What is the worth of a woman's life?

Male violence against women is a worldwide phenomenon. Although not every woman has experienced it and many expect not to, fear of violence is an important factor in the lives of most women and a cause of women?s lack of participation in activities.

CJ: save daughters

Sun, May 03, 2009 11:08:16 IST

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Women :

THE TRUTH is not far away from what we all know – in India, there is a little worth for the life of a female. We all know and read about thousands of women who have been killed for dowry, but if a single man commits suicide, when his wife filed a dowry harassment case against him, society starts thinking that the dowry laws are being misused and they try to find ways to change them.

Has anybody wondered why, when a woman calls up her parents and informs them that she is being harassed for more dowry, the parents don’t pay much attention and when the daughter dies, they create an hue and cry. Why don’t the parents try to bring the daughter back from her in-laws while she is alive; is it because even they do not mind the daughter dying?

Why is it that parents don’t think twice before aborting a female child, or even abandoning a daughter when she is born? (Statistics speak in favour).

Why is it that it is compulsory for men to wear helmet, while on a two wheeler, but not for women (their life has no worth)?

Why is it that every women friendly law has met with a failure? Had dowry prohibition law been a success, the rate of female feticide had been less.

Why is it that a woman is supposed to go on bearing children (even at the cost of her health) till she has at least one or two son? Has anyone heard of a couple who has gone ahead and given birth to many sons in quest for a daughter?

Why is it that our police and judiciary always try to unite a couple and send a woman back to her matrimonial house, even if there is a danger to her life there? Is the mere fact of saving a family more important than saving the women’s life?

India's constitution guarantees free primary school education for both boys and girls up to the age of 14. This goal has been repeatedly reconfirmed, but primary education in India is not universal. Overall, the literacy rate for women is 39 per cent versus 64 per cent for men. The rate of women in the four large Northern states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh was lower than the national average: 25 per cent in 1991. Attendance rates from the 1981 census suggest that no more than 1/3 of all girls (and a lower proportion of rural girls) aged between five and 14 years attended school.

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, with differences greater in northern hospitals than southern ones, pointing to regional differences in the value placed on women. Women's socialisation to tolerate suffering and their reluctance to be examined by male personnel are additional constraints in their getting adequate health care.

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 rate is the reluctance to seek medical care for pregnancy. It is viewed as a temporary condition that will disappear. The estimates nationwide are that only 40 to 50 per cent of women receive any antenatal care.

After marriage, the bride moves in with her husband's family. Such a bride is "a stranger in a strange place." They are controlled by the elder females in the household and their behaviour reflects upon the honour of their husbands. As emotional ties between spouses are considered a potential threat to the solidarity of the patrilineal group, the northern system tends to segregate the sexes and limit communication between spouses — a circumstance that has direct consequences for family planning and similar "modern" behaviours that affect health. A young Indian bride is brought up to believe that her own wishes and interests are subordinate to those of her husband and his 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.

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Posted comments (7)

	good article....best of luck
	rajesh \| 10 August 2009 Reply to Comment \| New Comment \| Report Abuse

	Please... When would you stop this practice of victimology? In joint families, both men and women make sacrifices to make it work. The elder women of the family were also once young brides. If the joint family is not something that a young woman is prepared for, her parents should not marry her into such families.This constant drumbeat of womens victimhood is what is forcing parents to commit female feoticide. It is this drumbeat that is making the parents of young girls to consider these loving and lovable children as burdens. It is this mindset that is the root cause of forced marriages.Please for once stop this victim viewpoint and look at ways to celebrate the girl child and her successes. If sending the girl away to a new family is a problem, why dont you find a slightly less qualified son-in-law who is willing to stay with his in-laws or close to them. Dont tell me you cannot find such men. But then, when you find such a man, how much respect you are willing to afford him.This is the duplicity. When we question the roles that have evolved over generations, we cannot limit to questioning the roles of only one gender. We must question the role of both genders. When you want to emancipate the women from her traditional roles, you must do that to men also.Now, you introspect - you will see the corruption in your thinking.
	kris \| 04 May 2009 Reply to Comment \| New Comment \| Report Abuse

Well Said Buddy , When Womens roles are changing ,and want men to accept them with changed roles , then women must accept men with changed role . Women want to have their cake and eat it too.

Santokh Singh Saggu | 29 May 2009

	"he 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." --->> SICK MINDSET. People like discourages the moral of WOMEN in the society by witting such a BAD(negative) article which is way par away from TRUTH..
	Pravin \| 04 May 2009 Reply to Comment \| New Comment \| Report Abuse