Gender stratification
is evident in every culture and society in the
world. Some things are masculine others are feminine,
some work is women’s work, some responsibilities
are women’s responsibilities, even major
religions of the world assign different social
responsibilities to men and women. The differential
evaluation of people’s social worth primarily
on the basis of sex is the key aspect of gender
stratification. Such views become a characteristic
of the entire social system leading to unequal
distribution of power, prestige and property.
Gender inequality affects every aspect of culture
and society. Its affect is most prominent in family
structure, the education system and the economy.
Just like social class systems, gender is a structural
feature of society.
As a result of gender stratification the universal
status of men is higher than women. Therefore
men enjoy a greater allocation of societal resources
of power, prestige, and property. Since the status
of women is universally subordinate to men in
the society, women in the United States and India
are no different. However, variations on the basis
of the institutional spheres are obvious when
we compare the status of women in the United States
and women in India. In the United States and India
different structures relating to family, politics,
religion, law and economic system exists. Moreover
both countries have different cultural heritages
and religious backgrounds. India has a distinct
culture and traditions, while America is striving
towards cultural integration, modernization and
liberalization. In recent years India has made
efforts to become a modern and liberal state,
free from its traditional past, but such efforts
have been undermined by the exponential growth
in population and poverty.
156 years ago women in the United States organized
to fight for their civil rights. The Women’s
Rights Movement in the United States began in
1848 with the objective of removing gender inequalities
in the American society. They believed that the
Declaration of Independence gave women equal rights
which were being continuously denied to them.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton said, "We hold these
truths to be self-evident; that all men and women
are created equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable rights; that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness. The history of mankind is a history
of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part
of man toward woman, having in direct object the
establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.
To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid
world” Stanton then enumerated areas of
life where women were treated unjustly. During
those times women were not allowed to vote, married
women were legally dead in the eyes of the law,
married women had no property rights, husbands
could imprison or beat their wives with impunity,
women had no rights regarding child custody and
divorce, most job opportunities were available
to men only and women who worked were paid very
low wages, the professions of medicine and law
barred female entries and colleges and Universities
would not accept women applicants, and the church
did not favor women participation in religious
affairs. After the first Women’s Rights
Convention, the media and press launched a massive
attack on the Convention’s resolution, chief
among them was the demand for suffrage. However,
the negative publicity actually made the American
people more aware of the issues relating to gender
discrimination and inequality. (Living the Legacy)
Before the First World War few women worked
and all respectable and important jobs were reserved
for men. However after the World War I began in
1914 the men went to the battle fields and government
and corporations were forced to employ women workers.
The notion that a women’s place was at home
was soon forgotten. Women now worked in heavy
metal and chemical factories, in banks, businesses
and civil service and women also worked as engineers,
electricians, bus drivers and plumbers. Such jobs
were unthinkable for women before the advent of
the WWI. People in the United States realized
that women were just as skilled as men. On 26
August 1920 women over 21 years of age were allowed
to vote for the fist time in the United States.
For the women of America this was the first step
in the direction of liberalization and improvement
of women’s status in the society.
The civil rights movement in the 1960s questioned
the status of women in the society; the demand
for equal rights became a national cry. In 1964
the Civil Rights Act was passed. The act prohibited
discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion,
and national origin. Consequently, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission was established in order
to investigate discriminatory complaints. After
the failure of EEOC to address employment issues
the National Organization for Women pursued gender
segregation of jobs all the way to the Supreme
Court. Now women can hold any job and all employers
are required to be equal opportunity employers
accept in some justifiable circumstances. In 1972
the Education Code declared that higher education
and professional schools grant equal access to
all American citizens. Today issues of a more
complex nature are being discussed by women rights
organizations and there are differences of opinions
within women rights organizations regarding issues
such as abortion, enrollment in the military,
surrogate motherhood and sexual harassment. (Living
the Legacy)
Such a history of women’s rights movement
does not exist in India. Efforts by Amnesty International,
National Commission for Women and other women’s
rights organizations only began during the 1980s.
During the 1980s women’s rights organizations
in India brought about legal reforms regarding
domestic violence and rape. But the Gujarat riots
in 2002 proved that the government had failed
to improve upon and implement women’s rights
laws. Unlike the Women’s Rights Movement
in the United States, the movement in India was
not helped by democracy after the Revolution,
the World Wars and a highly progressive economy.
India was colonial state and women’s rights
were not a matter of concern for the British rulers
who were busy negotiating with the independence
movement of India. During the mid 20th Century
India was going through a political revolution
which did not have anything to do with women’s
rights. Furthermore, India was a nation which
had deep routed cultural traditions unlike the
United States. Many of these traditions were of
a religious nature such as the concept of Dowry,
Sati, female circumcision, and above all women
were the property of men and men had freedom to
treat their women in any way they wished to do
so.
When India, Pakistan and Bangladesh broke away
from the previously united Subcontinent; a new
wave of violence against women began during the
partition. Women in Punjab were raped, marched
naked in the street and all over India women were
robed of their properties and subjected to violence.
Since the Partition India has passed various laws
to shun violence against women and secure their
rights, but however progressive the Indian Government
seems to be regarding the passage of new legislation,
the implementation of such laws is another story.
