The Challenges in Being a Woman in India
Jordan Ginsburg
Women around the world face a variety of challenges due exclusively to their gender. In India recent social and political movements have won women greater rights and equality such as laws passed to ban child marriage. However, it would be an overstatement to say that Indian women do not still continue to face major challenges to their wellbeing and survival.
Violence against women is one of the biggest and most dangerous issues facing Indian women today. In a study done in India, on about 10000 women, 26 per cent reported having experienced physical violence from spouses during their lifetime. Violence against women, especially domestic violence, often goes unreported due to a lack of resources and the reality of the failure of various health and safety institutions to properly assist victims. Violence against women not only affects women’s physical health, but also has disastrous effects on their mental health as well. PTSD, depression, and suicide are just a few of the mental effects that the rampant violence against women causes. In order to work to combat this condition there needs to be greater access to health and mental health resources given to women in India as well as advocacy and education provided to women on how to report violence and seek safety as well as to all Indians on how to help women experiencing violence.
Gender discrimination is another major challenge which needs to be addressed in India. An estimated 239,000 girls under the age of five die in India each year due to neglect linked to gender discrimination. Part of these deaths includes infant girls, as there is a preference for sons in Indian society. A lack of proper healthcare, nutrition, and vaccinations given to girls is also a big part of this neglect. While work has been put into providing better political rights and employment opportunities towards women, more attention needs to be drawn towards combating the cultural and societal standards that result in girls dying before they can even reach adulthood.
A final issue I will mention, although there are many more challenges Indian women face then just these three, is the wage gap in India. According to the Monster Salary Index (MSI) published in March 2019, women in India earn 19% less than men. The survey revealed that the median gross hourly salary for men in India in 2018 was ₹242.49 and just ₹196.3 for women, meaning that men earned ₹46.19 more on average. Women not only earn less than men for the same jobs, but they also are often employed in lower paying jobs due to employment discrimination and lack of access to the same education as men. Therefore, a combination of expansion in women’s access to education and enforcement of strong wage equality and hiring laws is needed to help combat this issue.
While India has certainly come a long way in working to improve women’s lives, the fight for women’s equality and well-being is far from over. Violence against women, gender discrimination, and the wage gap are three major challenges, of many, which need to be worked towards ending. A combination of Indian government actions, work from non-profit groups like HGC, and support from Indian citizens is needed to build a society where women are safe and valued.
In terms of the work HGC can do to help combat challenges facing women in India, I have a two key suggestions.
build a girls’ school in Bihar as it is the least literate state in India.
build a mental health clinic in Kolkata to help women affected by domestic violence.