All over the world, women have to face serious problems such as discrimination and violence, under representation in economic and political decision-making, inequalities in education, health care, landholdings and workplaces and even in human rights.
Some of the important gender issues:
(a) Economic inequality – Participation of women in the labour market is about 28% only. There is also income inequality due to wide gender wage gaps as well as inequality of opportunities to women e.g., unequal access to education and finance. In many countries, women are either not encouraged to work or employed in the informal sector.
Women continue to be underrepresented in high-level, highly paid positions and experience gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Women experience high levels of poverty, unemployment and other economic hardships.
(b) Trafficking and exploitation – Women are often exploited and denied basic rights. They are trafficked for purpose of sexual and economic exploitation particularly prostitution, ‘sold’ as brides, subjected to sexual crimes, forced labour, street begging, etc. Trafficking in women means that they are deceived or forced/sold, physically confined, abused with no access to protection or health care.
(c) Literacy rate – low literacy among women is acute in India. As per 2011 census report, female literacy rate is only 65.46% while for males it is 82.14%.
The reasons for the low female literacy are:
1. traditional patriarchal notions that do not consider female education as economically advantageous
2. Schools in rural areas are not easily accessible and travel may not safe or easy.
3. Benefits of schemes like R.T.E have not reached many rural females.
4. Social evils like child marriage, female foeticide, dowry, etc.
(d) Political Representation – Poor political representation of women is a significant gender concern in India. The First Lok Sabha had only 24 women of total 489 members i.e., 5% and the 17th Lok Sabha (2019) has 78 women (14%). This is the highest representation of women in Lok Sabha till date. The Women’s Reservation Bill which proposes to reserve 33% of all seats in Lok Sabha and in State Assemblies for women is pending in the Lok Sabha. However, there exists 33% reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies.
