Assignment Code: MDV-004/TMA/2021-22

Course Code: MDV-004

Assignment Name: Gender and Development

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Marks: 100

Q1) Explain GDI, GEM and Gender Gap Index?

Ans) Gender Development Index

Gender Development Index provides inter-district, inter-state, and cross-country assessments of women's empowerment (GDI). The GDI is based on the HDI (Human Development Index), which has three primary components: per capita income, educational achievement, and life expectancy, which is a proxy for health attainment. The UNDP introduced the Gender-related Development Index as a way of analysing gender disparity in 1995. Education, health, and income are the factors used in GDI, which are identical to those used in the Human Development Index. While the HDI assesses average achievement, the GDI adjusts average achievement to account for gender disparities in the following dimensions:

1. As defined by life expectancy at birth, a long and healthy life.

2. The adult literacy rate and the combined primary, tertiary, and gross enrolment ratio are used to quantify knowledge.

3. Estimated earned income (PPP US$) indicates a decent standard of living.

4. The GDI has been chastised for failing to consider critical factors like as community life quality, human rights, and access to basic necessities.

Violence against women, limits on women's mobility, and household resource distribution are not addressed in the GDI. Women's distinct disadvantages cannot be adequately captured by income or education levels. Recognizing the relevance of gender-based power disparities, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has acknowledged that achieving gender equality is a political process. For this reason, the Gender Empowerment Measure has been designed to reflect variables such as women's political participation, access to professional jobs, and earning power.

Women's empowerment has now become important to a development strategy based on human rights. Women's empowerment was the focus of the UNDP report from 1995.

Since 1999, the Human Development Report has showed that no country treats women equally to males in terms of life expectancy, wealth, and education. The benefits of the GDI prompted initiatives to rank Indian states by estimating their GDI. The findings show that development has been inequitable in Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, and Rajasthan, and that women have not received an equal share of development. The effect of service commerce on gender employment: The extent to which women participate in the trading industry is a key indicator of how economically powerful trade may be for women. They calculated the direct and indirect effects of service trade on women's employment. The following are the main conclusions of their analysis:

1. The income discrepancy between men and women decreases as women's literacy levels rise.

2.  Females earn 70-75 percent of the earnings earned by males with equivalent educational levels, even for graduates and above.

This means that, with more growth in services, even if employment options for women rise at the same rate, males profit more from growth than females. For the fiscal year 2003-04, they created the Social Accounting Method (SAM), which consists of 64 sectors. Males have the biggest employment multiplier in communication services, followed by tourism and other transportation services. Other services (residual sector) has the highest employment multiplier for females, followed by communication services and tourism.

In communication services, the gender disparity in the employment multiplier is significant. This is due to women having less access to education, training, technology, and expertise than men. Only 30 to 40 percent of overall employment created by a unit increase in exports goes to women in most service industries. Despite the fact that trade in services provides more jobs for women, gender imbalance in terms of labour participation grows, according to the research. Agriculture and animal husbandry employ a large number of women. The female employment multiplier is low in high-tech industries. Women's capacity building in designated industries requires policy action. In-depth research on the trade-growth gender nexus is required.

GEM

These three indicators are taken into account when calculating gender differences.

Gender empowerment measure (GEM) is an additional metric that takes into consideration features of women's economic engagement and decision-making. GEM uses three indicators: share of income, share of parliamentary seats, and an index that incorporates share of administrative and managerial employment, as well as share of professional and technical jobs. The UNDP introduced the Gender-related Development Index as a mechanism for analysing gender disparity in 1995. Education, health, and income are the factors used in GDI, which are identical to those used in the Human Development Index.

While the HDI assesses average achievement, the GDI adjusts the average achievement to account for gender disparities in the following dimensions:

1. As defined by life expectancy at birth, a long and healthy life.

2. The adult literacy rate and the combined primary, tertiary, and gross enrolment ratio are used to quantify knowledge.

3. Estimated earned income (PPP US$) indicates a decent standard of living.

4. The GEM captures gender imbalance in three critical areas by focusing on women's opportunities rather than their capabilities.

5. Women's and men's percentage shares of parliamentary seats are used to gauge political participation and decision-making authority.

6. Women's and men's percentage shares of lawmakers, senior officials, and managers, as well as women's and men's percentage shares of professional and technical positions, are two measures of economic involvement and decision-making authority.

7. Women's and men's projected earned income (PPP US$) as a measure of power over economic resources.

The GEM captures gender imbalance in three critical areas by focusing on women's opportunities rather than their capabilities.

