Women in India face “extensive gender discrimination” in healthcare access

As the lowest in the caste hierarchy, Dalits in Indian society have historically suffered caste-based social exclusion from economic, civil, cultural, and political rights. Women from this community suffer from not only discrimination based on their gender but also caste identity and consequent economic deprivation. Dalit women constituted about 16.60 percent of India’s female population in 2011. Dalit women’s problems encompass not only gender and economic deprivation but also discrimination associated with religion, caste, and untouchability, which in turn results in the denial of their social, economic, cultural, and political rights. They become vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation due to their gender and caste. Dalit women also become victims of abhorrent social and religious practices such as devadasi/jogini (temple prostitution), resulting in sexual exploitation in the name of religion. The additional discrimination faced by Dalit women on account of their gender and caste is clearly reflected in the differential achievements in human development indicators for this group. In all the indicators of human development, for example, literacy and longevity, Dalit women score worse than Dalit men and non-Dalit women. Thus, the problems of Dalit women are distinct and unique in many ways, and they suffer from the ‘triple burden’ of gender bias, caste discrimination, and economic deprivation. To gain insights into the economic and social status of Dalit women, our paper will delve more closely into their lives and encapsulate the economic and social situations of Dalit women in India. The analyses of human poverty and caste and gender discrimination are based on official data sets as well as a number of primary studies in the labor market and on reproductive health.

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Gender Discrimination and Status of Women in India

Contemporary Social Sciences ◽

10.29070/27/57220 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 105-114

Author(s):

Indu Sharma

Keyword(s):

Gender Discrimination ◽

Women In India ◽

Status Of Women

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The gender gap and healthcare: associations between gender roles and factors affecting healthcare access in Central Malawi, June–August 2017

Archives of Public Health ◽

10.1186/s13690-020-00497-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 78 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Amee D. Azad ◽

Anthony G. Charles ◽

Qian Ding ◽

Amber W. Trickey ◽

Sherry M. Wren

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Gender Roles ◽

Access To Care ◽

Gender Equity ◽

Gender Gap ◽

Gender Discrimination ◽

Healthcare Access ◽

Sociocultural Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mixed Effect

Abstract Background Women in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not have equal access to resources, such as education, employment, or healthcare compared to men. We sought to explore health disparities and associations between gender prioritization, sociocultural factors, and household decision-making in Central Malawi. Methods From June–August 2017, a cross-sectional study with 200 participants was conducted in Central Malawi. We evaluated respondents’ access to care, prioritization within households, decision-making power, and gender equity which was measured using the Gender-Equitable Men (GEM) scale. Relationships between these outcomes and sociodemographic factors were analyzed using multivariable mixed-effect logistic regression. Results We found that women were less likely than men to secure community-sourced healthcare financial aid (68.6% vs. 88.8%, p < 0.001) and more likely to underutilize necessary healthcare (37.2% vs. 22.4%, p = 0.02). Both men and women revealed low GEM scores, indicating adherence to traditional gender norms, though women were significantly less equitable (W:16.77 vs. M:17.65, p = 0.03). Being a woman (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21–0.78) and prioritizing a woman as a decision-maker for large purchases (OR 0.38, CI 0.15–0.93) were independently associated with a lower likelihood of prioritizing women for medical treatment and being a member of the Chewa tribal group (OR 3.87, CI 1.83–8.18) and prioritizing women for education (OR 4.13, CI 2.13–8.01) was associated with a higher odds. Conclusion Women report greater barriers to healthcare and adhere to more traditional gender roles than men in this Central Malawian population. Women contribute to their own gender’s barriers to care and economic empowerment alone is not enough to correct for these socially constructed roles. We found that education and matriarchal societies may protect against gender disparities. Overall, internal and external gender discrimination contribute to a woman’s disproportionate lack of access to care.

