{"id":1310,"date":"2020-07-15T05:09:59","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T05:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developmentdebate.in\/2020\/07\/15\/gender-inequalities-and-gender-based\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T08:22:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T08:22:24","slug":"gender-inequalities-and-gender-based","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developmentdebate.in\/?p=1310","title":{"rendered":"Gender Inequalities and Gender Based Violence: Shadow Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introspective Note of an Indian Feminist<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Sanghamitra Dhar\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

GENDER DISCUSSION BRINGS CHEERS OR JEERS<\/span><\/p>\n

In our contemporary
\nsocial media-driven world, opinions are formed and vehemently spread at the
\nclick of the mouse and a chirpy tweet – often unreasonable, judgmental, and
\nbiased but always exhibiting power play! It is biased because often it is
\ncirculation of unverified, unreliable, vested information. This has created a
\nvacuum in the rational health of a logical society.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In such an
\nintellectually bereft environment, the chasm is even more profound when the topic
\nis on gender inequality of women and girls <\/b>as it brings either intense
\ncheers or jeers. <\/i>It is considered \u201c\u2026unnecessary now as the
\ntwenty-first century is women\u2019s and they have the maximum access to resources
\nand services that they ever had!\u201d \u00a0\u201c\u2026many of the laws for the protection
\nand safety of women is misused to make the life of the men\/husband\/partner\/male
\ncolleague a living hell, just look up the data on the no. of false cases
\nregistered against the hapless husband and his innocent family members\u201d; \u201cwomen
\nare getting more benefits in the corporate world by playing their charming
\ncard<\/b> or the vulnerable card<\/b>, either way, they are the winner<\/i>\u2026\u201d [i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\n<\/i>are some of the oft-contention from educated, urbane men and sometimes
\nwomen too. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no denying,<\/span> we have instances of women misusing the laws for
\ntheir vested and corrupt interests which requires urgent and immediate
\nrestraining[1]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. Men who face the brunt in
\nsuch cases are equally vulnerable and require urgent assistance and support
\nwithout a doubt. It is reported that 80% of dowry cases in India end in
\nacquittal[2]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nhowever, here one has to remember the criticality of unavailability or lack
\nof proof<\/i> for quashing of these cases as well[3]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.
\nAdditionally, extensive research for the so-called data<\/i> has been a futile
\nexercise as none of the reliable, scientific sources of information[ii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nhave any data whatsoever on the status of harassment of men at home or
\nworkplace, which implies reporting<\/span><\/u><\/b>
\non the same requires to be urgently remedied. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let me
\nreiterate a fundamental fact here – gender inequality is a discourse about the
\ninequities faced by all gender, which can be either woman, man, or transgenders
\nof the world.<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/b>However, gender inequality recognises that women,
\nand by extension transgenders and others are not equal to the men and indeed
\ngender impacts each person\u2019s lived experiences. The differences arise from
\ndivisions in the biological, psychological, and sociological\/cultural norms. It
\nis also differently experienced according to the culture one comes from. <\/a>The fight for women\u2019s right is NOT AGAINST men\u2019s right but
\nIT IS AGAINST the patriarchal and archaic mindset that believes women are
\nlesser human and need to be controlled and dominated.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Gender
\nequality in current times is primarily addressing the issues of the women as
\nmost of the reported inequalities are faced by the women, nationally as well as
\nglobally. While inequality faced by the transgender community is also immense
\nand mostly invisible and undocumented nonetheless it is gradually coming to the
\nforefront which is much needed and applaudable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n

The fight for women\u2019s right is NOT
\nAGAINST men\u2019s right but IT IS AGAINST the patriarchal and archaic mindset
\nthat believes women are lesser human and need to be subjugated!<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

At the onset, as a feminist, let me put certain
\nbasic key factors on the table:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Gender-based violence (GBV) is a wide term because the word \u2018gender\u2019 encompasses female, male, transgenders, and others. So, we need to specify and\/or provide an operational definition of whom we are focusing on in discussion and presupposing it is only women is erroneous.<\/b><\/p>\n