1. Women's and men's percentage shares of parliamentary seats are used to gauge political participation and decision-making authority.

2. Women's and men's percentage shares of lawmakers, senior officials, and managers, as well as women's and men's percentage shares of professional and technical positions, are two measures of economic involvement and decision-making authority.

3. Women's and men's projected earned income (PPP US$) as a measure of power over economic resources.

4. The GEM has also been chastised for being based just on three criteria and thus defining empowerment very narrowly. It disregards legal and human rights, as well as cultural structures and related activities that oppress women.

The GEM has also been chastised since its components were linked to power qualities more appropriate to industrialised countries. The argument was that while there would be no professional associations for women in developing countries and few women in parliament, women's participation in other types of organisations such as cooperatives, trade associations, and community organisations could indicate empowerment that is not reflected in the statistics on which GEM is based. It has been claimed that the majority of women in developing nations perform work that is not valued in the mainstream male-defined realm of job and income statistics. As a result, the GDI and GEM indices, which are based on per capita income and labour participation rates, are not accurate indicators for developing nations.

Gender Gap Index

The Gender Gap Index evaluates countries based on how well they divide their resources and opportunities between male and female populations, regardless of total resource and opportunity levels. The Index serves as a catalyst for greater awareness and discussion between policymakers by offering an intelligible framework for measuring and comparing worldwide gender disparities, as well as highlighting those countries who are role models in allocating these resources equitably between women and men. It looks at four key areas where men and women are unequally treated:

1. Economic participation and opportunity: salary levels, participation levels, and access to high-skilled jobs;

2. Educational attainment: outcomes in terms of basic and higher education access;

3. Political empowerment: results on decision-making structures representation; and

4. Health and survival: life expectancy and sex ratio outcomes

Q2) What are the various approaches to Women in Development? Explain.

Ans) The various approaches relating to women in development are discussed below:

Welfare Approach

During the First Development Decade (1961-1970), there was no special mention of women. The Welfare Approach was used to define WID. It was expected that, in general, social, and economic progress would result in the desired reforms for women. Women were viewed as passive recipients of development, with a particular emphasis on their reproductive function. At this early period, however, the focus was on women's equality rather than economic prosperity.

Equity Approach

The necessity of "complete inclusion of women in entire development efforts" was underlined during the Second Development Decade, 1971-1980. The Equity Approach was designed to provide women a voice in the development process.

Women were considered to be active players in the development process. The main purpose was to integrate women more effectively into the development process. Equality of opportunity through education and training was a primary avenue through which this could be accomplished. Several committees within professional organisations, as well as new women's clubs, were founded. They gathered together to discuss key problems such as equal pay for equal work, increasing women's presence in professional groups, amending equal rights laws, and so on. As a result, various women's pressure groups, particularly those concerned with women in development, were formed (WID).

The proponents of WID drew attention to a phenomenon that many academics had seen, particularly in developing nations, namely the negative impact that progress appeared to have on women. The feminization of poverty and the rise in women-headed households as a result of development programmes were also discussed. The United Nations recognised 1975 as International Women's Year, and 1975-1985 as the International Women's Decade, in response to pressure from the American women's movement. As a result, there has been a growing awareness of women's issues and acceptance of their demands as genuine policy issues at both the national and international levels.

Equality, Development, and Peace were the key themes of the Decade. Gender issues in development debates were given a boost by the UN Decade for Women and international conferences.

Three World Conferences on Women

In 1975, New York City hosted the World Conference for the International Women's Year. Mexico City is the country's capital. According to the conference, women's needs differ from men's. folks from affluent Western countries and rural countries This generally led to debates about what "women's difficulties" actually meant. The worth of the stock Despite being labelled as "developmental," the plan mostly reflected "First World" concerns. Egalitarianism is a fetish for feminists. The "Second World" is represented by delegates. I'm concerned about the state of the world's peace. Capitalism and warfare, they believed, were to blame. for issues affecting women The "Third World" delegates were concerned about development. They argued that development was the key to improving women's lives. Women in poor countries, on the other hand, were the ones who were the most concerned. The importance of the family unit's survival, employment opportunities, and women's legal and economic roles were emphasised by those from developed countries; those from developing countries emphasised the importance of the family unit's survival, employment opportunities, and women's legal and economic roles. Symbolic representations of one's own body's strength, position, and control Prejudice against women, for example. It also involves the execution of a number of strategies seeking a change in the status of women.