The Indian people of Gujarat demonstrate just
how primitive they were when a new wave of violence
and riots occurred in 2002. Women were raped,
mutilated, burned or killed by angry mobs. More
women were subjected to violence and murder during
the riots than men. In 2002 India turned a blind
eye to the UN declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women which demands that states
must, "exercise due diligence to prevent,
investigate and, in accordance with national legislation,
punish acts of violence against women, whether
those acts are perpetrated by the State or by
private persons.” (Adhikar, Mahila Jan Samiti)
India has been a member of the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
since 1968 and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights since 1979. The current Indian
constitution sets out fundamental civil rights
for all its citizens without discrimination of
any form. Discrimination on the grounds of religion,
race, caste, sex or place of birth is prohibited
and positive discrimination is made by the law
for groups identified as vulnerable in the society.
The vulnerable groups include castes, schedules
tribes and women. (Adhikar, Mahila Jan Samiti)
The Indian government has also pursued political
empowerment of women and now in Rajasthan for
example there are 3000 women village heads or
Sarpanches and 33000 elected women representatives
on Panchayats. At the central level the 73rd Constitutional
Amendment, 1992 includes a provision for statutory
minimum reservation of 33% seats for women in
Panchayati Raj. India has had women Prime Ministers
and Governors and now Indian women are entering
jobs which were previously only reserved for men.
Phenomenal progress has been made by women in
the fields of medicine and computer technologies.
Despite such progress crimes against women has
been increasing over the years.
According to Crime Records Bureau’s figures
for 1998 crimes against women constituted of rape,
kidnapping, dowry death, mental and physical "torture",
molestation, sexual harassment and trafficking.
In comparison to the 1998 figures crimes in Rajasthan
had increased by 6.9% in 1999. It is important
to note that most crimes in India involving female
victims are not reported to the police. Indian
people hide crime so that they can ‘save
face’ in the society. It is very difficult
for a rape victim to get married or get a job
in India. The Indian society it seems imposes
a label of inferiority on female criminal victims.
(Adhikar, Mahila Jan Samiti)
Sati (widow or bride burning) was officially
banned in India in 1829 (banned again in 1956
and 1987) but it is still being practiced in rural
India. However, the practice of widow sati is
now rare and only isolated incidents of such practice
occur. Issues of more importance are the custom
of dowry, female infanticide, prostitution and
sexual harassment. Dowry is the insurance which
the bride’s family gives as a wedding present
to the bride in the event the bride’s in-laws
mistreat her. The modern concept dowry has nothing
to do insurance, it is just the payment demanded
by the groom for the expenses of marrying and
sustaining the bride. Dowry was legally prohibited
in 1961 but such prohibition has done nothing
to diminish the highly institutionalized custom
of dowry. If the dowry demanded is not collected
then often the bride is burned alive and such
cases are reported as the consequence of arson
or suicide. The non-reporting of such crimes is
probably the reason for few official reports regarding
sati. In 1988 2,209 women were victims of sati
or bride burning and in 1990 the number killed
was 4,835. 90% of cases involving heavily burnt
females are recorded as accidents, 5% as suicide
and the remaining 5% are investigated as murders.
Convictions relating to dowry burning cases are
rare and every year government figures of dowry
burning increasing. (Dowry in India)
Domestic violence is a very common crime in
India. It is almost never reported but social
workers in India have confirmed the existence
and enormity of this problem. Husbands are the
most frequent offenders, they deny their wives
the right to socialize, often wives are subjected
to physical abuse and husbands in India believe
that their wives are merely their servants. Prostitution
is also increasing as the population expands in
India. Many Indian people are so poor that they
have to sell their organs like kidneys in order
to survive. Many poor women have no alternative
but to turn to prostitution to make a living.
As a result of systematic gender discrimination
in India almost 50 million females are ‘missing’.
The reason for such a figure is that families
prefer male children over female children. That
way they would not have to go through the hardships
of providing dowry. Now modern medical procedures
are offered even in the rural areas for the removal
of female fetuses. Catchy ads like spend Rs. 300
now to save Rs. 30000 in future are displayed
doctors who run businesses to perform such abortions.
(Abortion, Female Infanticide)
The United States is not as traditional as India.
The women rights movement in US once focused on
male dominance in families and the expectation
on women but even then women rights abuses were
not as common or acute as they are in India. Women
in India just want their basic rights to recognized,
the women US however are fighting a battle within
the corporate structure of business and politics.
Crimes relating to sexual harassment, domestic
violence and rape do occur in the United States
but they are not so common and uninhibited as
they are in India. The US did not have to fight
a war against dowry and sati. India has chosen
a road to female emancipation but only on paper.
Musch needs to be done.
Sources:
1. Adhikar, Mahila Jan Samiti. INDIA The battle
against fear and discrimination. The impact of
violence against women in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Amnesty International USA. Retrieved from http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/india/document.do?id=07E5CCBC16DD97C280256A320052B7CA.
2. Prostitution in India. Retrieved from http://www.indianchild.com/prostitution_in_india.htm.
3. Dowry in India. Retrieved from http://www.indianchild.com/dowry_in_india.htm.
4. Abortion, Female Infanticide, Foeticide, Son
preference in India. Retrieved from http://www.indianchild.com/abortion_infanticide_foeticide_india.htm.
5. Living the Legacy: The Women’s Rights
Movement 1848 – 1998. History of the Movement.
Retrieved from http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html.
6. Coonrod Carol S. Chronic Hunger and Status
of Women in India (June 1998).
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