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Gender Perspectives to Access Development Entitlements and Review Women's Programmes

Gender Perspectives to Access Development Entitlements and Review Women's Programmes. Gramya Resource Centre for Women, Hyderabad Dr V Rukmini Rao December 13, 2010. Right to Life.

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Gender Perspectives to Access Development Entitlements and Review Women's Programmes

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  1. Gender Perspectives to Access Development Entitlements and Review Women's Programmes Gramya Resource Centre for Women, Hyderabad Dr V Rukmini Rao December 13, 2010

  2. Right to Life • Women's entitlements to development and better quality of life need to be understood in the context of existing gender inequalities produced by social norms, customs and state policies • Increasing vulnerabilities of women, poor and marginalized in a globalizing world need to be addressed by all to reduce gender gap • In India 40 millions women are missing/killed either due to female feticide, infanticide, neglect by the family and the State • Sex Ratio 933 women to 1000 men

  3. Right to Food • Access to Food has decreased in the last decade; availability reduced from 485 grams per day per person to 419 grams per day in spite of high growth rates • Currently BPL Card holders quota provides for 16% of family needs • Agriculture in which majority of people work – incomes reduced by 14%. Agriculture labour feminized • Shift from Self provisioning by small and marginal farmers to market dependency • Shift from Nutritious Millets to rice and wheat

  4. Right to Food • Women Farmers Need to gain control over their own seeds • Access low input sustainable agriculture – Knowledge and policy support required • Create autonomous markets of and for the poor • Women farmers need fair farm gate prices • National right to food campaign demands: 14 kilos of cereals per month per person at Rs. 2/- a kilo; 1.5 kilo pulses at Rs. 20/- per kilo and 800 grams of cooking oil at Rs. 35/- per kilo (under negotiation) • Half the entitlement for children

  5. Right to Food • Demand to recognize women as head of household on ration cards • Demands from the Millet Network : Millets to be distributed through the PDS • Political leadership to debate and promote programmes to increase millet cultivation • Recognize the ability of millets to mitigate climate change and provide nutritious food • Women are in the forefront of the struggle • Issues of single women to be discussed separately

  6. Health Status • The health of Indian Women is linked to their status in society • Strong son preference • High dowry cost for daughters – resulting in low status • Women have little autonomy and decision-making over health related decisions • Poor health, results in inadequate child care and affects economic well being of the household

  7. Women’s Health determined by Low Wages and Fertility to a great extent • High levels of infant mortality combined with the strong son preference, force women to bear high numbers of children • Numerous pregnancies and closely spaced births result in premature births, low birth weight babies, and also increase the health risk for mothers

  8. Small Family Norm • Fertility rates for literate women are 2.2 while for non literate people it is 4 • While knowledge of family planning is universal, only 36% of married women aged 13 to 49 currently use modern contraceptives • Place of residence, education and religion are strongly related to both fertility and contraceptive use • Government programmes push female sterilization at an young age 97%

  9. Maternal Mortality Rate • MMR National Average is 254 • These are preventable deaths • Developed countries MMR - 4 to 7 • Main cause lack of access to food and healthcare • 37% of all pregnant women receive no prenatal care • Women in rural areas less likely to receive care : 42%

  10. Maternal Mortality Rate • Three quarters of all births took place at home • 2/3rds of all births were not attended by trained medical personnel • Focus on hospital deliveries, reduced community skills - TBAs

  11. Violence Against Women is also a Health Issue • Estimates for dowry deaths are 25,000 a year • Increase in reported level of crimes against women • Much of violence is faced at home • Large number of Rapes go unreported • 30% of all reported rapes girls aged 16 and younger • Women struggle to access Prevention of domestic violence law. Inadequate budget to implement the law

  12. Infectious Diseases • Malaria & Tuberculosis endemic among indigenous community and the poor • HIV/AIDS epidemic is spreading and will increasingly affect women’s health and mounting social problems • Lack of clean drinking water and sanitation – a major issue in the country