2. Be mindful of the enormity in nature and forms of GBV that exist.<\/p>\n

GBV against women is a pre-existing inequality which means violence against women is a pandemic going on since generations now, both nationally and internationally. The latest NFHS-4 data (2018-2019, India) reflects some astounding facts about the Indian situation – 30% of women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15 and 6% percent have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Intimate partner violence (IPV), more particularly 33% of the ever-married women were found to have faced some form of violence; notably instances of different variations of violence is enumerated and Physical violence stood at 30%, 14% of the women had faced emotional violence, and 7% had experienced sexual violence. Alarmingly, it is seen that only 14% of them have ever sought help to stop the violence.<\/p>\n

3. GBV has geographical, religious, often racial and\/or caste-based connotations. Case in point – the issue of female foeticide and infanticide, its rampant in some regions of India, cuts across religious borders and caste barriers yet in another part of the same country its completely non-existent, Rajasthan versus Nagaland. It does not mean Nagaland does have other forms of GBV against women, it definitely does, but female foeticide and infanticide is not there at all.<\/p>\n

3. GBV has a social, political, economic, physical, and mental health connotations and it truly requires mitigation plans which are comprehensive, inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary in nature.<\/p>\n

For example: a programme that is focusing on the livelihood issues of women has to keep in mind and address all other factors too, in order for realising the goal of empowerment that will be sustainable and equitable. Case in point: We know there are numerous instances of affluent working women facing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) on a regular basis in many parts of the world, which clearly indicates that economic independence alone cannot address IPV and GBV because empowerment of the survivor\/victim is fundamental. An overhaul of the cultural and social norms is at the core of the problem.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n

GENDER-based violence against
\nwomen is a Shadow Pandemic \u2013 India and global<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Globally it
\nis a fact that 1 in every 3 women has experienced either physical\/sexual
\nintimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence[4]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nin their lifetime. To nail it up for you – just look around your
\nsurroundings while you are reading this article, if you see 3 women there, know
\nthis for a fact that at least 1 of them has experienced violence<\/i><\/b> against
\nher in her lifetime!<\/b><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Since the
\nCOVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing national lockdowns to arrest the virus
\nspread, the floodgates seem to be wide open in the incidences of violence
\nagainst women and girls[iii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>,
\nmost particularly in the intimate partner violence \u00a0<\/span>(IPV) \u2013 married or live-in couples, which has
\nfound innumerable reporting, both nationally and globally, through different
\nmediums of information. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

WHO[iv]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\ncautions during conflicts, after-conflict and displacement, existing violence
\nis intensified in intimate partners, as well as non-partners, and often leads
\nto newer forms of violence against women[5]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.
\nCase in point, the current COVID-19 ridden world scenario wherein families are
\nliving indoors, in isolation, in close quarters away from other people. The
\nincidences of IPV is aggravated as observed from the worldwide helpline numbers
\ngetting ever-increasing reports of the same[6]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>,
\nin France alone 30% jump in such incidences are reflected in a matter of couple
\nof weeks as the lockdown there was from 11 March[7]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.
\nIncidentally, France is among the highest rankers in cases of DV across Europe.
\nTheir official data is disconcerting – 1 woman is killed by a partner or former
\npartner every 3 days![8]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nIn Australia, on an average, 1 woman is murdered by her current or former
\npartner every week[9]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. Such occurrences and rise
\nin incidences and reporting is present across the continents. <\/span><\/p>\n

In India as
\nwell we are observing ever-rising numbers of reporting, during this lockdown
\nwhich is now more than 3-month long[v]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\n[10]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>,
\nalready 1428 [11]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> [12]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\n[13]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nonline complaints of IPV and DV have been reported at the National Commission
\nfor Women[14]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> until April- May, some
\nstate government bodies are also campaigning for reporting any cases of
\nviolence against women and raising awareness about their support to the victims
\nat all times[15]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. For a quick comparison
\non the steep rise of cases, we observe out of the total cases received by NCW
\nin the January- March quarter, 20.6% cases were of DV and in just two month
\n,i.e. April had a 51.45% case, while May data reflects 45.07% cases of DV which
\nis an exponential jump of double its normal instances of reporting[16]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Some
\npreliminary derivations[vi]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nfrom the nature of the e-complaints is further highlighted in the box below[17]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n