end of a beginning, many women do keep hopes of possible remarriage and a continuation of a happy life beyond widowhood. This motivates desires of remarriage however many women are faced with the social pressure that discourages them from remarrying and starting a new life. Another issue that women in India face relates to property and land rights. It is a common perception in the culture which tends to link women with everything inside the house, therefore their useful contributions in income generation and land care is often ignored (Patel, 2007). As individuals, women put a lot of hard work, effort, and time in helping their husbands while fulfilling their responsibilities as mothers, daughters, sisters, and sister-in-laws. Despite efforts by women fulfilling their roles, many Indian women are vulnerable to marital and domestic violence as a result of their ownership of land. A study conducted and explored by Panda and Agarwal (2005) shows that, women who own a property are less likely to be susceptible to marital violence by the in-laws and the husband. According to the authors, the finding has its implications on human development policies in India that are meant to enhance women’s freedoms and rights. Such actions aim to develop human capabilities and to enhance human freedoms thereby developing them as healthy and psychologically individuals. Women who are prone to such risks are on the top of such efforts that work to improve the well being of women by relieving them of the mental and psychological abuse that is carried out due to their property status. In many areas of India, women do not enjoy freedom and protection particularly in large cities where women may be exposed to societal threats such as rape. Rape is one issue that has quite often been pointed out from time to time by women’s rights movement in India (Forbes, 1999). A recent phenomenon is that of gang rape where women gangs of men perform the criminal act against their victim. Rape is on a rise in India making women feel unsafe to go outside and work. Recent cases of gang rape in major cities including Mumbai and Delhi have stunned not only the Indian community but also women living abroad (Sharma, 2014; BBC, 2014). There are deep psychological implications of incidents such as rape, which is reported to develop in rape victims. Although most NGOs and other institutions endeavor to provide superior medical care to the victims, there is evidence that these victims develop even more stress after being provided medical care (Campbell, 2002). Many rape survivors may develop serious traumatic stress resulting from death threats or threats of injury and serious harm, which can obstruct their recovery. While many women have taken positive steps after the mishap, the task is quite difficult which may put one to depression and a suicidal phase. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is what impacts the immediate primary victim while many others close to the victim become prone to Secondary Traumatic (STS) (Campbell, 2002). Many caregivers, trauma workers, and researchers have also reported a psychological intervention as they worked with rape victims and survivors thereby being haunted by fear, grief, and horror after researching the victims. Many even develop secondary forms of stress as they go along studying their patients as part of the research. Thus, rape has severe impacts on the victim as well as the workers involved in providing care to the victims. The society in India, particularly ones concentrated towards the rural, agrarian areas seem to have held on to old beliefs and traditions of male domination. In such a patriarchal society dominated by males, it is not surprising that many women feel pressed down and discouraged. While the law guarantees women their rights, many women find themselves amidst people pressurizing them to conform to social norms. Since societal norms have been quite deep rooted, women feel psychologically impacted as they face gender inequality and violence making them feel increasingly unsafe, demotivated, dissatisfied, and powerless. Bibliography BBC News. (2014). Delhi rape death penalties upheld. 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