Scholars such as Ester Boserup, Elise Boulding, and others have found that economic improvement often leads to structural changes in disadvantaged countries can hinder women's access to income-generating jobs or place an additional strain on their shoulders a strain on women who must continue to work for a living As more men enter the workforce, agriculture will become more important. Mechanized agriculture, cash crops, and city migration are all possibilities. It's also worth noting that the number of female-headed households is on the rise. It had happened before. It was also proposed that these women be given employment preference based on their gender. Men with duties to their families are on par. It was also emphasised how important this is. Peace could only be achieved if males realised that women, who made up half of the population, could bring peace to the globe. Human beings with equal civic, political, and economic rights made up the majority of the world's population. the social and economic realms

Anti- Poverty Approach

The Equity approach, on the other hand, was viewed as dangerous and unpopular by governments. It was dubbed "Western feminism." As a result, the Anti-Poverty Approach was adopted. Because of the backlash, this strategy lowered equality.

It was more concerned with redistribution, growth, and basic requirements than with anything else. Its goal was to ensure that disadvantaged women increased their production, as poverty was considered as a result of underdevelopment rather than subjugation.

This approach, on the other hand, segregated disadvantaged women as a distinct group, with a tendency to focus solely on their productive role. It was more popular among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and was developed on a modest scale.

Efficiency Approach

With the United Nations Mid-Decade Conference on Women in Copenhagen in 1980, the notion of WID evolved from equity to efficiency and was expressed in economic terms. Trade, development, and politics debates dominated the conference. There were intense discussions over the Palestinian dilemma, apartheid's effects on women in South Africa, and the plight of women refugees around the world. Despite the well reported disagreements, women from all over the world worked to understand one another and develop a more consistent viewpoint. Women were recognised as both participants and victims in political battles at this convention. "How do you take one melody and encourage variation while evoking orchestral support?" wondered Irene Tinker in her review of the Copenhagen conference. Many people were looking at numerous women's issues that had not been acknowledged, recognised, or clarified before the decade began, as seen by the response and opinions of a number of researchers. One of the primary goals of the Mexico City and Copenhagen conferences was to raise awareness. In this period, the efficiency method emerged in the backdrop of a weakening global economy and concomitant stabilisation and adjustment programmes. Women became significant participants in the development situation as a result of severe cuts in welfare spending and an emphasis on efficient development.

It praised women's adaptability and tenacity in the face of adversity. Women are willing to work longer hours for less money in the formal sector, and they are typically employed later and fired earlier. Women WID-WAD-GAD WID Part-I workers are willing to put up with poorer working conditions than men in the informal sector. All of these characteristics drew development planners to concentrate their efforts on women. These approaches acknowledge that women have an important economic role both within and outside of the home. Credit for women, additional income-generating initiatives for women, microenterprise for women, and so on were all part of the efficiency strategy. It was created to serve the interests of larger development agents rather than the women themselves, and it concentrated solely on economic elements of women in development. For many national governments, state machinery for women and aid agencies, as well as NGOs who want to maintain the status quo in the name of economic development without having to question the underlying power relations in the communities where they work, this is still the most popular WID approach.

The different facets of women's needs were discussed at the third and last conference of the international decade for women in Nairobi. The needs of women from the "Third World" were recognised and highlighted at this conference. Environmental challenges, forest and water management systems, sustainable agriculture, and other issues were top of mind for women in subsistence societies. On a global scale, these challenges were linked with environmental concerns. The requests of "Third World" countries for solutions to reduce the drudgery of daily work were also raised. Debates were held on divisive and political themes such as the debt crisis and its implications on countries in the "Third World," as well as the problem of apartheid in South Africa. The fact that women headed one-third of the world's families was becoming more widely recognised. The ladies worked to support their families and were also responsible for their children's upbringing.

Q3) What do you mean by Engendering Governance? What is the need and initiatives for Engendering Governance?

Ans) Meaning

By engendering governance, we mean bringing women into decision-making and policy-making sectors with the goal of achieving gender-just governance, in which women not only have equal access to governance institutions but also actively participate in decision-making. As a result, it may be claimed that engendering governance is a continual process in which women's opinions and concerns are incorporated into policy decisions on a regular and obligatory basis.

"Engendering governance is a process of governance that guarantees that women's voices are heard in decision-making over the allocation of 'development' resources, not a goal."

Need for Engendering Governance

Almost everywhere in the world, there is a gender disparity in governance. It is particularly high in South Asia, despite the fact that many of the connected countries' leaders have been women who have risen to power predominantly through hereditary succession. Aside from that, women are underrepresented in management and political roles in South Asian countries. According to estimates, women make up only 7% of parliament and 9% of the cabinet, 20% of local government, 9% of the civil service, and 6% of the court. This underrepresentation of women can be observed in the perspective of women's subservient role in all private and public spheres, such as the home, the state, the market, and civil society.