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Voices of Women within the Devanga Community, Bangalore, India

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci11090547 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 547

Author(s):

Pooja Haridarshan

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Gender Stereotypes ◽

Gender Discrimination ◽

Male Dominance ◽

Early Marriage ◽

Family Structures ◽

Male Privilege ◽

Participation Of Women ◽

Relationship Of ◽

Women In India

Women face a unique set of challenges in India on account of traditionally held views of their gender, as well as often having lower educational and community status. Gender discrimination has continued to remain an evil in our society. Almost 70% women in South Asia are married at a young age, which is coupled with early childbearing and a lack of decision-making abilities within the traditional family structures, further enhancing their “disadvantaged” position in society. In India, the relationship of status and patriarchal values in addition to the deprived status of women worsens the situation. Despite advances having been made in the active participation of women in the political and economic domain, not much change has been seen in incidences of gender discrimination or dominant patriarchy. Daily interactions ensure that gender stereotypes have a strong influence on our values, judgements and evaluations to an extent that men and women are treated differently in society. A small weaving community, the Devanga community, which has its roots spread across India, practices stereotypes and patriarchal norms which have ensured the existence of male dominance in almost every aspect of decision making. The position of women within this community is worthy of debate and discussion, although no prior research has been conducted on this issue within the Devanga community. This paper draws upon the voices of women from within this community to understand the various levels of discrimination faced by them on a regular basis, along with highlighting male privilege as a cause of perpetuated discrimination and lesser opportunities for girls compared with boys. The reported research study analyzed data obtained from 120 women from the Devanga community through semi structured questionnaires and interviews and adopted an ethnographic feminist perspective to interpret these data. Findings indicate that the voices of women within this community are suppressed due to contributory factors such as orthodox beliefs and practices, male dominance, early marriage, and domestic responsibilities and all of these can be viewed as a barrier to providing educational opportunities to girls. Findings suggest that despite the progress made by women in India, they are still considered to be the single largest group of backward citizens.

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Indian Penal Code 1860: gender analysis of practice

Advances in Law Studies ◽

10.29039/article_5d1290f331abe2.97888333 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 11-15

Author(s):

Елена Трикоз ◽

Elena Trikoz ◽

Анна Швец ◽

Anna Shvetz

Keyword(s):

Gender Discrimination ◽

Criminal Policy ◽

Colonial Period ◽

Point Of View ◽

Penal Code ◽

Crimes Against Women ◽

And Gender ◽

Xix Century ◽

Women In India ◽

Indian Penal Code

This article takes a critical analysis of the text and law practice of the Indian Penal Code, adopted in the colonial period in the middle of the XIX century. From the point of view of fundamental gender equality, regardless of their gender roles, the practice of dealing with crimes against women in India remains highly controversial. Traditionalism and gender discrimination remains a noticeable factor in legal field and criminal policy in this country.

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Native Feminism in the Globalized Indian English Novel

10.21523/gcj2.17010105 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 37-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. R. Bhabad

Keyword(s):

Gender Discrimination ◽

Social Life ◽

The Novel ◽

Social Changes ◽

Indian English ◽

English Novel ◽

The Social ◽

The Status ◽

Women In India ◽

Status Of Women

Fictional medium is really very useful to know reality of society. Literature and visual art used realistically to depict several methods in which perfect description of feminism is the aim. The novel is depiction of day to day life, custom and the woman is portrayed as the key figure of Indian families and at the same time, she has been projected as the subject of suffering domestic slavery and suppression. Native feminism in India is not as aggressive as feminism in the West. Patriarchy is another name of native feminism reflected in the novels; through self-realization, it is expected that the woman can emerge as a new woman. The social realist writers have been very much interested in recording social changes and the status of women. Industrialization, urbanization and globalization have brought considerable changes in social life and status of women in India. Position of educated women is quite better than illiterate but gender discrimination still persists. To face all hurdles of their life the next generation women very boldly and intelligently achieve their aims to get their identity.

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Toward Identifying Mild Cognitive Impairment in Hispanic and African American Adults

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/persp2.sig2.110 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 110-116

Author(s):

Valarie B. Fleming ◽

Joyce L. Harris

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

African American ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Healthcare Access ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

Healthcare Systems ◽

Prevention Education ◽

Education Management ◽

African American Adults

Across the breadth of acquired neurogenic communication disorders, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may go undetected, underreported, and untreated. In addition to stigma and distrust of healthcare systems, other barriers contribute to decreased identification, healthcare access, and service utilization for Hispanic and African American adults with MCI. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have significant roles in prevention, education, management, and support of older adults, the population must susceptible to MCI.

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