Advent
Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power, predominating in the roles of political leadership, moral authority, sole privilege, and control of property. In addition, they retain power at the level of the family, as father figures. Many patriarchal societies are also patrimonial, meaning that the male lineage inherits property and name. Here, the woman’s chance is a matriarchy. Traditionally, patriarchy has manifested itself in the social, criminal, political, and economic systems of a variety of different cultures. The assessment of patriarchy and its effects is a major topic in the social sciences and humanities. In recent times, patriarchy is a well-known term. It has a constant resonance, when used in informal communication or in a descriptive sense, whether in English or in any of the several languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. At its most effective, the term means “the absolute rule of the father or the eldest male member over his family.”
The Patriarchal Nature of Indian Society
Indian debates on socialism and patriarchy are complicated by a significant shift in analysis. The subject of research and debates ceased to be just capitalism and its courtship of patriarchy. Instead, patriarchy came to be discussed in the sense of modes of production and reproduction, specific to Indian realities. These were understood in relation to family and household, kinship and caste, way of life and religion, and the Indian nation, whose rules have a dynamic projection on all other social structures. The Indian dialogue addressed and brought its concerns into the broader feminist arguments.
Indian feminist assessment and arguments linked the family and the economy to show how men’s financial power and their dominance of production were crucially related to, and determined by, the family employer and the family. The family consequently emerged as an important component of both production and patriarchy.
The sphere of reproduction came to be understood in terms of a sex-gender system, which related to particular social structures and relations – in this case, kinship networks. Along with the family, kinship networks were seen as central to the exercise of male power within family and social contexts, as well as to a woman’s reputation, or lack thereof, in the home and outside it.
Both production and replicas have been seen as related to the exploitation of human labour on the one hand, and of women’s reproductive capacity on the other. The caste system came to be seen as central to both types of exploitation and as linking them in specific ways, and it has been argued that there are distinct caste patriarchies in India.
Discussions on capitalism and the subordination of women often became debates on the developments and position of contemporary states. This led to the theorization of the state as patriarchal and as a potential rival to patriarchy.
Various researches are available documenting the same. Their invisibility, the position of women within the social, political and economic machine, is surely a further result of the ideology that governs public policy with regard to women. Women are therefore also especially absent from discussions on development principles.
Women in Indian Society
India is one of the countries where the female population is less than the male population ratio. According to the UNICEF India report on child sex ratio, the birth rate of girls is steadily declining. Figures from 1991 confirmed that the sex ratio was 947 females per 1,000 children. By 1991, 80% of all districts in India had a declining sex ratio, with Punjab being the worst in terms of data. States such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have recorded a decline of more than 50 points in child sex ratios over the same period. Kerala is the only state in India where the overall sex ratio consistently favours females. However, at present, the figures have started to improve.
The Status of Women in India
Women constitute about half of the population of the United States of America, but their situation has been grim. For hundreds of years, they were intentionally denied opportunities to prosper in the name of religion and socio-cultural practices. At the socio-political level, women suffer from denial of freedom even in their homes, unnatural repression and indoctrination, unequal and inferior popularity, rigid caste hierarchy, and even being untouchable. Religious lifestyle and social institutions have a profound influence on the role and status of women.
Protest movements in the Hindu fold, such as Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnavism, Veera Shaivism, and Sikhism, contributed to some development in the fame of women. Particularly with regard to religious sports. But, they endured treating women, usually as mothers and wives, not as well as men within the society. Since the mid-19th century, reformist movements like Brahma Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, etc. championed women’s rights, but nothing concrete was done. It is also enormous that the upliftment of women became a vital goal in MK Gandhi’s agenda.
Exploitation of Women
In Indian society, women have been victims of humiliation, torture and exploitation. There are many instances of rape, murder, dowry, burning, wife-beating and discrimination in society. Men predominate in Indian society. Consequently, women are victims of male domination in the respective sphere of life; especially in financial life, in the excessive selection of resources, in the use of their income and body. For this reason, a woman’s life lies between pleasures at one extreme and danger at the other.
Vulnerability of Women
The condition of women is more depressing in rural India with respect to various socio-economic factors:
Poverty: Poverty is one of the essential features of India, and nearly 45% of rural human beings are below the poverty line. Most of them are simply surviving on their daily earnings. If we take into account the world poverty line (1994), in India, 47% of the population has less than $1 per evening class and 87.5% has less than $2 per evening class. Better healthcare and better educational opportunities go a long way to achieve the dreams of their children. She (girl) is treated as a “silent lamb” born to suffer all the ills in male-dominated societies.
Violence: Culture and tradition have bound Indian society together from ancient times. The patriarchal device and gender stereotypes within the family and society have continuously shown a preference for the male child. Children came as a method of social security and women remained under male domination. Due to her subordinate position, she has suffered from fears of discrimination, exploitation and subjugation. She has become a victim of several social evils like child marriage, sati, polygamy, purdah system, infanticide of female children, forced pregnancy, rape, etc.