After the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Indian Constitution were passed in 1992, women's effective engagement in politics in India received a boost. Women entered the domain of local self-government as a result of the change in legislation. Women members of local panchayats are thronging the village Panchayati Raj institutions. There are examples of women panchayat leaders who have brought women's issues, concerns, and problems to the attention of the appropriate authorities, and solutions have been found. The path, however, has not been easy. It has not been simple for women to remove their veils and work in the public sector for the community's benefit. Women have experienced severe societal restraints as a result of patriarchy, in addition to caste and class hierarchies that are prominent in our society. Women's acceptance in the public sphere has been a major difficulty, particularly in the context of power sharing and transfer with male members.

Women's participation and concerns in all aspects of governance are critical for a variety of reasons:

Women's demands are fundamentally different from men's, both inherently and in terms of the surroundings. Women perform different roles in social spheres, which explains the disparity. Both gender groupings have different expectations, which may be at odds with one another. In important areas like as housing, loans, and infrastructure, women have been mostly excluded from community decision-making. These are the areas that have a direct impact on women's life. As a result, staying outside these locations keeps them on the receiving end of the abuse. The current situation is characterised by growing female participation in the labour force.

This necessitates revising their jobs to accommodate their shifting profiles, which have occurred most notably in public spaces. In addition, a space for women to engage and learn must be developed, as well as community restructuring and gender roles renegotiation. It is critical to consider gender concerns not just in terms of basic subsistence but also in terms of overall growth and development. These could take the shape of gender-sensitive policies and programmes that are designed with women's concerns in mind.

Practical issues are at the forefront of women's concerns. Housing, health care, service delivery, childcare and other family services, safety, community building and social cohesion in neighbourhoods, environmental sustainability, and local governance are among the challenges addressed by their solutions. These grass-roots efforts contain the seeds for future systemic change.

It is critical to include gender sensitivity in the governance process in order to achieve gender equity and quality. Women's basic survival and quality, knowledge and skill base, control over resources, involvement in public spheres, and security are all likely to suffer unless there is a gender-sensitive element in governance.

Initiatives for Engendering Governance

Over the last three decades, the Indian government and international organisations have worked to "integrate" women into mainstream development, with a particular focus on women from underprivileged areas who have been left out of or have received little benefit from these processes. Three main approaches emerged from this long-term attempt to institutionalise women's concerns within governance structures:

1. The Women in Development (WID) method focused on women in the role of a beneficiary, as someone who need charity handouts. The women were not expected to express their dissatisfaction in any public venue.

2. The Women and Development (WAD) model saw women as equal partners in development. Women were given the opportunity to participate in the development process.

3. The Gender and Development (GAD) approach is based on current thinking, which considers gender-based power dynamics in the context of governance.

Q4) What is Informal Economy? What are the main concerns of women in the informal sector?

Ans) The informal economy refers to a wide range of economic activities, businesses, employment, and employees that aren't regulated or protected by the government. The term was first used to describe self-employment in tiny, unregistered businesses. It has been broadened to cover paid work in non-protected positions.

In a nutshell, the new informal economy concept is based on the nature of work rather than the features of businesses. In such circumstances, the new definition of informal economy is outlined as including all forms of 'informal employment,' that is, employment without secure contracts or worker social protection in the form of benefits; small, unregistered enterprises; own-account operators; unpaid family workers; set of temporary or part-time workers; domestic workers, casual or day labourers, and many other types of employment relationships. As a result, it is clear that the argument over defining the informal economy has progressed through several stages within the ILO's research findings as well as within the separate countries' domains. The literature in India indicated that the term "informal economy" is used in about three different ways.

According to Ghosh, the International Labour Organization (ILO) proposed defining the informal economy as "comprising marginalised economic units and workers who are characterised by serious deficits in decent work, labour standard deficits, productivity and job quality deficits, and organisation and voice deficits" in 2002. Reduced informal economy deficits will facilitate the transition to recognised, protected, legal, and hence formal enterprises, as well as assure decent work.

Concerns of Women in Informal Sector

In a growing country like India, the shifting patterns of work organisation have a significant impact on worker nomenclature. The manufacturing processes underwent a significant transformation. It was clear that many items that required a simple manufacturing procedure were not much disrupted, and production continued as usual in the main production unit. The more complicated production processes that required more skilled operations were diverted in part to informal units, where the unskilled part of the process was carried out by temporary or contractual workers from outside, while the more skilled part was kept within the production unit with much more sophisticated technology by using 'core permanent' workers on the company's payroll. This provided opportunities for women working in the light consumer products manufacturing industry, primarily in unskilled jobs.

