India

• What are the 8 main gender inequality issues in India?

  . Violence against women

  . Modern slavery

  . Property ownership

  . Employment opportunity

  . Discrimination in the workplace

  . Political participation

  . Access to healthcare

  . Access to eduction
• Why is violence against women tolerated in India?

  It is underpinned by persistent social norms. There are deeply patriarchal and customary practices.
• What is the estimated number of people, mostly women and girls, subject to modern slavery in India in 2014 and what does this include?

  14.3 million and it includes trafficking for sexual exploitation, early forced marriage and forced labour
• Why is there gender inequality in the labour market in India?

  Women are often expected to remain at home, raise children, conduct domestic chores and work in subsistence farming. Typically true for the rural poor but can occur for well educated women.
• What is the statistic of married women who return to work after childbirth in Delhi and what is the reason for this?

  25% as the social conditioning is that it is their responsibility to bring up their children
• What is women’s political participation like in India?

  Women have a poor representation in India’s parliment
• What is the national statistic of girls who attend primary school and what is that statistic like compared to the amount of girls who attend secondary education?

  70% of girls attend primary school, but the figure is much lower at secondary.
• What are the consequences of gender inequality on society in India?

  . Women have been subject to murder or disfigurement when the family cannot meet dowry demands from the husband (8233 dowry-related deaths in 2012)

  . Women can be subject to honour killing by their family members for not agreeing to arranged marriage

  . Many women are domestically abused

  . Women‘s health is at risk during and after pregnancy

  . Sex-selective abortions in desire for male offspring

  . Sterilisation schemes
• What are some examples of international human rights treaties India has ratified?

  International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• What is an example of a UN treaty body the Indian government has joined?

  CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women)
• What are 4 Acts of Parliament the Indian government has passed to address to women’s rights?

  . The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

  . The Dowry Prohibition Act, 2008

  . Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

  . Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act and Rules, 2013
• What are some large companies doing to prevent the discrimination of women in the workplace?

  Providing child-care facilities and organising flexi-work options
• In 2014, what did the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs launch?

  an anti-trafficking portal
• What sort of development projects are being implemented by NGO’s?

  They are taking a gendered approach. For example, the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) is working in Delhi neighbourhoods and has set up a ‘safe cities‘ project.
• What is the benefit of the gender—based development by NGO’s?

  Women are slowly gaining confidence to report crimes and to speak up for their rights in their communities.
• What did the Delhi police force do in 2014 in response to the findings of their project to map crimes against women?

  They increased the number of women police officers and overall police force in the outer districts of the city