Vibhuti Ubbott
The status of women at any place is defined by various parameters that delineate their well-being and that holds true for J&K also. Various indices regarding the women of the Union Territory of J&K have shown substantial improvements over the years. But, such improvement notwithstanding, women lag behind their male counterparts on many accounts. A number of statistical figures divulge upon the disadvantages to which women of the UT are subject to. To begin with, the sex ratio for J&K at 889, as per the 2011 census for J&K, being below the national average, has been very disappointing. One would have thought that this ratio would have improved in last one decade. But fertility preferences depicted by The National Family Health Survey-5 carried out in 2019 and 2020, belies our hopes. According to the survey, ‘there is a strong preference for sons in Jammu and Kashmir. The percentage of women and men who want more sons than daughters is 23 and 25 percent, respectively, but only 7 percent of women and men want more daughters than sons. Among women with two children, 65 % with at least one son want no more children, compared with 38% with two daughters. So, a deep rooted attitudinal bias can be seen persisting in the society. The scenario is equally bad in educational and health sectors. While the Census-2011 noted that the women’s literacy is lower than men, the Digest of Statistics 2016-17 reveals that the enrolment of girls is lower than that of boys at all levels of school education. The poor educational status of women in J&K has been further confirmed by NFHS which records that that Twenty-one percent of women compared to 9 percent of men age 15-49 have never been to school and only 33 percent of women age 15-49 in Jammu & Kashmir have completed 12 or more years of schooling, compared with 46 percent of men. Health-wise, an indication is given by NFHS which states that Sixty-six percent of women in Jammu & Kashmir are having anaemia, including 25 percent with mild anaemia, 38 percent with moderate anaemia, and 3 percent with severe anaemia. In terms of employment, NFHS-5 discloses that only 29 percent of all women age 15-49, compared with 73 percent of men, were employed in the 12 months preceding the survey. The Survey further notes the want of assets that women hold here as well as lack of decision making power.
Apart from the powerlessness of women, there is continuing trend of crimes against women. As per the Crime Gazette brought about by the Crime Branch, J&K Police the total number of crimes against women has increased by 10% in the year 2021 itself. The number of crimes including rapes, kidnapping/abduction, molestation and cruelty by husband and relatives increased to 3873 in 2021 from 3517 in 2020. The NFHS also notes the wide prevalence of crimes against women in J&K. According to this survey, 10 percent of women age 18-49 have experienced physical violence sometime in their lives, and 3 percent have experienced sexual violence. In all, 10 percent of women experienced physical or sexual violence and 2 percent experienced both physical and sexual violence. The issue of crimes and violence against women is complicated by the fact that many people – including women approve of some of the crimes committed against women. NFHS records that Forty-nine percent of women agree that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under some circumstances. Women are most likely to agree that wife beating is justified if a woman shows disrespect for her in-laws (35%), followed by if she neglects the house or children (30%) and if she goes out without telling him (29%).
The story of women in J&K, as told by the above statistics, clearly calls for an intervention by the state. The Government needs to immediately draft a gender policy that should be focused on reducing the gap that exists between men and women. It should also follow various strategies for empowerment of women including gender budgeting, gender-friendly narrative and bringing more women in the realm of policy making.
While an aggressive state policy might help in improving the situation of women – whether in terms of education, health or other indices, however, the condition of women would not improve without the societal response. Much of the powerlessness of women in J&K, as elsewhere in South Asia, is a reflection of deep patriarchal patterns that continue to be followed, despite the modernisation processes. Women continue to be seen as ‘second’ or rather ‘secondary’ sex, more of liability than assets. While most of the resources within the society are controlled by men, they are still powerless beings, mostly under the ‘control’ over men. What has changed is that women have entered every field which was earlier monopolised by men, but the proportion of such women is very small and in every field the gap between men and women is very huge.
In this month of March, when ‘woman’ assumes the central space, at least in the public discourse, it is imperative that we as a society take cognisance of ‘powerlessness’ of women in J&K and think of ways and means by which their status can be improved. While government can certainly pursue the agenda of women’s empowerment more aggressively, there is a need for intervention from the society. Media can take the lead, cultural groups – like local theatre groups can generate an awareness, educational institutions can play important role and various social and religious organisations can contribute.
(The author is Assistant Professor, Government Degree College, Samba)
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