Impact of Education on Domestic Violence and Development of Women through Education
INTRODUCTION
You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.
- Jawaharlal Nehru
“Literary education is of no value, if it is not able to build up a sound character.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Education has been regarded as the most significant instrument for changing women’s subjugated position in the society. It not only develops the personality and rationality of individuals, but qualifies them to fulfill certain economic, political and cultural functions and thereby improves their socio-economic status. One of the direct expectations from educational development in a society is the reduction in the inequality among individuals and that is why Education was included as the basic right of every human being in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The constitution of UNESCO also directs its efforts to achieve `The ideal of equality of educational opportunity without regard to race, sex or any distinction, economic or social’.
Domestic Violence (sometimes referred to as domestic abuse or spousal abuse) occurs when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. Domestic violence often refers to violence between spouses, or spousal abuse but can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures; people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes can be perpetrators of domestic violence. Domestic violence is perpetrated by both men and women, occurring in both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships.
What Is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is controlling behaviour and includes all kinds of physical, sexual and emotional abuse within all kinds of intimate relationships. The perpetrators of domestic violence or abuse are usually men and the victims or survivors are usually women and children that they know. It includes:
• Punching and slapping
• Kicking and hair pulling
• Biting and pinching
• Pushing and shoving
• Being forced to have sex
• Being beaten or cut with other objects
• Disrespect, neglect and emotional blackmail
• Verbal abuse and swearing
• Being prevented from going out or seeing people – being isolated
• Lying, harassment and putting pressure on you through threats
1:4 women experience domestic violence at some point in their lives and 1:10 will be experiencing domestic violence today
WOMEN VIOLENCE IN DIFFERENT STATES OF INDIA
Over 37 per cent married women in the country were victims of physical or sexual abuse by their husbands with Bihar topping the list. Women in Himachal Pradesh faced less violence at home compared to other states in the country. The latest National Family Health Survey-III found that 37.2 per cent women had experienced violence and cited lack of education as the key reason behind their woes. “Women with no education were much more likely than other women to have suffered spousal violence. However, spousal abuse also extends to women who have secondary or higher secondary level education, with 16 per cent reporting abuse,” the survey said.
The survey showed that countrywide more women face violence in rural areas (40.2) as compared to those in the urban areas (30.4).
In Bihar, women in urban areas fared worse than those in rural areas. While 62.2 per cent underwent the trauma in urban areas, it was 58.5 per cent women in villages.
It is followed by Rajasthan (46.3) Madhya Pradesh (45.8), Tripura (44.1), Manipur (43.9), Uttar Pradesh (42.4), Tamil Nadu (41.9), West Bengal (40.3) and Arunachal Pradesh (38.8).
Among the metros, the fairer sex was better off in Delhi (16.3) and Mumbai (19.5) recorded relatively low percentage as compared to Chennai (40.6) and Kolkata (26.7).
Nearly, 17 per cent women in Goa have experienced violence, with 17.2 women in rural areas at the receiving end as compared to 16.4 per cent women in urban areas.
In Chhattisgarh, a total of 30 per cent women suffered at the hands of their husbands, while in Jharkhand, the figure was 37 per cent. About 40.8 per cent women in Jharkhand villages found the going tough as compared to 24.6 per cent in the urban areas.
In the hill state of Uttarakhand, nearly 28 per cent women experienced violence, with those in villages (29.8) fared worse than their urban counterparts (22.8). After Himachal Pradesh, women fared relatively better in Jammu and Kashmir (12.6), Meghalaya (13.1), Nagaland (15.4), Sikkim (16.5) and Kerala (16.4).
Other states where women find themselves vulnerable are Assam (39.6), Arunachal Pradesh (38.8), Orissa (38.5), Maharashtra (30.7), Andhra Pradesh (35.2), Haryana (27.3), Gujarat (27.6) Punjab (25.4), Mizoram (22.5) and Karnataka (20).
CRIME AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA
· One crime against women every three minutes
· One rape every 29 minutes
· One dowry death case every 77 minutes
· One case of cruelty by husband and relatives every nine minutes
· Once suicide every 240 minutes.
Source: National Crime Records Bureau
CHILD VIOLENCE
Children are the nation’s assets. A happy child will make his/her home and the country happy. The future of any country depends upon the right upbringing of its children, for which a congenial environment and adequate opportunities for wholesome development are essential.
According to UNICEF’s “The State of the World’s Children,” report for 2006, one-third of the world’s children lack adequate shelter, 31% lack basic sanitation and 21% have no access to clean, potable water. Illness, malnutrition, and premature death are common when children lack the most basic protection.