Simultaneously, the shifting economic system resulting from the global economic crisis, along with advanced technology, has put pressure on illiterate and unskilled women to remain on the margins by entering the casualized informal sector for survival. The growing number of women in the workforce raised competition for employment openings once again. Any evidence of disobedience or a work-related dispute can cause the supply of labour to abruptly halt. Women are subject to the manipulation that holds influence over the market and the capital because they lack an organisational structure. As a result of being employed outside of the legal system, the casualized group of workers, particularly women, were denied access to the basic civil rights that the State provided in the structured system.

Violation of Basic Human Rights in the Informal Sector

The informal sector, as opposed to the formal sector, is generally defined as a place where workers are not recognised as employees and have no social security. Women workers in the informal sector are forced to work without contracts, without social protection, for little pay and in poor working conditions. It is difficult for women in the informal sector to prioritise their health in the absence of health insurance and income security. The absence of income security has a direct influence on the children of women workers in the informal sector's access to education. They are unable to further their education and thereby reduce their poverty.

Children are frequently incorporated into the informal sector as adults due to a lack of education or as children to assist adults in earning more money (e.g. home-based workers, vendors, self-employed) Because unorganised labour is often seen as 'poor' and a benefit, national budgets include measures to assist them in escaping poverty and vulnerability. They are treated as anti-poverty programme recipients. The biggest issue of workers in the informal economy is irregular employment.

No skills training: Women are not taught specific skills and are hesitant to pursue skill training themselves. Women make up a small percentage of students in the government's existing ITI network. Courses must be improved, and space and professors must be used efficiently.

Abuse in Special Economic Zones: As a result of the adoption of export-oriented strategies and increased competition for foreign investment, more Special Economic Zones are being established (also Free Trade Zones and Export Processing Zones etc.). In most of these areas, labour regulations do not apply. Women are being exploited as "cheap labour." They work in inhospitable conditions. There have been multiple incidences of sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as violations of labour and human rights. Governments have a history of turning a blind eye to capitalist misuse in order to maintain foreign investment inflows.

Night Work- the Issue and the Debate: Thousands of call centres employ young, computer-savvy, and English-speaking women for night labour as a result of business process outsourcing. This is a contentious issue within the feminist movement. One viewpoint favours night duty if women's safety is maintained by safe transportation; groups of women perform night shift together; and there is no sexual harassment at work. The majority of women despise night duty since it is difficult to overcome family opposition; it can also be dangerous and harmful to their children's welfare. Bar girls in Mumbai fought to work at night because that is the only time they can work and it is also more lucrative.

According to the International Labor Organization, night is defined as a period of at least 11 hours, including the time between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. However, many women workers encounter a variety of issues as a result of working late, including sexual harassment, molestation, and rape. It is unjust to treat night work as a form of discrimination against women, denying them access to jobs and violating the principle of equality. The issues of sexual harassment and violence against them must be addressed. The government and employers must be required to create a safe working environment and safe transportation for women.

Sexual Harassment at the Workplace: Sexual harassment allegations are far more widespread today, reflecting people's increasing awareness and sense of power to stop unwanted behaviour directed at them. It is critical to have an effective, informal conflict resolution process in place. Since the early 1980s, sexual harassment at work (SHW) has been one of the key concerns of the Indian women's movement. During the 1980s, militant actions by the Forum Against Oppression of Women (Mumbai) against sexual harassment of nurses in public and private hospitals by patients and their male relatives; ward-boys and other hospital staff; air-hostesses by their colleagues and passengers; teachers by their colleagues, principals, and management representatives; Ph.D. students by their guides; and so on received a lukewarm response from trade unions and advisories. Activists for women's rights, however, were unfazed by such trivialization.

Working women are increasingly taking deliberate action against SHW. In 1990, the Goa-based Baailancho Saad (Women's Voice) launched a public interest lawsuit to modify the archaic Rape Law, which defined rape as "penile entry into the vagina." Several women's organisations spoke out in support of new issues that included a wide range of types of sexual violence against women, including SHW. During the 1990s, the most controversial survivor of horrific workplace gang rape was a Rajasthan state government employee who attempted to prevent child marriage as part of her role as a Women's Development Program worker. Enraged by her (in their words) "lowly woman from a poor and potter community guts," the feudal patriarchs determined to give her a lesson and repeatedly raped her.

