Atrocity against women Dr. Kar Sunirmal Livelihood Development Officer, DRD Cell, Burdwan, (Under the Deptt. of Panchayats & Rural Development, Govt. of West Bengal) Online published on 7 June, 2014. Abstract The status of women in a society indicates its level of progress. However it is affected by certain macro forces as economic development, political participation, and ideological observations. It is also shaped by the norms and values society lies down with regard to women's behaviour. It has gone through several changes during various historical periods. The women were less literate, more unemployed, less visible in the authority structure, more prone to diseases and suffered more from barriers of customs and patriarchal norms and values. The year 1975 was observed as the International Women's Year and 1975 – 1985 as the International Women's decade and March, 8 is observed as the International Women's day each year. Women's rights are human rights and should be treated as such. Gender equality and equity are integral parts of our thought and culture. Gender bias works against females since infancy. The law ensures the minimum age of marriage of men (21 years) and Women (18 years). Child Marriage is a common feature in our society. It is more common in villages and among the illiterates. Dowry system is very common in the Indian society. The Rural people still believe in many superstitions. Sometimes women are to be declared as ‘witches’ or ‘Daynis’ by the ‘Sadhu’ and ‘Tantrik’ and forced to die to get rid of evil sprits. There is a lower enrolment of girls in schools and higher dropout rate. The incidence of dropout and stagnation amongst girl is nearly twice that of boys. Malnutrition and anemia are the prime cause of this lower health status and lower health status manifests itself in lower life expectancy, higher rate of mortality, morbidity and lower levels of productivity. Trafficking is also a serious problem. Women continue to face the harsh realities of eve teasing & rape. Underreporting is one of the main problems in these cases because of social bearers. The Government of India has brought about specific legislation to protect and safeguard the rights of women. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts of 1993 mark historic events in the advancement of Indian women. The major policy initiatives undertaken by the Department in the recent past include the establishment of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK), adoption of National Nutrition Policy (NNP), strengthening of ICDS, setting up of National Creche Fund (NCF) and several other programme for women. But unless mass literacy and financial independence, are achieved the betterment of the situation is not possible. This is an attempt to discuss various problems faced by the women and the role of Government in this regard. Top Keywords Dowry, equality, government, literacy, superstition, Women. Top |