Women in India free essay sample

Other Sikh Gurus also preached against the discrimination against women. See also: Women in Sikhism Historical practices Traditions among some communities such as sati, jauhar, and devadasi have been banned and are largely defunct in modern India. However, some cases of these practices are still found in remote parts of India. The purdah is still practised by Indian women among some communities, and child marriage remains prevalent despite it being an illegal practice, especially under current Indian laws. Sati Sati is an old, largely defunct custom, among some communities in which the widow was immolated alive on her husbands funeral pyre. Although the act was supposed to be a voluntary on the widows part, it is believed to have been sometimes forced on the widow. It was abolished by the British in 1829. There have been around forty reported cases of sati since independence. [21] In 1987, the Roop Kanwar case of Rajasthan led to The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act. We will write a custom essay sample on Women in India or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page [22] Jauhar Jauhar refers to the practice of the voluntary immolation of all the wives and daughters of defeated warriors, in order to avoid capture and consequent molestation by the enemy. The practice was followed by the wives of defeated Rajput rulers, who are known to place a high premium on honour. Purdah Purdah is the practice among some communities of requiring women to cover their bodies so as to cover their skin and conceal their form. It imposes restrictions on the mobility of women, it curtails their right to interact freely and it is a symbol of the subordination of women. It does not reflect the religious teachings of either Hinduism or Islam, contrary to common belief, although misconception has occurred due to the ignorance and prejudices of religious leaders of both faiths. citation needed] Devadasis Devadasi is a religious practice in some parts of southern India, in which women are married to a deity or temple. The ritual was well established by the 10th century A. D. [23] In the later period, the illegitimate sexual exploitation of the devadasis became a norm in some parts of India. British rule European scholars observed in the 19th century that Hind u women are naturally chaste and more virtuous than other women. [24] During the British Raj, many reformers such as Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Jyotirao Phule etc. fought for the upliftment of women. Peary Charan Sarkar, a former student of Hindu College, Calcutta and a member of Young Bengal set up the first free school for girls in India in 1847 in Barasat, a suburb of Calcutta (later the school was named Kalikrishna Girls High School). While this list might suggest that there was no positive British contribution during the Raj era, that is not entirely so, since missionaries wives like Martha Mault nee Mead and her daughter Eliza Caldwell nee Mault are rightly remembered for pioneering the education and training of girls in south India a practise that initially met with local resistance, as it flew in the face of tradition. Raja Rammohan Roys efforts led to the abolition of the Sati practice under Governor-General William Cavendish-Bentinck in 1829. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagars crusade for the improvement in condition of widows led to the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856. Many women reformers such as Pandita Ramabai also helped the cause of women upliftment. Kittur Chennamma, the queen of the princely state Kittur in Karnataka[citation needed], led an armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of lapse. Abbakka Rani the queen of coastal Karnataka led the defence against invading European armies notably the Portuguese in 16th century. Rani Lakshmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi, led the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British. She is now widely considered as a nationalist hero. Begum Hazrat Mahal, the co-ruler of Awadh, was another ruler who led the revolt of 1857. She refused the deals with the British and later retreated to Nepal. The Begums of Bhopal were also few of the notable female rulers during this period. They did not observe purdah and were trained in martial arts. Chandramukhi Basu, Kadambini Ganguly and Anandi Gopal Joshi were few of the earliest Indian women to obtain educational degrees. In 1917, the first womens delegation met the Secretary of State to demand womens political rights, supported by the Indian National Congress. The All India Womens Education Conference was held in Pune in 1927[citation needed]. In 1929, the Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed, stipulating fourteen as the minimum age of marriage for a girl through the efforts of Mahomed Ali Jinnah. [19][25] Though Mahatma Gandhi himself married at the age of thirteen, he later urged people to boycott child marriages and called upon the young men to marry the child widows. [26] Women played an important part in Indias independence struggle. Some of the famous freedom fighters include Bhikaji Cama, Dr. Annie Besant, Pritilata Waddedar, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kriplani and Kasturba Gandhi. Other notable names include Muthulakshmi Reddy, Durgabai Deshmukh etc. The Rani of Jhansi Regiment of Subhas Chandra Boses Indian National Army consisted entirely of women including Captain Lakshmi Sahgal. Sarojini Naidu, a poet and a freedom fighter, was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress and the first woman to become the governor of a state in India. Women in India free essay sample Traditions taboo women from preforming certain tasks. The only thing they are expected to do is nurture and care for their husbands. A woman who is educated is unlikely to get married because they have the power to fight back and speak up against abuse. Some culture allows men to rape their wife if they refuse to have sex and no form of punishment is given to the husband. My research paper is about rape and abuse of women in India. I began my research at Borough of Manhattan college library as well as Half the Sky book that I read in class. Most of the information is found in the book so I use BMCC library for additional information if needed. Also, my teacher at school assists me with finding information if I have difficulty doing so. Half the sky has been an excellent source of information, providing me with accurate information to my research unfortunately, when I use BMCC library the information I gathered from the internet isn’t useful. We will write a custom essay sample on Women in India or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I inputted key words from topic like rape in India, abuse in India and India in general. There’s still no information there for me to use. I continue to use the book until I find data that is relevant to my paper. One of the reasons why women are targeted is because they lack education. Women who have education are less likely to be attack because