The rape survivor did not receive justice after an incredibly humiliating legal battle in the Rajasthan High Court, and the rapists, who were educated and upper caste affluent men, were permitted to walk free. This enraged a women's rights organisation called VISHAKHA, which launched a public interest lawsuit in India's Supreme Court. Before 1997, women who were subjected to SHW had to file a complaint under Indian Penal Code Sections 354 and 509, which deal with "criminal assault of women to outrage women's modesty" and "using a phrase, gesture, or act intended to offend the modesty of a woman."

These passages left the police officer's discretion in interpreting outraging women's modesty. The Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the Vishakha case in 1997, laying forth standards for organisations to follow when dealing with sexual harassment accusations.

The Court stated that these principles will be followed until legislation to address the matter was introduced. As a result, the Indian government asked the National Commission of Women (NCW) to draught laws.

After a number of concerns were expressed about the NCW draught, a Drafting Committee was formed to create a new draught. This Committee includes a number of women's organisations, notably Majlis from Mumbai. The draught was requested from Majlis. Some Mumbai-based women's organisations and women attorneys affiliated with trade unions collaborated on the draught with the Majlis. The inclusion of the unorganised sector and the incorporation of labour law rules were two major considerations during the drafting process. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention and Redress) Bill, 2004, was the name of the bill introduced in Parliament. The Bill provided for the prevention and redress of sexual harassment of women at work or arising during and out of the course of their employment, as well as matters related thereto, in accordance with the principles of equality, freedom, life, and liberty as enshrined in the Indian Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court in Vishakha vs. State of Rajasthan [1997(7) SCC.323], as well as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

Q5) What is the relation between Gender and Health? What are the determinants of physical health and well-being?

Ans) Gender influences a variety of areas of life, including resource availability, stress management techniques, and interpersonal interaction styles, among others. These are the things that can have a favourable or bad impact on a woman's health. Because women are discriminated against due to socio-cultural norms, customs, and practises, the relationship between gender and health is critical. Some socio-cultural issues that restrict women and girls from receiving high-quality health care and reaching their full potential include:

1. Unequal power relationships between men and women;

2. Social norms that decrease education and paid employment opportunities;

3. An exclusive focus on women’s reproductive roles; and

4. Potential or actual experience of physical, sexual, and emotional violence.

All of the aforementioned elements have a variety of effects on women's overall health. Their eating choices and use of institutionalised medical care are influenced by these economic and socio-cultural factors. These elements can be considered individually as follows:

1. Malnutrition: Because women are the ones who eat last and least after cooking and serving the members of their family, rigid socio-cultural traditions lead to high rates of malnutrition among them. Pregnancy and lactation deplete vital nutrients even more, raising the risk of nutritional insufficiency.

2. Poor Health: Females are less likely to receive health treatment than males. Many women are affected by reproductive illnesses and have had many pregnancies/miscarriages, resulting in poor reproductive health. Women's health is further harmed by poor working conditions and pollution.

3. Lack of education: Women have a substantially higher rate of illiteracy than men.

   It is usual practise to not send girls to school or to pull them out of school and burden them with domestic chores and child care tasks.

4. Overwork: Women labour longer hours and do more strenuous work than males, but their efforts are not only unappreciated, but also undervalued. They don't have time to care for their own health since they are so preoccupied with earning money and reproducing children.

5. Unskilled: Women's lack of skills forces them to work in petty occupations here and there. Their physical health is negatively impacted by poor and insufficient working conditions.

6. Mistreatment: Women's health is negatively impacted by violence towards them.

   The alarming increase in rape, assault, and dowry-related homicides against women has a severe impact on women's general health.

7. Additional forms of violence that devalue women and contribute to "missing girls" or a skewed sex ratio include female foeticide, infanticide, and sex-selective abortions.

8. Powerlessness: Despite the fact that the constitution guarantees women equality, legal protection has little effect in the face of patriarchal practises.

9. Women's right to well health is violated because they have no say in decisions about marriage age, family size, and the use of family planning methods.

10. Traditional definitions of gender: Masculinity is traditionally defined as having authority and control in emotional circumstances, the workplace, and sexual interactions. Competitiveness, independence, aggressiveness, ambition, confidence, toughness, rage, and even violence are all acceptable masculine behaviours (to varying degrees). Nurturing, supportive, and placing a great value on one's relationships are all characteristics of traditional femininity.

11. In marriage and at work, women are supposed to be emotionally expressive, dependent, meek, cooperative, warm, and accepting of subservient status. These factors are mostly to blame for women's poor health.

