Gender is a common term where as gender discrimination is meant only for women, because females are the only victims of gender discrimination. Females are nearly 50 percent of the total population but their representation in public life is very low. Recognizing women's right and believing their ability are essential for women's empowerment and development. This paper deals with gender discrimination in India, its various forms and causes. Importance of women in devleopment, legislation for women and solution for gender discrimination are also discussed in this paper.gender discrimination, women's development, legislation for women, education, employment, economic independece, empowerment, decision making and self confidence

Sivakumar, Marimuthu

English

Research Papers in Economics

GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT 
IN INDIA 
M.SIVAKUMAR 
Ph.D Scholar in Economics, 
Chikkaiah Naicker College, 
Erode-4. T.N. INDIA 
05.09.2008  
email:sivakumarmarimuthu@yahoo.co.in 
 
ABSTRACT  
 
Gender is a common term where as gender discrimination is meant 
only for women, because females are the only victims of gender 
discrimination. Females are nearly 50 percent of the total population but 
their representation in public life is very low. Recognizing women’s right 
and believing their ability are essential for women’s empowerment and 
development. This study deals with gender discrimination in India, its 
various forms and its causes. Importance of women in development, 
legislation for women and solution for gender discrimination are also 
discussed in this paper.  
 
Key Words: gender discrimination, women’s development, legislation for 
women, education, employment, economic independence, empowerment, 
decision making and self confidence.  
 GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT 
IN INDIA 
Introduction 
 
 
Gender is a common term where as gender discrimination is meant 
only for women, because females are the only victims of gender 
discrimination. Gender discrimination is not biologically determined but 
it is determined by socially and the discrimination can be changed by the 
proper and perpetuate efforts. Denial of equality, rights and opportunity 
and suppresment in any form on the basis of gender is gender 
discrimination. 
 
Half of the world’s population is females. They are doing two-third 
of work of the total work in the world but received only one-tenth of the 
world’s total income. Nearly two-third of the women is illiterates and 
they have possessed only one percent of the total world’s assets. In the 
world only one-fourth of the families are headed by female. India is a 
male dominant society and gender discrimination is customised 
habitually.  
 
Discriminations 
 
 
From web to death females are facing lots of discrimination against 
them. Some of them are   
 Abortion of female gravida with the help of scanning.  
 Feoticide (By giving liquid extract from cactus / opuntia, giving 
raw paddy to new born female baby, by pressing the face by pillow 
or by breaking the female baby’s neck) 
 Not giving enough and nutritious food 
 Not allowing to go to school (Denial of education) 
 Not giving needy health care while in ill health  
 Early marriage  
 Eve teasing, Rape and Sexual harassment  
 Dowry  
 Divorce, Destitution even for silly or without any reason.  
 
Causes of Gender Discrimination  
 
The causes of gender discrimination are  
 
 Educational backwardness 
 Caste 
 Religious beliefs 
 Culture 
 On the name of family history  
 Customs and beliefs 
 Races   Low income 
 Unemployment 
 Society  
 Family situation and  
 Attitudes  
Like male or even above them female plays important role in the 
family and national development. But her contribution is not recognized 
by the male dominant society.  
 
Review of Literature  
 
Sonalde Desai (1994) observed that parents reluctance to educate 
daughters has its roots in the situation of women. Parents have several 
incentives for not educating their daughters. Foremost is the view that 
education of girls brings no returns to parents and that their future roles, 
being mainly reproductive and perhaps including agricultural labor, 
require no formal education.  
 
Kalyani Menon Sen and A.K.Shivakumar (2001) found that girls in India 
are discriminated against in several ways – fewer months of breastfeeding 
less of nurturing and play, less care or medical treatment if they fall ill, 
less of “special” food, less of parental attention. As a result, girls are far 
more susceptible than boys to disease and infections, leading to poor health and a shorter lifespan. It is this life-long discrimination in 
nurturing and care that is the real killer of girls – less visible and 
dramatic, but as unequivocally lethal as female feoticide and infanticide.  
 