they have a voice to speak up against rape and these are the women who create projects to help hopeless women. â€Å"In developing countries, tormenting the illiterate is usually risk-free; preying on the educated is more perilous. †(Kristoff 50) Women with education are stronger than illiterate women because they cannot be strict into agreements that will cause their lives and preying on the weak will cause fewer problems. There’s highly a chance of the victims receiving justice. â€Å"That is the power of education. One study after another has shown that educating girls is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty. †(Kristoff 169) Education has so much to do with women in India but there are not enough facilities to educate these women. Uneducated women always end up in the slum of India and bear the abuse that is inflected on them. Women, in India, have no voice even the government is against women’s right and women in politics are forbidden. More broadly the single most important way to encourage women and girls to stand up for their rights is education and we can do far more to promote universal education in poor countries. † (Kristoff 5) In some countries, women are used for the tool of war. Giving their women to other countries as a peace offering and they can do whatever they want to them including rape and abuse them. If women had education none of this would be happening around the world. â€Å"Rape is only the tip of the iceberg in a country where women face a broad range of violence and discrimination that leads to the deaths of almost 2 million women a year†. Harris A. 4) Men, in general, is considered as society and set rules that are against women’s rights. For example, a man can marry as many wives as they want and can abuse them if necessary creating a polygamy family. If a women were suppose marry as many men as she wants, she will be called hurtful names and stoned to death by family members. The abuse of women is endless and living in a patriarchal society there’s injustice against women. Another reason is culture. There are many cultures in India and traditions are very imperative to them. Therefore, everyone has to obey the rules and regulation and changing their culture is not an option. In some cultures, it’s okay for a husband to rape and abuse their wives if they refuse sex and do not perform their house hold duties. â€Å"There are good practical as well as cultural reasons for women to accept abuse rather than fight back and risk being killed† (Kristoff 47) There’s no reason for a women to get married if they’re going to get abuse all the time for no particular reason. Women cannot report abuse or bring the culprit to court because they will receive no form of justice base on their gender. Its cultural rules, those women have to endure any form of abuse. â€Å"In India, a â€Å"bride burning†Ã¢â‚¬â€to punish a woman for an inadequate dowry or to eliminate her so a man can remarry. † (T. N. M 375) As you can see, men will do anything to a women if they refuse sex even kill them if they have to. There’s a particular culture that allows men to stone their wives to death, if they don’t show signs of their virtue (blooding after having sex for the first time), in front of their father. This is called â€Å"cult of virginity†. Again you see that men control everything and can do what they want. Women have no justice in society because they are the target and they live in fear; fearing when their lives is coming to an end. â€Å"Government statistics show a woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, but the countrys conviction rate for the crime is one of the lowest in the world†. ( Fritzmaurice 14) Men in India, destroy women drastically so they think that their worthless and weak and there’s no hope for them. The effect is so traumatizing that they are afraid to act against domestic violence and this has a permanent effect on them. Everything rotates around culture because their traditions begun with men controlling everything and women cannot participate in any leadership role but men. â€Å"Government statistics show a woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, but the countrys conviction rate for the crime is one of the lowest in the world. † Therefore, women have been growing up in a patriarchal society where men have the final saying in everything pertain to women and they cannot made any decisions for themselves or else they will be tabooed from their village. One of the major problems that Indian women face on a daily basis is sex trafficking. Majority of women in India has been introduce to prostitution from a very young age. The conditions they live in are unbearable and escaping from the brothels isn’t an option. Many girls have been kidnapped or sold to brothel owners from a young age. They started to have sex from the age of three. These young children know nothing about how the world operates because they spend their entire lives in the brothel having sex and being abused. They obey the owners because prostitution is the only thing they know how to do. Besides, the consequences of disobeying are unbearable. Sometimes the owners exaggerate and cause serious damages. For example, Meena tried to escape from the brothels but she was caught and was beaten badly and was left in the room in a pool of blood. ( Kristoff 34) Also, they have been beaten by customers and owners because of customer dissatisfaction. Leaving the brothel isn’t an option for most women because the owners threaten them with the shame of being a prostitute and what effect it will have on the family. This can cause â€Å"honor killing† in which a relative brutally kill the woman who has brought shame among the family. Honor killing is a cultural aspect against women as well. â€Å"Laws protecting women against economic exploitation, prostitution and rape are weak† (T. N. M 375) Women has been suffering from religious or government laws rather than benefitting from it. Furthermore, in India, where caste system is relevant to their society, girls are forced into prostitution by their mother. These girls will suffer from rape and abuse as long as there in the brothels. Case in point, abuses in brothels will never stop because they forced young kids into prostitution and they refused to have sex. The damages can be severe and leave bruises that will last a life time. As I said before, rape and abuse is endless until someone speak against these violence. Women bear these abuses every day because their obligation to it or else they will be killed. India has the highest rate of women abuse and it can go down if one person will fight against abuse. All it takes is just one behave person to stand up and the rest will follow. In the half the sky, Kristoff wanted to interview a rape victim but they all were shy and scared until one was appointed to him. They took her outside for questioning ten minutes later; there was a line fill of rape victims ready to tell their stories. These abuses sometimes lead women in the form of depression, isolation and poor reproductive health conditions. When will the torture of women stop?