Determinants of Physical Health and Well-Being

The quantitative and qualitative characteristics of dietary intakes determine physical well-being. It is also influenced by the home quality and basic living facilities offered. In terms of physical comfort and atmosphere, a working woman's workplace is critical. The components of reproductive health, in particular, have a direct impact on women's physical well-being. Age at marriage, number of children, spacing between children, duration of breast feeding, and adoption of family planning strategies are just a few of them.

Food Intakes

Food intakes must be evaluated from two perspectives: quantitative and qualitative. While the quantitative aspect is concerned with the quantity or quantities of food ingested by an individual, the qualitative aspect is concerned with a wide range of micro- and macronutrients that are necessary for maintaining body health. A healthy body and mind require a well-balanced diet rich in carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Several studies have found that women have a high rate of malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies. Only 10% of women are fortunate enough to have access to a healthy diet. In our country, the majority of women work more than males and for longer periods of time, but their energy expenditure is not balanced by nutritional intake, which is inadequate and deficient in nutrients.

Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common kind of anaemia in India. In our country, around 87 percent of pregnant women, 68 percent of reproductive-age women, and 60-70 percent of adolescent girls are anaemic. This is the primary cause of increased morbidity among Indian women. The socio-cultural notion of women having primary duty for cooking and serving food to family members is one of the contributing elements to the current health statistics among Indian women. This position requires them to guarantee that everyone is well nourished and that they eat according to their preferences. Women are known to be the last to eat in the household. Given the fact that the majority of homes cook limited or measured portions of food, they cook and serve, and many times, they voluntarily forego their share for their children and other family members.

In addition, there are food taboos that prevent women from eating certain foods, and frequent fasts and voluntary food denial on several occasions lead to nutritional deprivation in women.

Common Illnesses and Medical Care

Aches/pains (back, head, stomach, uterus); weakness, fevers, respiratory difficulties, skin, eye, and ear problems; and reproductive disorders such as reproductive tract infection, white discharge, endometriosis, and so on are all frequent women's ailments. According to a study conducted by CEHAT (The Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes), women had a substantially greater rate of morbidity than men. Arthritis, menopause-related hot flushes and unease, osteoporosis, migraine, and leg edoema plague middle-aged women. Physical immobility is higher among old women than it is among senior males in both rural and urban locations. When it comes to medical treatment, women are the last to see a doctor and have the least access to rest, healthful recreation, exercise, and sports. All of these factors combined worsen the situation and jeopardise women's health.

Attitude towards Women’s Health

Women's health is neglected from womb to tomb as a result of social discrimination against them. Female infanticide and foeticide are common in both less developed and more developed states, such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as more developed states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat. According to the 2001 census, there were only 933 women for 1000 men, with 53.1 crore males and 49.6 crore females, resulting in a 3.5 crore female deficit.

In Kerala, the sex ratio is the most favourable, with 963 people in the 0-6 age range.

The state's overall population was 36.5 lakhs, with 18.6 lakhs of male babies and infants and 17.9 lakhs of female babies and infants. In Kerala, 79760 female babies and infants went missing in 2001. This masculinization of the sex ratio is the outcome of selective abortion of female foetuses after the sex of the foetus was determined using ultra-sound methods. The sex ratio of the child population has decreased to 927 girls for 1000 boys as a result of sex determination and sex pre-selection testing. Due to sex selective abortion of female foetuses and preconception rejection of daughters, sixty lakh female babies and girls are ‘missing.'

The government has devised methods to prevent female infanticide after recognising the consequences of the unfavourable gender ratio. The Tamil Nadu government launched the 'Cradle Baby Scheme,' which encourages parents to leave unwanted baby girls in cradles provided in hospitals, basic health centres, and orphanages, with the option to return them if they change their minds. The Delhi government launched the 'Laadli scheme' to encourage girls to attend school by providing financial assistance. Prenatal mortality and morbidity, as well as low birth weight newborn, are mostly due to a poor attitude about women's health.

Vicious Cycles and Poor Women

The vicious cycle of poverty feeds the terrible cycle of disease. Poverty causes the mother to consume less food and nutrients, resulting in undernutrition and recurrent illnesses caused by nutrition-related disorders and infections. They suffer from stunted development and growth failure as a result of this. As a result, they have a tiny adult body size, which reduces productivity and lowers earning capacity. Poverty and its persistence are the eventual results. Poverty forces just three possibilities for the girl child: child labour, child marriage, and child prostitution. Poverty, along with control over women's sexuality, fertility, and labour, manifests itself in the female child's life, which is made harder by malnutrition, early marriage, and an impoverished mother who gives birth to a low-weight infant.

