Divorce In The Lower Class example essay topic

Contemporary Problems Facing Indian Women Indian culture can boast about having female goddesses, saints and poets. It may boast about being the largest democracy in the world and a super power in Asia. But the truth is that female oppression is distinctively visible in India till this day, more so in lower class than higher class but nevertheless present. Women belonging to the lower class face problems and discrimination due to high percentage of illiteracy among the people and also due to the very orthodox religion that they follow. The discrimination faced by these women is mainly the effect of unjust ancient laws and customs passed down from generation to generation. Due to the lack of education among the lower class, these unjust laws and customs are never challenged but widely accepted.

One of the evil practices that is very rarely followed nowadays is female infanticide. Female infants were given milk draped in poison and killed. It is believed that girls become a liability for the family. They would cost the family money in the end because of dowry demands. Likewise, the family may feel that they are only rearing girls for someone else, as the girls will eventually become part of the groom's household. On the other hand, boys will add the boon of whatever the dowry brings as well as a worker (the bride) to his parent's household.

It is also believed that females can not do as much physical work as males can do, and thus, the birth of a son is widely celebrated. Another practice which has only become illegal on paper is the dowry system. A December 1997 article in India Today, entitled, "Victims of Sudden Affluence" by Ramesh Vinayak, states "A women on fire has made dowry deaths the most vicious social crimes; it is an evil endemic to the subcontinent but despite every attempt at justice the number continue to climb". Dowries are demanded by the prospective groom and his family and in many cases they can far outstrip the bride's family's means.

This can include not only the bulk of the cost of the wedding, but also money, cars, motorcycles, livestock and clothing. However, it is the Hindu father's obligation to get his daughter married before he dies, so there is pressure to take out huge loans with outrageous interest to satisfy dowry demands. Ancient customs also dictate marriage in the lower class. The girls are forbidden to know their husbands prior to their wedding day. Without battling an eyelash, girls have to accept men who they have never met, as their husbands.

Women, in the lower class are taught early on to be obedient wives and good mothers and to treat their husband as god. Women are forbidden to go to school or get education because of the fear of rebelling. They are expected to only carry out the duties around the house- look after their husband and children, and at most times, provide for the family while the husband throws money away in alcohol. Divorce, in the lower class is completely unheard of. The wife is expected to quietly obey her husband and receive whatever punishment he imparts to her, without revolting. The persistence of hunger and abject poverty in India is due in large measure to the subjugation, marginalization and dis empowerment of women.

Women suffer from hunger and poverty in greater numbers and to a greater degree than men. At the same time, it is women who bear the primary responsibility for actions needed to end hunger: education, nutrition, health and family income. Surviving through a normal life cycle is a resource-poor woman's greatest challenge. Breast feeding female children for a shorter period than male children reflects the strong desire for sons. If women are particularly anxious to have a male child, they may deliberately try to become pregnant again and again as soon as possible after a female is born. A primary way that parents discriminate against their girl child is through neglect during illness.

When sick, little girls are not taken to the doctor as frequently as their brothers. A study in Punjab shows that medical expenditures for boys are 2.3 times higher than for girls (Coonrod). As adults, women get less health care than men. They tend to be less likely to admit that they are sick and they will wait until their sickness has progressed before they seek help or help is sought for them.

Studies on attendance at rural primary health centers reveal that more males than females are treated in almost all parts of the country. Women's socialization to tolerate suffering and their reluctance to be examined by male personnel are additional constraints in their getting adequate health care. Lower class Indian women suffer from malnutrition because the tradition in India requires women to eat last and least throughout their lives, even when pregnant and lactating. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle. India's maternal mortality rates in rural areas are among the highest in the world. A factor that contributes to India's high maternal mortality is the reluctance to seek medical care for pregnancy.

It is viewed as a temporary condition that will disappear. Even a woman who has had difficulties with previous pregnancies is usually treated with home remedies only for three reasons: the decision that a pregnant woman seek help rests with the mother-in-law and husband; financial considerations; and fear that the treatment may be more harmful than the malady. It is estimated that pregnancy-related deaths account for one-quarter of all fatalities among women aged 15 to 29, with well over two-thirds of them considered preventable. (Menon-Sen and Shiv kumar 33). One village-level study of lower class women in Maharashtra determined on the basis of physical examinations that approximately 92 percent suffered from one or more gynecological disorders. (Chaudhary) Women's health is harmed by lack of access to and the poor quality of reproductive services.