  13. Right to Education • At the time of independence National Female Literacy rate was 8.9% Today access to primary schools has increased though millions of girls continue to be out of school • Gender gap continues to remain. MDG unmet – all girls in primary school • Special focus required to bring girls to school • Vulnerable sections continue to be in agriculture - girl child labour picking cotton and helping families; girls from Muslim community; girls from extremely poor and migrating families; older girls who missed primary education and girls from indigenous and dalit communities

  14. Entitlements Flow From • Education for all 1986, modified in 1992; Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan EFA 2001 • 42nd Constitutional amendment brought education into concurrent list • Right to Education Act came into force 1st April, 2010 provides for free and compulsory education from the age of 6 to 14 years • RTE provides for 25% seats for poor children in private schools (government to pay according to their own costs)

  15. Budgetory Constraints • Women's movement has demanded 6% of budgetory allocation for education • Private schools in the country 19.44% of total; Aided schools 5.67%; Unaided 13.77% • 10 million children estimated to be migrating with their families with girl child facing increasing vulnerability • Current year budget Rs. 33, 214 Crores (marginal increase over last year) • In AP alone World Bank estimates school infrastructure costs more than at 1 billion rupees

  16. Right to Work • 70 million people out of work according to 55th National Sample Survey (7.2%) • 52% self employed; 33% workers in casual employment; • Share in organised sector declining along with deterioration in labour standards • Women workers face retrenchment, casualisation of work, work place pressure, subject to sexual harassment and forced to live in unsafe unsanitary conditions.

  17. NREGA • Government responds by creating MNREGA • Women working in large numbers estimated 40% • Issue of low wages and irregular work continue • NREGA not an individual entitlement but household based In export industries • Demand for floor wages in export industries such as garments • Unionization to be supported • Basic social security to be provided to all workers – Welfare boards for unorganised sector to be activated

  18. Right to Natural Resources • Access and control over agriculture land; gives women an opportunity to farm and feed their families • Family law does not provide for equal rights to men and women • Contract farming creating increasing vulnerabilities • Biofuel production likely to compromise women's access to marginal lands / other enclosure processes • SEZs and Irrigation projects leading to large scale displacement / struggle to implement adivasi rights and recognise R+R independently

  19. Review of Women & Child Welfare Programmes • SGSY programme by government organises SHGs of women to overcome financial, market and technical constraints to set up micro enterprises – budget for 2010 – 11, Rs. 2984 Crores. • With an investment of Rs. 25,000/- per person expected to generate income of Rs. 2000/- per month • It is well known that loans do not lead to overall well being of people but there is a need to invest in healthcare and capacity building / new skills • Safety net or spot running?

  20. Entitlement to Economic Resources Rashtriya Mahila Kosh • For the year 2010 – 11 RMK sanctioned loans Rs. 280.03 crores and disbursed Rs. 233.70 crores, benefiting 6,58,746 persons • Microfinance Companies have an outreach to 2.7 crore people and estimated investment Rs. 11000 Crores loans mostly given to women • Microfinance related deaths 56 people in Andhra Pradesh • The government currently recognizes that the poorest of the poor have been left out of the process of SHG formation

  21. Demands by the Women's Movement • Success indictors to include • Expenses on self-food, clothes, health and reading material • Improvement in nutritional status • Mobility • Ability to articulate views and communicate • Understanding issues of gender, class, caste, religion etc • Bodily integrity including but not limited to control over fertility • Access to media and technology • Political Participation

  22. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • Mid Term Review 11th Plan • Creches Scheme – Number of beneficiaries 7,92,950 • Due to lack of funds no new creches are sanctioned from 2008 onwards • Last year NREGA investment Rs. 16,000 crores but worksites are not providing childcare facilities – lessthan 5% • NIPCCD trainings – upto 11th plan midterm review 6,979 – relevance to be reviewed.

