Rural Women Striving For Gender Transformative Impacts

India is a male dominated country. Where long standing traditions and customs has defined men and women's mind-set and the development of women is hindered due to the gender discrimination created on this basis. It is essential that both men and women should contribute equally towards the development of women. Also when both men and women develop equally in the economic and social sphere, a developed family, society and nation will be possible. Today, the problems of women in the rural areas are mainly due to the following problems:

1. Generally, the Labour class men spend most of their own and their wives’ earnings in the habit of smoking and drinking, and abuse them. While the children are looked after by wives.

Therefore, this habit of smoking and drinking has to be stopped in men. This will prevent domestic violence and men will be able to look after their family properly.

2. In rural areas, women and adolescent girls spend most of their time in cooking, picking firewoods from the forest, fetching water from outside, cleaning the animal shelter and agricultural work.

Hence, women will have to work through planning for drudgery reduction. They have to be provided with such resources which will make their daily activities easier, so that they can find time for studies and economic activities.

3. In the villages, the unemployed youths spend most of their time sitting at random places, playing cards and commenting on females passing by.

Therefore, in the village, the men and women will have to be provided with employment opportunities simultaneously. By which both men and women of each family can work together.

4. In villages, mother and father often go to the wages and leave their daughters to take care of house and her younger siblings. Therefore girls either do not go to school or leave school after primary.

Therefore education should be compulsory for every boy and girl till higher education and it is the government's responsibility to provide resources for this.

5. There are many schemes of Government for the development of women in villages. Which is operated by different departments.

Therefore, it is necessary that all these schemes should be operate under an umbrella by which all the eligible women can get the benefits accordingly.

6. In society percentage of men and women is 50-50.

Therefore, participation of 50-50% for women and men should be compulsory in the development plans and both male and female dominating fields should give equal importance to the other gender.

7. In the villages mostly family has more than 3 children. So they can’t look after them properly.

Hence, family planning is also necessary.

Jyoti Shrivastava

Deputy Director

Women & Child Development

Madhya Pradesh Govt.

INDIA