Causes Of Gender Discrimination In India

Women’s rights, gender discrimination, and violence are issues as old as humankind, and are part of many religious and cultural traditions. The Bible describes how God made the woman out of the man (Gen 2:22) and charged her to always be submissive to the husband (Eph.5:22-24). Hindu scriptures describe a good wife as “a woman whose mind, speech, and body are kept in subjection, acquires high renown in this world, and, in the next, the same abode with her husband”. In ancient Athens, women are always minors and subject to a male, such as their father, brother or some other male kin. A woman’s consent in marriage is not generally thought to be necessary and women are obliged to submit to the wishes of her parents or husband. Islamic women suffered

Women’s poverty in India is directly related to the absence of economic opportunities and autonomy, lack of access to economic resources including credit , land ownership and inheritance, lack of access to education and support services and their minimal participation in the decision making process. The situation of women on economic front is no better and men still enjoy a larger share of the cake. Thus poverty stands at the root of gender discrimination in our patriarchal society and this economic dependence on the male counterpart is itself a cause of gender

SOCIAL CUSTOMS, BELIEFS AND PRACTICES:

Women are not free from social customs, beliefs and practices. The traditional matrilineal joint family system confines women’s roles mostly to the domestic sphere, allocating them to a subordinate status, authority and power compared to men. Men are perceived as the major providers and protectors of a family while women are perceived as playing only a supportive role, attending to the hearth. Boys and girls are accordingly drained for different adult roles, status and authority. In Indian culture since very early periods, men have dominated women as a group and their status has been low in the family and society.

Parents often think that teaching a girl child to manage the kitchen is more important than sending her to school. Many feel that it is an unnecessary financial burden to send a girl child to school as subsequently she will be married off and shifted to some other family. This orthodox belief of parents is responsible for gender discrimination. The preference for sons and disfavor towards daughter is complex phenomenon that still persists in many places. Sons especially in the business communities are considered to be economic, political and ritual assets whereas daughters are considered to be liabilities. Thus anti female social bias is the main cause of gender discrimination in our