Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694870976187.pdf (India)
MEMBERS REFERENCE SERVICE LARRDIS LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI REFERENCE NOTE For the use of Members of Parliament NOT FOR PUBLICATION No.

02/RN/Ref./January/2020 GENDER EQUALITY Prepared by Shri Sham Lal Dogra, Joint Director (23034250) and Smt.

Kusum Rawat, Additional Director (23035036) of Lok Sabha Secretariat under the supervision of Shri Naushad Alam, Director (23034749) and Shri R.C.

Tiwari, Joint Secretary (23034430).


reference The Reference Note is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication.

This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources indicated at the end/in the context.

Introduction GENDER EQUALITY Women and girls represent half of the world‟s population and, therefore, also half of its potential.
Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development.

Moreover, it has been shown that empowering women spurs productivity and economic growth.

Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go to achieve full equality of rights and opportunities between men and women.
Therefore, it is of paramount importance to end the multiple forms of gender violence and secure equal access to quality education and health, economic resources and participation in political life for both women and girls and men and boys.

It is also essential to achieve equal opportunities in access to employment and to positions of leadership and decision-making at all levels.
Gender Equality and Human Rights The landmark Declaration, adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948, reaffirms that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and that “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, … birth or other status.” As the international feminist movement began to gain momentum during the 1970s, the General Assembly declared 1975 as the International Women‟s Year and organized the first World Conference on Women, held in Mexico City.
At the urging of the Conference, it subsequently declared the years 1976-1985 as the UN Decade for Women and established a Voluntary Fund for Decade.

In 1979, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which is often described as an International Bill of Rights for Women.

In its 30 articles, the Convention explicitly defines discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
The Convention targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations, and it is the first human rights treaty to affirm the reproductive rights of women.

Gender Equality and Population -2- To comprehend the nitty-gritty of the social structure of a country the analysis of population composition is very crucial and assist the Government for framing policy for eliminating gender discrimination in all of its forms.
As per Census 2011, India‟s population is 121.06 Cr with 48.5% female population.

The average annual exponential growth rate of population has declined from 1.95 in 2001 to 1.63 in 2011.

During this period similar pattern is observed for females (1.99 to 1.68) and for males (1.92 to 1.58).

In India, Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 males in the population, whereas in almost all the UN publications/International publications, it is expressed as males to per 100 females.
From 2001 to 2011, sex ratio in rural India has increased from 946 to 949 and increased from 900 to 929 in urban India.

At all India level sex ratio has decreased from 933 in 2001 to 943 in 2011.

The Sex Ratio has further improved to 931 during the year 2018-19.
The details are explained in the following table: Trend in Population, Sex Ratio and Average Annual Growth Rate of Population of Post- Independence India Gender Equality and Health Better health is focal point of human happiness and well-being in the society.

It also makes an important contribution to economic progress and overall development as healthy populations are more productive.
Availability of vital statistics & Health related statistics are very crucial for framing various policy to address various health issues across the society.

Since health of female -3- also effect health and wellbeing of next generation it becomes essential to assess the differentials in terms gender for various health indicators and also to examine the level of various women specific health indicators.
In India, the governmental Hospitals having been provided the highest percentage of medical attention at delivery with 53.4 on the other hand private hospitals are providing medical attention at delivery at 27.4.

Since, 2014 to 2016, there has been a constant decline in medical attention at delivery by untrained functionary, the trend for delivery by untrained functionary is at 10.2, 9.8, 8.9 for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.
The detailed health indicators are explained below:- Important Women related vital Rates in India during 2013-16 Gender Equality and Education -4- Literacy and level of education are basic indicators of the level of development achieved by a society.

Higher levels of education and literacy, particularly of female literacy, lead to a greater awareness and also contributes in improvement of economic and social conditions.
It acts as a catalyst for social upliftment enhancing the returns on investment made in almost every aspect of development effort, be it population control, health, hygiene, environmental degradation control, employment of weaker sections of the society.

The female literacy rate for 2011 increased sharply from 53.7 in 2001 to 64.6 in 2011.