If the baby is a girl, she will experience discrimination as well as repeated pregnancies and deliveries in the hopes of having a boy. Maternal mortality is the end result of this vicious cycle. Early marriage and pregnancy, a high frequency of reproductive tract infection, ignorance, a high infant mortality rate, a lack of control over fertility, sexuality, and contraception, and repeated pregnancies and miscarriages are all factors contributing to Indian women's poor reproductive health. Lactating mothers' nutritional requirements necessitate specific attention for the long-term health of both the new-born and the mother.

Violence and Health Issues over the Life Cycle

Women's health problems begin even before they are born. After the use of amniocentesis, chorion villi biopsy, sonography, ultrasound, and imaging procedures, they confront covert violence in the form of sex-selection and overt violence in the form of female foeticide. Infertile couples seek assisted reproduction at IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) facilities because of the social preference for a male kid. Advertisements like "Invest Rs 500 now and save Rs 50000 tomorrow" contribute to the increasing market for child-tailored sex. "If you get rid of your daughter now, you won't have to pay dowry afterwards," the warning says. Women under the age of five risk a lack of medical care and education, as well as sexual abuse and physical violence. They face early marriage, early pregnancy, sexual violence, domestic abuse, dowry harassment, and infertility as adolescent and adult women in the reproductive age group.

They may face desertion, witch hunts, and other consequences if they are unable to have offspring. All of these discriminatory practises contribute to a high maternal death rate. Haemorrhage, abortion, infection, obstructed labour, eclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy), sepsis, and anaemia are the most common causes of maternal death in India. The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) has developed a project called Dilaasa (meaning reassurance) in K.B. Bhabha Municipal General Hospital to provide psychological and social support to women who are victims of domestic violence. This initiative was developed in partnership with CEHAT, a non-governmental organisation.

Home and Work Conditions

The National Perspective Plan for Women emphasised the importance of identifying and providing for women's needs. Proper regard for women's unique housing requirements It was aware of the requirement. to give basic facilities in households to relieve stress and drudgery women's ability to undertake productive and reproductive duties a scarcity of space at Women are forced to undertake numerous jobs in a small "shared space" at home. Various reproductive tasks, like as child care and breastfeeding, are carried out at the same time. performed in the "public space" of one's own house. There is still no such thing as privacy.

in this circumstance On the home front, there is a paucity of fuel, feed, water, and herbs. Women's health has suffered as a result of deforestation. The rural and suburban areas For these essential human survival needs, indigenous women must go for kilometres. animals and human beings Desertification in Western India has heightened women's vulnerability. They have survival challenges since they must rely on sporadic public works programmes. The environmental phenomenon of global warming has resurrected earlier traditions. Cholera, typhoid, malaria, dengue fever, and haemorrhagic fever are examples of epidemics. Two million sex workers have been employed by the commercially flourishing sex trade. HIV, STDs, and AIDS are all possible carriers.

Prostituted women are invariably due to inadequate infrastructure, suffer from tuberculosis, STDs, malnutrition, malaria, and skin diseases living circumstances HIV infections are more common among married women. their spouses The data comes from ante-natal clinics in seven Indian towns. HIV-AIDS prevalence rates among pregnant women range from 2% to 3.5 percent. 1% in Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai, and 1% in Mumbai. Breast and ovarian cancer rates have increased as a result of today's modern lifestyle and surroundings. Indian women are more likely to have uterine cancer. The procedures for detecting cancer Women rarely employ self-examination of the breasts and pap smears. As a result, early cancer identification and therapy are no longer possible.

The liquor business deliberately promotes alcoholism for commercial reasons. Among the impoverished who toil. Men do not participate to the daily grind because to addiction. the management of the household Women have to bear the brunt of the load. expenditures in the home Biofuels such as wood, dung, and agricultural residue are used to generate electricity. Every year, 5 lakh women die as a result of indoor pollution. For the purpose of working Women's workplaces or offices hold a special place in their hearts. Since its inception, Respondents spend the majority of their days at work, and the physical environment has a significant impact on them. It has a direct impact on their health and well-being. Workstations that are clean and light are more productive.

They are beneficial to one's bodily health as well as to one's emotional well-being. Cluttered, dirty, and crowded work environments, on the other hand, are harmful to one's health. The workplace in The modern private sector offers superior working conditions than the public sector. the traditional federal government sector The addition of a toilet and drinking water facility relating to the standard of working circumstances Sexual harassment in the workplace should be prohibited. It should be considered an occupational health hazard because it harms both the physical and mental health of workers. as well as women's mental health One or the other is carried by all vocations. Women are at risk in the form of this type of hazard.