Gendered Inequality Against Women in India
“ India has always been an extremely patriarchal society with women expected to work within the household by cooking, cleaning, rearing the children, and tending to their husband’s needs. As a result of this expectation, women are discouraged to voice their opinions on any matters concerning their household and broader community.”
Gender inequality is a serious problem in Indian society. Despite India’s constitution guaranteeing equal rights for both men and women, there are still deep-rooted political, social, and economic inequalities that take a toll on its women’s lives. Across India, gender inequality results in unequal opportunities and treatment for women, causing them to endure social and economic disadvantages that men are exempted from. According to Northwestern University, female participation in labor has dropped to 20% over the last two decades, partly because of a preference for sons in Indian society. Gender inequality stems from a variety of factors, including the patriarchal structure that undergirds Indian society, poverty, a lack of education, and the general lack of awareness about inequality to begin with.Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Patriarchal and misogynistic ideas are deeply rooted in Indian society. The patriarchal values and norms are a result of the caste system and religious inequalities that has historically been ingrained in Indian society. India has always been an extremely patriarchal society with women expected to work within the household by cooking, cleaning, rearing the children, and tending to their husband’s needs. As a result of this expectation, women are discouraged to voice their opinions on any matters concerning their household and broader community. India’s cultural norms train women not to challenge the gender discrimination that leads to their subordination. These norms restrict women from having any aspirations after marriage and confine them to gendered expectations such as remaining “pure” until marriage, an expectation rarely applied to men.
Another issue that causes such drastic inequality in India is the gender disparity in literacy rates and access to proper education in rural, more impoverished regions of the country. Because of high rates of poverty and the woeful lack of free schooling in lesser-developed parts of India, most families there choose only to send their sons to school as they are expected to be the main breadwinners.
An additional barrier to equality is the frequent sexual assault that men, who believe themselves to be superior, commit against their female counterparts. According to data taken in 2019, at least one rape is reported every seventeen minutes in India. An example that illustrates the compounding persecution that sexual violence enacts upon women is when a fifteen-year-old girl was allegedly burned by her cousin’s mother after the cousin had raped and impregnated her in October of 2022. The cousin’s mother had found the girl pregnant and decided to pour kerosene on her and set it alight as punishment for having sex before marriage. The girl’s horrid experience clearly demonstrates India’s irrevocable hierarchy of power that leaves women at the bottom. Furthermore, in mid-December of 2022, a similar case of sexual violence occurred in which eight men were arrested for the gang rape of a sixteen-year-old girl in the western state of Maharashtra. The girl was forcibly taken at night to a vacant bungalow where the eight men took turns raping her until the next morning. While the eight men were arrested, the frequency of incidents of sexual violence and rape is unlikely to wane anytime soon until the dominant view among men that they deserve greater power in society diminishes.
Given the treatment of Indian women as second-class citizens, the issue will need to solved through the creation of strict, enforceable laws that guarantee protection from sexual assault and fair access to education and employment opportunities. More importantly, however, greater awareness must be spread within India and other countries about the extent of the problem. Various organizations are working towards spreading awareness about women’s equality and women’s rights such as Women India Trust and Care India. The awareness campaigns of these organizations have the potential to create a mindset change among men and women in India, a change that is fundamental to improving women’s rights. With their own funds, the organizations themselves can directly provide more economic and educational opportunities to women by raising money to fund programs.
With time, Indian society has the potential to change for the better but, in the meantime, the immense gender inequality that pervades it will remain a thorn on the side of Indian women. Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