On the other hand, male literacy rate increased sharply from 75.3 in 2001 to 80.9% in 2011.
The comparative Literacy Rates are given in the following Table:- Comparison of Literacy Rates Crime Against Women -5- Majority of cases under crimes against women out of total IPC crimes against women were registered under 'Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives' (31.9%) followed by 'Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty' (27.6%), 'Kidnapping & Abduction of Women' (22.5%) and 'Rape' (10.3%).

The crime rate per lakh women population is 58.8 in 2018 in comparison with 57.9 in 2017.
The details regarding crime against women is given below: IPC Crimes against Women (Crime Head-wise & States/UT-wise) – 2018 As per data provided by States/UTs #Clarifications are pending from West Bengal, Assam, Arunanchal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Sikkim Gender Equality and Labour Participation -6- Government has taken several initiatives to improve women‟s participation in the labour force.
In order to encourage employment of women, a number of protective provisions have been incorporated in various labour laws for creating congenial work environment for women workers.

These includes child care centers, time-off for feeding children, enhancement in paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, provisions for mandatory crèche facility in the establishments having 50 or more employees, permitting women workers in the night shifts with adequate safety measures, etc.
The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides for payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers for same work or work of similar nature without any discrimination.

Further, under the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the wages fixed by the appropriate Government are equally applicable to both male and female workers without any gender discrimination.
As per the results of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation during 2017-18, the estimated female Labour force participation rate on usual status (ps+ss) basis for persons age 15 years & above in the country during 2004-05, 2009-10, 2011-12 and PLFS (2017-18) is 42.7%, 32.6%, 31.2% and 23.3% respectively.
Gender Equality and Women Empowerment The Millennium Declaration identified Gender Equality and Women‟s Empowerment (GEWE) as one of eight Millennium Development Goals and stated that it was an effective means to combat poverty, hunger and disease, as well as to stimulate development that is truly sustainable.
Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG 3) was established to “Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and at all levels of education no later than 2015.” The MDG Summit 2010 called for further action to ensure gender parity in education, health, economic opportunities and decision-making through gender mainstreaming in development policymaking.
An important route to achieving gender equality is by empowering of women through education, employment and political representation, as well as by ensuring women‟s access to reproductive health services.

Another fundamental step towards the realization of gender equality is to eradicate all forms violence against women.

Gender Budgeting -7- Women and girls face various forms of vulnerability throughout the life cycle.
They may face discrimination before or after birth; violence, harassment or abuse; neglect due to dependence and lack of access to resources; social prejudice; and exploitation – whether economic, political, social or religious.

They are vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination regardless of where they are positioned on the economic and social spectrum.

Gender Budgeting is a tool that can be used to address these vulnerabilities.

Gender Budgeting is a tool for gender mainstreaming.
It uses the Budget as an entry point to apply a gender lens to the entire policy process.

Gender Budgeting is concerned with gendersensitive formulation of legislation, policies, plans, programmes and schemes; allocation and collection of resources; implementation and execution; monitoring, review, audit and impact assessment of programmes and schemes; and follow-up corrective action to address gender disparities.

Government of India adopted 'Gender Budgeting' as a tool in the year 2004-05.
Various Central Ministries have established Gender Budgeting Cells (GBCs) for this purpose.

The financial allocation made by various Ministries has increased from Rs.

14,378.68 crores to Rs.

131,700 crores from financial year 2005-06 to 2019-20.

Government Schemes/ Programmes The Government of India is implementing various schemes /programmes to overcome gender disparity and provide equal status to the women in the country.
The Schemes/Programmes being implemented are as under:  Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme: The Census (2011) data showed a significant declining trend in the Child Sex Ratio1 (CSR) between 0-6 years with an all time low of 918.

The issue of decline in the CSR is a major indicator of women disempowerment as it reflects both, pre-birth discrimination manifested through gender biased sex selection, and post birth discrimination against girls.
Coordinated and convergent efforts are needed to ensure survival, protection and education of the girl child.

In this background, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme was launched by the Government of India on 22nd January, 2015 to address the issue of decline in CSR and related -8- issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continnum.