Berta Esteve – Volart (2004) described that gender discrimination against 
women in the market place reduces the available talent in an economy, 
which has negative economic consequences. Gender discrimination takes 
many forms. Many social practices seen as normal from a religious or 
cultural point of view (which may have deep historical roots) have 
women out of the economic mainstream. These social practices may have 
profound economic consequences because they do not allow society to 
take advantage of the talent inherent in women.  
 
Anna-Maria Lind (2006) stated that India’s population still leads 
traditional lives in rural areas. Religious laws and traditions still 
determine the lives of many people, particularly women. Even if women 
are formerly entitled to own land and resources social and religious 
factors make many women refrain from this right in order not to cause 
distortions within the family. The preference for having sons permeates 
all social classes in India, which sets the standard for girls throughout 
their entire lives.  
 
 GOI Planning Commission (2008) indicated that discrimination against 
women and girls impinges upon their right to health and manifests itself 
in the form of worsening health and nutrition indices. Thus, India 
continuous to grapple with unacceptably high MMR, IMB, and increasing 
rates of anemia, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS among women. 
 
Julie Mullin (2008) indicated that the developing world is full of poverty 
stricken families who see their daughters as an economic predicament. 
That attitude has resulted in the widespread neglect to baby girls in 
Africa, Asia and South America. In many communities, it’s a regular 
practice to breastfeed girls for a shorter time than boys so that women can 
try to get pregnant again with a boy as soon as possible. As a result, girls 
miss out on life-giving nutrition during a crucial window of their 
development, which stunts their growth and weakens their resistance to 
disease.  
 
 
Importance of Women in Development  
 
Females are nearly 50 per cent of the total population but their 
representation in public life is very low. Woman continues to bear the 
major load of the household work. Her primary role is often viewed by 
the society as housewife.  
 In cardinal goals of democracy “of the people, by the people and 
for the people” cannot be optimically accomplished if the female 
population remains out of political empowerment. Subordination of 
women in society acts a structural constraint to their participation in 
political activities. This constraint operates more or less for all classes 
and communities of women. Prevalent culture which is very complicated 
and often decisions are taken behind the scene may be regarded as 
another constraint in this regard.  
 
Recognising women’s rights and believing their ability are 
essential for women’s empowerment and development. Females should 
realize their own capabilities and potentials which will strengthen their 
self image and foster them with confidence to take action in life. Political 
empowerment does not imply just a right to role silently but to discuss, 
share and empower politics by knowing its pros and cons and thereby to 
influence policies and decision making. 
 
Empowering women is the basic to the basics of human rights 
where she wants neither to beg for power nor search for power hierarchy 
to exercise power against others. On the contrary she demands to be 
accepted as human first of all. She as a person in command of herself and 
for that necessarily all the resources physical, social, economical, political, cultural and spiritual to be equally accessible to her, are pre-
requites for considering the whole question of empowerment.  
 
  Indian society is inherited with male chauvinism but now the 
society has started to realize women’s importance and has being accepted 
women’s empowerment, women as an active agent for development, 
participation in and guiding their own development.  
 
Legislation for Women 
 
  In India, several laws, legislations, policies and institutional 
reforms have been enacted to carry out the gender action plan for the 
development of women. Legislation is an important instrument for 
bringing about a change in the unequal economic and social status in 
India. In pre-independent India, few laws were passed in response to 
social demands and on the basis of humanitarian consideration. They are 
Bengal Sati Regulation Act of 1829 and similar Anti-Sati laws in Madras 
and Bombay, Hindu Widow Remarriage Act 1856, the Hindu Women’s 
Right to Property Act in 1937, (The Muslim Personal Law) the Shariat 
Act 1937 and the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939. 
 
  After Independence, there have been important changes in 
legislation and litigation which have facilitated the increased participation 
of women in political activities as well as in the socio-economic development activities and the increase appear to be more likely at the 
lower level than at the highest centres of decision making.  
 
Article 14 of Indian Constitution says that the state shall not deny 
to any person equality before or equal protection of the law, Article 15 
says that no women can be discriminated against on the ground of sex, 
Article 15 (3) emphasis that the state shall make special provisions for 
women and children and Article 16 provides equality of opportunity in 
matters relating to employment by the state.  
 