  23. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • Integrated scheme for street children – number of beneficiaries 32,588. 61 street children projects & 153 childline projects assisted • Shishu Graha Scheme - 1150 abandoned children supported - Cradle scheme designed to save the girl child • Unforseen consequencies – Parents feel enabled to throw away their girl daughter • Mothers threatened to give away daughters or else! • Women forced to become baby making machines to produce boys • Irresponsible social norms created

  24. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • Central Adaption Resource Agency [CARA] – Planned adoptions for three years are 13,200; 6197 adoptions achieved • Dhanalakshmi Scheme to protect / insurance for girl child - Review yet to take place Women Development • Working women's hostels 11 – mostly located in urban areas • STEP – 1,10,000 planned beneficiaries – achieved 70,920

  25. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • National Commission for Women: Seminars, public hearings, legal awareness camps etc. Planned – beneficiaries not clear • Swadhar Homes for Women: Number of new homes planned only 46 and achieved 81 – beneficiaries 15,360 • Ujjwala Scheme : To be discussed later – reported beneficiaries 3950 (trafficking issue) • Relief and rehabilitation of Rape Victims – Scheme being planned

  26. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • National Commission for Women: Seminars, public hearings, legal awareness camps etc. Planned – beneficiaries not clear • Swadhar Homes for Women: Number of new homes planned only 46 and achieved 81 – beneficiaries 15,360 • Ujjawala Scheme : To be discussed later – reported beneficiaries 3950 • Relief and rehabilitation of Rape Victims – Scheme being planned

  27. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • Support to Voluntary Organisations – Short Stay Home, Condensed Course of Education for adult women, Awareness generation programmes etc. • Main Issue of follow up – Central Social Welfare Board have become parking slots for politicians. No efforts have been made to professionalize these Boards nor it is able to move from welfare agenda to empowerment (Subhash Mendhapurkar) • Nutrition Education Scheme – Ongoing, but outreach limited

  28. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • ICDS - Outreach to 330.34 lakh children and 143.31 lakh women for supplementary nutrition • Seven main services for child development and to enhance the capability of mother to look after health, nutritional and developmental needs of the child through proper community education Recent study carried out in Madhya Pradesh highlights following: -

  29. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • Inspite of Supreme Court Orders that all seven services must be provided universally. Ministry report shows that still 60% children and more than 73% eligible women beneficiaries are out of focus • Exclusion of children and women from ICDS services on the basis of caste and community continues • Most centres lacked their own building • Services are to be provided for 300 days in a year but in practice this is not so

  30. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • Most centres lacking basic facilities. 58% lack utensils, 56% lack safe drinking water, 76% lack toilet facilities, 60% lack playing kit and preschool education, 89% lack medical kit. • Quality of supplementary nutrition poor – only 28% providing hot cooked meal. 44% providing good quality nutritious food • Growth monitoring not carried out, lack of equipment – 72% of the studied centres had salter weighing machines, only 66% centres have adult weighing machines.

  31. Central Sector SchemesMinistry of WCD • 58% had growth registers – there is a shortage of field functionaries – CDPOs, ACDPOs etc. • Though the state claimed it was spending Rs. 2/- per beneficiary detailed analysis shows that only Rs. 0.84 was allocated for beneficiaries • As per budget allocated supplementary nutrition is available only for 126 days in a year and not 300 days in a year

  32. Entitlement for Poorest of the Poor Not Met • Ownership of assets – including common property resources • Focus on grants for survival needs, not credit • Focus on primitive tribal groups and Maha dalit groups • Sustainable livelihoods to be promoted

  33. Increasing Vulnerabilities Religious and Linguistic Minorities • Non representation in political power • Women used as pawns to uphold “culture” • Indigenous people disproportionately displaced • Operation Green hunt creating civil war like situation, new vulnerability of internally displaced persons

  34. Increasing Vulnerabilities Religious and Linguistic Minorities • Identity related issues: Muslims carry a double burden of being labelled anti-national and as being appeased • Women wearing burqa ill-treated • Women housebound with reduced education and work opportunities • Gender based fear of public spaces • Lack of credit, skills, markets

  35. Increasing Vulnerabilities Religious and Linguistic Minorities • Security related: Delay in police action during riots; loss of life and property • Now true for Christian Community in Orissa • North East region in turmoil • Equity related: Poor civic amenities in Muslim localities (old city areas); • Poverty main cause for lower educational levels • Loss of traditional Muslim livelihoods

  36. Future Directions Current programmes for rural women stress SHG as a means to climb out of poverty productive • We need programmes for productive asset building • Skill development related to organic farming, market access to credit, dairy / to increase productivity • Urgent need to provide education to left out young women • Basic social security for all women

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