A government commissioned survey has found that more than 53 per cent of children in India are subjected to sexual abuse, but most don’t report the assaults to anyone.
The survey, released last April and which covered different forms of child abuse physical, sexual and emotional as well as female child neglect, found that two out of every three children have been physically abused.
Parents and relatives, persons known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility were mostly found to be the perpetrators of child sexual abuse in the country. According to the women and child development ministry-sponsored report, which assumes greater significance in the backdrop of the Nithari killings that brought into focus the issue of children’s safety, those in the age group of 5-12 years reported higher levels of abuse.
While releasing the survey, Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury said, “Child abuse is shrouded in secrecy and there is a conspiracy of silence around the entire subject. The ministry is working on a new law for protection of children’s rights by clearly specifying offences against children and stiffening punishments.”
The survey carried out across 13 states and with a sample size of 12,447, revealed that 53.22 per cent of children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse, with Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Delhi reporting the highest percentage of such incidents. In 50 per cent of child abuse cases, the abusers were known to the child or were in a position of trust and responsibility and most children did not report the matter to anyone.
The survey, sponsored by WCD ministry and carried out by the NGO Prayas in association with UNICEF and Save the Children, found that more than 50 per cent children were subjected to one or the other form of physical abuse and more boys than girls were abused physically. The first-ever survey on child abuse in the country disclosed that nearly 65 per cent of school children reported facing corporal punishment beatings by teachers mostly in government schools.
Of children physically abused in families, in 88.6 per cent of the cases, it was the parents who were the perpetrators. More than 50 per cent had been sexually abused in ways that ranged from severe such as rape or fondling to milder forms of molestation that included forcible kissing.
The study also interviewed 2,324 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, almost half of whom reported being physically or sexually abused as children. When it comes to emotional abuse, every second child was subjected to emotional assault and in 83 per cent of the cases, parents were the abusers.
Children living with domestic violence may:
• Express behavioural problems.
• Be more likely to truant or have difficulties at school.
• Turn to alcohol or drugs.
• Self-harm or attempt suicide.
According to the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) of Children living with domestic violence:
Ø 100% are emotionally abused.
Ø 48% are psychologically abused.
Ø 26% are physically abused.
Ø 13% are accidentally injured.
Ø 7% are sexually abused.
Recent figures from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show that:
v Globally, 1 in 6 children work.
v 218 million children aged 5 – 17 are involved in child labour world wide.
v 126 million children work in hazardous conditions.
v The highest numbers of child labourers are in the Asia/Pacific region, where there are 122 million working children.
v The highest proportion of child labourers is in Sub Saharan Africa, where 26% of children (49 million) are involved in work.
DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION
Education is the process of instruction aimed at the all round development of boys and girls. Education dispels ignorance. It is the only wealth that cannot be robbed. Learning includes the moral values and the improvement of character and the methods to increase the strength of mind.
Once the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru said, “you can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women”. This is absolutely true. Woman of any nation is the mirror to its civilization. If women enjoy good status it shows that the society has reached a level of maturity and sense of responsibility while a decadent image conjures up if the opposite is true. The story of Indian women is as old as the history of Indian civilization.
Kumud Sharma of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies in New Delhi traced the correlation between education and domestic violence to patriarchal attitudes. “Educated women are aware of their rights,” she said. “They are no longer willing to follow commands blindly. When they ask questions, it causes conflicts, which, in turn, leads to violence. In many Indian states, working women are asked to hand over their paycheck to the husband and have no control over their finances. So, if they stop doing so or start asserting their right, there is bound to be friction.”
Female Literacy in India
According to last census held in 2001, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54.16%. The literacy rate in the country has increased from 18.33% in 1951 to 65.38% as per 2001 census. The female literacy rate has also increased from 8.86% in 1951 to 54.16%. It is noticed that the female literacy rate during the period 1991-2001 increased by 14.87% whereas male literacy rate rose by 11.72%. Hence the female literacy rate actually increased by 3.15% more compared to male literacy rate.
WOMEN UNIVERSITIES IN INDIA
Ø Andhra Pradesh
Sri Padmavati University, Tirupati
Ø Delhi
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Lajpat Nagar
Ø Maharashtra
SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai
Ø Rajasthan
Banasthali Vidyapith, Banasthali
Ø Tamil Nadu
Stella Maris College, Chennai
Women’s Christian College, Chennai
Madura College, Madurai
It is necessary to establish some more universities and colleges for women in India. Education is a solution for any type of problem in the society. Education gives strength, power and character. Education helps to improve economic position also in the society.
