Literacy Rate Of Dalit Women example essay topic

The social structure of India has customarily been defined by the caste system (Lewis 2003, 1). It has kept a sense of order and peace among the people. There are several basic features of the caste system in India. One feature involves the fact that a caste is indigenous. Another feature relates to restrictions on commensality between members of different castes. There is also a hierarchical grading of castes.

Yet another feature involves the various kinds of contacts members of different castes can have with each other, especially with respect to food, sex, and worship. For example, a member of a high caste is liable to be polluted by either direct or indirect contact with a member of a low caste. Furthermore, castes are commonly associated with a traditional occupation. In addition, a man's status is determined by the circumstances of his birth.

Finally, the system as a whole is always centered around the prestige of the Brahmans, the apex of the class system in India (Lewis 2003, 1). There are four different levels of the caste system: Braham, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Shura. Each of these castes are said to have come from the mouth, arms, thighs, and the feet of the Hindu figure Brahma respectively. They are based on a person's Varna, which is a person's natural right and position in society.

Within each of these castes people are born, marry, and die. Therefore, one's caste dictates his or her role in life. At the top of the caste systems are the Brahmans. These are the descendants of the priests and wise men of the society. Following the Brahman class are the Kshatriyas, who are the soldiers of the society.

The third caste consists of the Vaisyas who are the artisans. The lowest caste people are the Sudras, these are the farmers and the peasant class (Lewis 2003, 1). However, beneath these four lay another class. They are called the Dalits, otherwise known as the "untouchables".

This group is oppressed, discriminated against, and stricken of basic human rights (Lewis 2003, 1). Under India's constitution of 1950, "untouchability" was supposedly eliminated. However, there are areas where segregation still exists. Apparently, it is difficult to persuade a society to relinquish traditional methods and thought having been in existence for nearly 3,000 years. There are about 250 million Dalits in India, which converts to approximately twenty-five percent of the population. One out of every four individuals in India is condemned to be untouchable.

A Dalit is not considered to be part of the human society because it is not part of the Hindu figure Brahma (Who Are Dalits 2003, 1). The Dalits perform the most menial and degrading jobs. About seventy-five percent of Dalits are at poverty levels. They are seen as a polluting society.

If, because of any reason, a higher caste Hindu is touched by an untouchable or even had a Dalit's shadow across them, they consider themselves to be polluted and have to go through a rigorous series of rituals to be cleansed (Daniel 1999-2000, 1). The untouchables have very few rights, if any. Depending on the region, they are not allowed to settle near any of the other four castes. They are not allowed to touch others in other castes or enter their homes. Temples are kept off limits to them.

They may not use the same wells as others and the list goes on. Unlike the Brahman, who are a more privileged group, have opportunities of a good education, to live comfortably, and are well nourished, the Dalits are much less fortunate. Although this group also includes men, these issues of discrimination and cruelty are mostly found among the women of this group due to the patriarchal society in which they live. "Hundreds and thousands of Dalit women throughout the country are forced from childhood into ritualized, religiously sanctioned prostitution" (Untouchability: A Reality Today 2003, 1). The consequences of being a Dalit woman are extremely wounding. "Dalit women are triply oppressed: (1) oppressed by the so-called high caste people, which equally affects both male and female Dalits, (2) oppressed by the design of the Hindu patriarchal system; and (3) oppressed by Dalit males" (Sob 2001, 1).

Dalit women face the worst conditions and oppression. They live in pain, agony, sorrow, misconduct, maltreatment, and suffering. This is demonstrated in their social, economic, and political conditions, and their educational status and health conditions. Regarding the social element of their plight "untouchability" is punishable by law, however it is still practiced, nonetheless.

Untouchability with respect to women however is noted as being much more prevalent. "For example, when Dalit women fetch water from public water taps, wells, etc., they suffer from mental as well as physical assaults" (Sob 2001, 2). Women are commonly mentally and physically abused and, at times, abandoned completely. "Levels of crime include rapes, kidnappings, instances of dowry death, mental and physical torture, sexual molestation and harassment and trafficking" (Violence and Discrimination: India 2001, 2). Their husbands dictate the jobs they secure and hours they must work.

Society and their husbands ultimately control them. A case in point involved a woman who refused to give up the government-provided land where she lived. As a result, she was paraded through the streets half-naked and tormented. Apparently, her act did not commensurate with the required social standing, and therefore, suffered the consequence. (Lower Caste Woman Paraded Half naked in India 2002, 1).

Women in the lower castes work longer, more strenuous hours than men, yet their work is unrecognized. Studies have indicated that the workday of a woman agricultural laborer during the agricultural season lasts for about fifteen hours, from 4: 00 a.m. to 8: 00 p.m. The male, on the other hand, works for seven or eight hours from 5: 00 a.m. to 10: 00 a.m. then again from 3: 00 p.m. to 5: 00 p.m. Clearly, the men have it much easier being out of the burning afternoon sun. Not only are the hours longer for women, but also the job itself is more demanding. While the men's work consists of plowing and watering the fields by using mechanical equipment, women's work requires much more manual labor and energy.