In such incidents, usually, the mother-in-law of the woman also has a role to play. This discrimination and violence against women also affects the sex ratio in India. The main causes of violence are unequal power relations, gender discrimination, patriarchy and financial dependence of women, lack of participation in the decision-making process, etc.
Economic Exploitation: In the international world, women and girls together bear thirds of the burden of industrial work but earn one-tenth of the world’s income. The circumstances of women in India are also dismal in all areas of social life. They receive half the money earned by their male counterparts for the same activity. In India, a predominantly agricultural country, women perform more than half of the total agricultural work. However, their work is not always valued. Typically, a woman worked 15 to 16 hours a day without pay at home and was poorly paid outside the home.
Educational deprivation: In India, the literacy rate for women is much lower than that of men because boys receive more education than girls. India is one of 43 countries in the world where the literacy rate for men is at least 15% better than that of women. Educational deprivation is closely linked to poverty.
But, in India, modest progress is taking place in the academic level of women. After independence, many steps were taken to increase the number of women. The present government programme “Beti Bachao, Beti Padao” is also a great step by the government to fulfil the need and aspiration of the girl child. Many laws have also been passed. A national commission for women was set up in 1992 to act as a watchdog for women’s issues. Many programmes were initiated in the areas of education, health and employment to improve the status of women, both rural and urban.The assessment of women’s fame in India tells the story of a fall in women’s fame to an abysmally low level from a fairly high popularity and notoriety of Vedic times. The fall in popularity has led to socio-economic and spiritual-cultural deprivation of women.Of course, there are certain initiatives in the US, especially after independence, to increase women’s fame. However, there is still a long way to go to achieve the goal of gender equality.
Women’s rights are human rights
We are all entitled to human rights. These include the right to live free from violence and discrimination, to enjoy the best attainable standard of physical and mental health, to be informed, to own property, to vote and to earn equal pay.
Yet, around the world, many girls and women continue to experience discrimination based on sex and gender. Gender inequality underlies many problems that disproportionately affect girls and women, such as domestic and sexual violence, lower wages, lack of access to education and inadequate health care.
For decades, girls’ rights movements have fought hard to address this inequality, campaigning to change laws or taking to the streets to demand that their rights be respected.
The future of women’s rights
After a long period of improvements in women’s formal education, economic participation and political leadership, progress in many countries has slowed in recent years, due to slowing development in some areas at odds with higher-level human development goals, deep-rooted views on the role of women in some countries and the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes are likely to remain a problem for gender equality in some regions for years to come. Some surveys and research show that such attitudes may also change over generational periods, with the potential for faster change due to societal disruption, along with wars and possibly the pandemic. Increased access to the internet and e-commerce platforms over the years could also enable more women in more places to push for greater equality, as well as improve their chances of employment and higher levels of education, but it could also facilitate repression by authoritarian regimes.
Judicial Preceding
Some of the most prevalent and emblematic cases are:
Shah Bano vs. Union of India: This case is a landmark judgment with regard to the rights of Muslim women. It laid down the law and position related to their right to maintenance after divorce.
Lalita Kumari vs. State of Uttar Pradesh: It is mandatory to file FIR under Section 154 of the Code if the information reveals the commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permitted in such a case. If the information does not reveal a cognizable offence but suggests the need for an inquiry, a formal inquiry will be conducted.
Vishakha vs. State of Rajasthan: The Supreme Court gave comprehensive guidelines with regard to sexual harassment at the workplace by exercising the role of judicial activism.
Shahyara Bano vs. Union of India: It declared the practice of Triple Talaq unconstitutional by a majority of 3:2 and directed the legislature to take action against it to stop abuse against women.
Joseph Shine vs Union of India: Adultery was no longer a crime and was decriminalised and was only grounds for divorce
Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India: The court struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
Laxmi vs Union of India: The victim of acid attacks is entitled to compensation of at least three lakh rupees, under the government’s Victim Compensation Scheme, which also laid down a consistent method for paying compensation. It was emphasised that no facility, not even a private hospital, could deny medical care to the victim. When hospitals lack equipment, the victim must first be given primary care before being transferred to the appropriate hospital.
Indian Young Lawyers Association and Others vs State of Kerala and Others: The Supreme Court has ruled that women, of all age groups, can enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The Supreme Court, by a 4:1 majority, said the temple practice violates the rights of Hindu women and that barring women from entering the shrine is gender discrimination.
Conclusion
It may seem obvious, but we cannot have a free and equal society until everyone is free and equal. Until women enjoy the same rights as men, this inequality will not be anyone’s problem. According to the UN, “gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is not just a goal in itself, but a key to sustainable development, economic growth, and peace and security.” Studies have shown that this is true: society improves for everyone when women’s rights are respected and taken seriously. While grassroots movements have done much to bring about change, if someone comes together to support women’s rights, we can be much stronger. By working with activists and social activists on the ground, as well as running our own focused campaigns, movements like Amnesty International can shape a powerful vanguard in the fight for women’s rights.
Contributed By: Diwanshi Arya (Intern)