  In Article 39(a) emphasis that the citizens men and women equally, 
have the right to an adequate means of livelihood, in Article 39(d) it says 
that the state should secure equal pay for equal work for both men and 
women and in Article 34 it provides that the state shall make provision 
for securing just and humor humane for work and for maternity relief.   
The 73
rd and 74
th Amendments of Indian Constitution in 1993 are 
the milestone in the history of India, which provides lot of powers for the 
local bodies. It paves the way for decentralisation, empowers the poor 
people as well as women.  
 
According to these amendments not less than one third of the seats, 
meant for direct election of members at each tier of Panchayats are to be 
reserved for women and not less than one-third of the seats of chairperson 
at any level reserved for women.    
 
Solution for Gender Discrimination  
 
Various movements, programmes are being carried out by the 
Government, voluntary organizations and by lot of social activities for 
women’s development and against the gender discrimination.  
 
To solve the gender discrimination problem the E
4SD factor would 
be very useful. They E
4SD factors are 
 
1. Education  
 
Education develops the skills, imparts knowledge, changes the 
attitude and improves the self confidence. It provides employment 
opportunity and increases income. Hence educating women is the prime 
factor to combat gender discriminate and for the upliftment of women.  
Not only the female, the society must be educated to give equal 
right for female.  
 
2. Employment  
 
  Employment gives the income and improves the economic position 
of the women. Employed women are given importance by the family 
members. Employment gives the economic independence for the women.   
 
3. Economic Independence  
 
In India, mostly, women in the young age – depends her father, in 
the middle age- she depends on her husband and in the older age – 
depends on her son. Woman always depends on somebody for her 
livelihoods hence, independent in economical aspects are imperative for 
women’s development.  
 
Economic independence will free the women from the slavery 
position and boost the self confidence. Economic independence of 
women also helps in the national economic development.  
 
4. Empowerment  
 
Empowering women with the help of laws, education and 
employment will make the society to accept the women as an equal 
gender like male. Female also has all the potential and empowering 
women will help to use her full capability and mitigate the economic 
dependency of women.  
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Self-confidence  
 
Due to prolonged suppresment, Indian women, an especially 
uneducated and unemployed woman hasn’t had the self-confidence. 
Women need self confidence to fight against all the atrocities against her 
and to live self esteemed life. Hence, boosting the morale and self 
confidence of the women, is the key to eliminate the inferior complex of 
her.  
 
6. Decision Making  
 
  Even in the family as well as in the society the decision making 
power of women is denied. Mostly males make the importance decision 
in the family and in the society. This makes women as voice less and 
destroys herself confidence and she feels less important in the family as 
well as in the society. So, to end gender discrimination women must 
empower with decision making power.  
 
Conclusion  
 
  A nation or society, without the participation of women cannot 
achieve development. If we eliminate gender discrimination, women will 
deliver all the potentials, skills, knowledge to develop the family, the 
nation and the whole world.   
Bibliography  
 
1.  Desai, Sonalde, 1994, “Gender Inequalities and Demographic 
Behaviours : India”, New York, The Population Council, Inc.  
2.  Julie Mullin, 2008, “Gender Discrimination – Why is it still so bad and 
what can you do about it?”, Accessed from www.childerninneed.org 
on 15.08.2008.  
3.  Berta – Esteve – Volast, 2004, “Gender discrimination and Growth: 
Theory and Evidence from India,” London, London School of 
Economics and Political Sciences. 
4.  Anna – Maria Lind, 2006, “Struggle and Development: Approaching 
gender bias in Practical International Development Work”, Orebro, 
Orebro University. 
5.  Kalyani Menon Sen and A.K.Shiva Kumar, 2001, “Women in India, 
How Free? How Equal?”, New Delhi, UNDAF.  
6.  Government of India, 2008, “Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012), 
Vol. II, New Delhi, Planning Commission.  
 
 
    
 
    
 
  

Gender Discrimination – Why is it still so bad and what can you do about it?”, Accessed from www.childerninneed.org on 15.08.2008.

Gender Discrimination and Women's Development in India

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