The occupation of many women can be divided in the following titles: (1) Agriculture laborer; (2) Marginal Cultivators; (3) Fisher women; (4) Traditional artisans; (5) Leather Workers; (6) Weavers; (7) Scavengers and sweepers; (8) Midwifery; and (9) Beady factories and unorganized sectors (Muthumary 2000, 4-5). Women work so hard to survive that other endeavors are not even within the scope of their sight. With respect to equal opportunity and equal work it is evident that the women are exploited. In addition, their pay does not justify the intensity of their work. On the whole, women's work is not considered economically productive. Moreover, the man solely controls any income earned.

Another issue concerning women's work is the impact of technology in the workforce. "Where technology has been introduced in areas where women worked, women laborers have often been displaced by men" (Coonrod 2001, 8). Therefore, women are losing vital sources of income. As a result of many women's lack of skill causes problems for them in many aspects of their lives.

Ultimately, women are forced to have the most menial and degrading jobs because they are deprived of an education. The literacy rate of Dalit women is very low compared to those women in higher castes. "The present literacy rate of men is sixty-six percent, and the education rate is thirty percent. However, the literacy rate of the Dalit community is sixteen percent; and for the Dalit women, the literacy rate is only seven percent" (Sob 2001, 2).

Out of approximately, two million Dalit women, only about ten to fifteen of them are graduates and / or postgraduates. Women receive far less education than men, due to both social norms and fears of violence. The reluctance of parents to educate their girls stems from that fact that it brings no financial benefits to them because their future role as laborers requires no education. Another reason is that the girls are forced to take care of the siblings when the parents are away at work.

While boys are sent off to school, girls are more and more replacing their brothers in the fields, in addition to their expected responsibilities in the house. The Indian parents do very little in motivating their little girls to have a better life. They consider it a waste of money because the benefits would go to the husband of their child and his family. Women's minds are not nurtured but neglected, and as a result they have no choice but to lead a life filled with family responsibility, hard labor and little personal pleasure.

The issue of fear arrives from the parents not wanting their child to travel far distances to reach school grounds. For example, in many cases the nearest school is several miles away. Therefore, there is the threat of attack and violence. "The threat of violence has serious effects in terms of curtailing women's freedoms-lack of safety in public spaces is often the reason cited by parents and families for not sending their daughters to school, or not allowing them to go outside their homes to work or meet friends" (Menon-Sen and Kumar 2001, 72). This disadvantage leaves the girls at home and unskilled. This unequal access to education restricts women's abilities to learn skills that require even functional levels of literacy.

Due to poverty, ignorance, and illiteracy, Dalit women and young girls are subject to prostitution. In addition, many females working in factories, hotels or offices are sexually harassed and abused. Unfortunately, due to their status and position in society they do not have many other opportunities and the lack of time in their lives prohibits them to think about improving their conditions. As a result of the types of jobs women perform, they are subject to malnutrition and poor health. The life expectancy of women is lower than that of their counterpart. Compared to the higher caste people, the condition of the Dalit women is incredibly ominous.

The life expectancy of a Dalit woman is about forty-two years of age as opposed to the national average of fifty-five years of age. Women go through life in a state of nutritional stress. Many women die in childbirth of easily prevented complications. Indian women have very little control over their own fertility and reproductive health. Gynecological diseases, like a prolapsed uterus, are very common among Dalit women.

They do not know much about birth control and spacing and become pregnant every year. Furthermore, because of illiteracy and ignorance, they live in filthy an unhygienic conditions which further deteriorates their health. As Dalits do not have easy access to clean drinking water in most places, they are compelled to drink polluted water and thus suffer from various gastro- intestinal diseases (Sob 2001, 3). India has extremely high rates of child malnutrition, because tradition in India requires that women eat last and least.

Women eat about one thousand fewer calories than men. "Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle" (Coonrod 1998, 1). The inequality of gender in sustenance is alarming. Girls are breast-fed less frequently and for shorter periods of time than that of boys.

Depending on the circumstances, families may take it upon themselves to end the life of a baby girl. Dreadfully, this is still common in parts of India. There are several ways of killing the infant or fetus. Some methods include lacing their feed with pesticides. Some are fed the juice or paste of poisonous oleander berries. Others are either suffocated or starved to death.

"Female feticide and infanticide signal the grossest form of discrimination against women in India" (Menon-Sen and Kua mr 2001, 28). Unfortunately, women have a sense of powerlessness in the choices they make and find it difficult to change their situations..