The number of women job seekers has increased from 99.3 lacs in 1999 to 106.1 lacs in 2004. Thus the percentage of women job seekers to the total job-seekers has also increased from 24.6per cent in 1999 to 26.2per cent in 2004.
Table 1: Number of Women Job Seekers
Year
Number of Women (in lacs)
Percentage to total
1999
99.3
24.6
2000
104.5
25.3
2001
108.8
25.9
2002
106.0
25.9
2003
107.5
26.0
2004
106.1
26.0
Number of Educated Women Job Seekers as on December 2004 was 7537.7 thousand. Educated Women at the end of 2004 accounted for 25.8per cent of the total educated job-seekers.
Table 2: Number of Educated Women Job Seekers
Year
Number of Women
Percentage to total
2000
7911.7
27.1
2001
8525.6
28.1
2002
7921.4
26.8
2003
8032.4
26.6
2004
7537.7
25.8
Vision of National Commission for Women
Dr.( Miss. ) Girija Vyas took over as Chairperson of the National Commission for Women on 16th February, 2005.
The Indian Women of Today Culturally rooted, Globally oriented Healthy, Educated, Self Reliant Secure in her Home and Safe Outside With Access to all the Rights of a Citizen With Opportunity to Contribute in all walks of life.
MODERN INDIAN WOMEN
The status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. If on one hand she is at the peak of ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the violence afflicted on her by her own family members. As compared with past women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way. Their path is full of roadblocks. The women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armored with their talent. They had proven themselves. But in India they are yet to get their dues. The sex ratio of India shows that the Indian society is still prejudiced against female. There are 933 females per thousand males in India according to the census of 2001, which is much below the world average of 990 females. There are many problems which women in India have to go through daily. These problems have become the part and parcel of life of Indian women and some of them have accepted them as their fate.
FIRST WOMAN OF INDIA
Women had played an important role in the Modern World. Here are some of the most successful & first women of the world, who lead a Nation, a Party, a State, etc.
· First woman President of Indian National Congress — Annie Besant (1917)
· First Indian woman President of Indian National Congress — Sarojini Naidu (1925)
· First woman Ambassador from India — Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (to USSR from1947-49)
· First woman Governor of an Indian State — Sarojini Naidu (UP from 1947-48)
· First woman Minister of an Indian State — Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (UP)
· First Mayor of Delhi — Aruna Asif Ali (1958)
· First woman Central Minister — Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
· First woman Film star to be a member of Rajya Sabha — Nargis Dutt
· First woman Chief Minister of an Indian State — Sucheta Kriplani (UP from 1963-67)
· First woman Prime Minister of India — Indira Gandhi (1966-77 & 1980-84)
· First woman Speaker of an Indian State — Shano Devi
· First woman winner of the Bharat Ratna — Indira Ghandi (1971)
· First woman Judge of the Supreme Court — Justice M Fatima Bevi (1989)
· First woman Chief Justice of a High Court — Leila Seth (CJ of Himachal Pradesh 1991)
· India’s officially recognized billionth citizen — Aastha (Born on May 11, 2000 at ND)
CONCLUSIONS
Indian women have mastered anything and everything which a woman can dream of. But she still has to go a long way to achieve equal status in the minds of Indian men. The desire of Indian women can be best summed up in the following lines of ‘Song of an African Women’:
I have only one request.I do not ask for moneyAlthough I have need of it,I do not ask for meat . . .I have only one request, And all I ask isThat you removeThe road blockFrom my path.
Educate all the children in the family. Education is the most powerful instrument for the development of women and children in the society.8th March is observed as International Women’s Day. It is necessary to celebrate International Women’s Day every year in a grand manner. Our present president Pratibha Patil is also a woman. It is the power and credit of woman. It is also very important to celebrate Children’s Day on November 14th and Mother’s day.
Reference:
1. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2001). The National Reading Panel: Reports of the Subgroups.
2. UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Literacy rates, youth (15-24) and adult (15+), by region and gender (September 2006 Assessment).
3. Heilbroner, R. L. (1995) Visions of the future: the distant past, yesterday, today,
and tomorrow (New York: Oxford University Press).
4. Child and Women Development Report, (2006), Ministry of Women and Child
Development, Government of India, New Delhi.
5. National Family Health Survey, (2006), Government of India, New Delhi.
6. National Crime Records Bureau, (2007), Government of India, New Delhi.
7. Census of India, (2001), Government of India, New Delhi.
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