The Overall Goal of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme is to celebrate the girl child and enable her education.
The objectives of the Scheme are as under: i.

To prevent gender biased sex selective elimination ii.

To ensure survival and protection of the girl child iii.

To ensure education and participation of the girl child The Scheme has been implemented in 161 districts till date.

 Nirbhaya Fund Scheme: Violence and abuse against women and girls is frequent on streets, in public transportation and in other public places.
Such occurrences restrict women‟s right to mobility, discouraging their freedom to walk freely and move in public spaces of their choice.

Such violence also limits their access to essential services and adversely impact their health and well being.

In this context, and following the tragedy of December 2012, the Government has set up a dedicated fund – Nirbhaya Fund – which can be utilized for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of women.
It is a non-lapsable corpus fund, being administered by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

 Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme: The budget speech (2017-19) of the Finance Minister announced setting up of "Mahila Shakti Kendra" at village level in 14 lakh ICDS Anganwadi Centres with an allocation of Rs 500 crore.

This is meant to provide "one stop convergent support services for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital literacy, health and nutrition".
Accordingly, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has proposed a new sub-scheme namely Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK) under the Umbrella Scheme of Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women.

 Adolescent Girls Scheme: For the first time in India, a special intervention was devised for adolescent girls using the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) infrastructure.

ICDS with its opportunity for childhood development, seeks to reduce both socio-economic and gender inequities.
The Adolescent Girls (AG) Scheme under ICDS primarily is aimed at breaking the inter-generational life-cycle of nutritional and gender disadvantage and providing a supportive environment for self-development.

 Swadhar Greh Scheme: This is the scheme of the Central Government and is designed to provide relief and rehabilitation to destitute women and women in distress.
-9-  Ujjawala Scheme: The scheme is designed for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation  Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK): The scheme has been started by the Government of India to provide loan to poor women through Intermediary Microfinancing Organisations (IMOs), Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to promote their socio-economic development  Working Women Hostels (WWH): This scheme is meant for ensuring safe accommodation for women working away from their place of residence.
 One Stop Centre: The Ministry of Women and Child Development is also implementing Scheme of ‘One Stop Centre’ to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence  Universalisation of Women Helpline: The scheme is intended to provide 24 hours immediate and emergency response to women affected by violence and  Mahila Police Volunteers: The scheme has been started by the Government of India and it acts as a link between police and community and help the women in distress Gender Sensitization The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has developed syllabus and textbooks across the subjects to promote gender sensitization in the school curriculum.
The text books at all stages of school education prioritise gender sensitization in designing of activities/exercises.

Legislative Intervention The Government of India has already enacted a number of legislations to prevent exploitation/ harassment of women and to address the issues of discrimination and gender disparity.
These include „The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009‟, „The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013‟, „The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005‟, „The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961‟, „The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986‟, „The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013‟; „The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006‟, „The Equal -10- Remuneration Act, 1976‟, „The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017‟ and the 73rd - 74th Amendment of the Constitution mandating 33% reservation for women in the local governance.
The Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 has been enacted making the punishment more stringent for offences like rape, sexual assaults, etc.

References: 1.

Lok Sabha Unstarred Q.No.

201 dated 18.11.2019 URL: http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/172/AU201.pdf 2.

Gender Budgeting Handbook, pg.

1-2 URL: https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/GB%20-%20Handbook%20October%202015.pdf 3.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme, May 2019, Ministry of Women and Child Development, pg.6-7 URL: https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/Guideline_5.pdf 4.

Lok Sabha Unstarred Q.No.


394 dated 19.07.2019 URL: http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/171/AS394.pdf 5. http://www.unesco.org/culture/pdf/gender/Gender_Thematic_Study_5-pager_Final_Link.pdf 6. http://ncrb.gov.in/ 7. https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/Approved%20framework%20for%20Nirbhaya%20Fund_0.pdf 8. https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/Mahila%20Shakti%20Kendra%20Scheme.pdf 9. https://wcd.nic.in/detailed-guidelines-implementation-scheme