About 24.6 million couples, representing roughly 18 percent of all married women, want no more children but are not using contraception. The causes of this unmet need remain poorly understood, but a qualitative study in Tamil Nadu suggests that women's lack of decision making power in the family, lack of education, opportunity costs involved in seeking contraception, fear of child death, and poor quality of contraceptive service all play an important role. Women and girls receive far less education than men, due to both social norms and fears of violence. India has the largest population of non-school-going working girls.

Parents have several incentives for not educating their daughters. Foremost, is the view that education of girls brings no returns to parents and that their future roles, being mainly reproductive and perhaps agricultural labor, require no formal education. As more and more boys are engaged in education, there is a growing reliance on the labor of girls. Girls are increasingly replacing their brothers on the farm while carrying the usual responsibilities in housework. Sonalde Desai in Gender Inequalities and Demographic Behavior points out that "another disincentive for sending daughters to school is the concern for the protection of their virginity. When schools are located at a distance, when teachers are male, and the girls are expected to study with boys, parents are often unwilling to expose their daughters to the potential assault on their virginity".

(Desai 26) Legal protection of women's rights have little effect in the face of prevailing patriarchal traditions in the lower class. Women are subordinate in most marriages. The position of women in rural areas is notably poor. Traditional Hindu society in rural areas is hierarchical and dominated by men, as evidenced by marriage customs.

A young Indian bride is brought up to believe that her own wishes and interests are subordinate to those of her family. The primary duty of a newly married young woman, and virtually her only means of improving her position in the hierarchy of her husband's household, is to bear sons. Women in the upper class enjoy more freedom, live a more normal life as women in western cultures live, and are treated more equally to men than women in the lower class. In spite of this, evidence of female discrimination can be found. There are always isolated incidences of physical abuse and wife-beating even in the upper class.

Divorce is very rare, even in the upper class. It is considered a shameful admission of a women's failure as a wife and daughter-in-law. In 1990, divorced women made up a miniscule of 0.08 percent of the total female population (Vinayak). A divorced woman is looked down on by the society and is considered an outcast. Maintenance rights of women in the case of divorce is weak. Although both Hindu and Muslim law recognize the rights of women and children to maintenance, in practice, maintenance is rarely set at a sufficient amount and is frequently violated.

Often, unmarried girls live sheltered and conservative lives, in which any sort of freedom is restricted due to the practice of blind traditions and double standards. For example, the loss of their virginity is a deadly sin for the unmarried girls. A girl's most valuable possession is her chastity which is connected to her family's reputation. Even in the upper class, it is expected that the women takes care of the household and sees to it that her husband's wishes are fulfilled before her own.

The case of adultery is very double standard in most societies of India. If the husband cheats on his wife, a big issue is not made of it, and it is locked down secretly in the closet. But if the wife is even suspected of being unfaithful to her husband, she is shamed by everyone and her life is made a living hell. With more exposure to western culture and influence and rise of education and literacy, the status of women in India is steadily improving. As a result of women's liberation, Indian women have distinguished themselves in various spheres of life as politicians, orators, lawyers, doctors, administrators and diplomats. There is hardly any sphere of life in which Indian women have not taken part and shown their worth.

Women exercise their right to vote, contest for Parliament and Assembly, seek appointment in public office and compete in other spheres of life with men. This shows that, today, women in India enjoy more liberty and equality than before. They have acquired more liberty to participate in the affairs of the country. They have been given equality with men in shaping their future and sharing responsibilities for themselves, their family and their country.

Bibliography

Chaudhary, Harish. "Rural Women Studies". The Times of India 20 Dec, 2001.
Sec B: 5 Coonrod, Carol S. "Chronic Hunger and Status of Women in India". Outlook June 1998 5-6 Desai, Sonalde "Gender Inequalities and Demographic Behavior" Mumbai: I BHP 2000 Menon-Sen, Kalyani and Shiva kumar, A.
K. Women in India, How Free, How Equal. New Delhi: Mensa Publications 2001.
Radha krishnan Chitra. "Body as Bane" 02 Nov. 2001 Singh, Dr.
Rekha. "Status of Women in Indian Society" 21 Feb 1998.
Vinayak Ramesh. "Victims of Sudden Affluence's" India Today. Dec 1997: 12-13.