If Development is not Engendered, it is Endangered | HPSC Preparation: All subjects - HPSC (Haryana) PDF Download

Social Development

'A woman is a companion of the man gifted with equal mental capacities. She has the right to participate in the minutest details of the activities of man. She has the same right of freedom and liberty as he... by sheer force of a vicious custom, even the most ignorant and worthless men have been enjoying a superiority over women....’ – Mahatma Gandhi The Mahatma talked about women in the social context. The social context closely impacts economic development. The economic status of women as compared to men is sad. This is true not only for India but for the world at large. According to a UNESCO report - women who contribute to half the world’s population, perform two thirds of the world’s work, receive one tenth income, and own less than one-hundredth of property of the world.
Engendering development will address issues that prevent this half of the population from being valuable generators of higher economic and social status for self and family. Once this correction is done, it should double our National Income! Therefore, the barriers that hinder their development and contribution need to be addressed to create significant development of the nation as a whole.
The old shackles of belief and the patriarchal system have to be questioned and changed for making way for equality for women – equality not just on paper but as an effective tool at the micro level. First, the family, then the most effective institutions, are the schools. In fact, it is through schools that the change in outlook is brought out in families. ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padao’ is an initiative taken by the government in this direction. We as a society have to first break down our prejudices against the girl child. Either the girl child is stilled in the womb, or she is pulled out of school either to look after a sibling or to bear the cost of education of the male child. Her nutrition level would be low as compared to the male child. These are stark realities, especially where income is low. These brutal truths have to be faced and taken care of before we talk of women-led development.
The patriarchal system makes the burden of rearing the family fall squarely on the women. But, to be fair to men, the woman herself takes it as her responsibility to attend to the daily chores and tend to the young and old of the family. Such is the upbringing of the girl child that she feels uncomfortable when the man offers to venture in to support. Thus, her work doubles when she chooses to work. Thankfully, this mindset is undergoing a change as the world cultures are getting familiar and seamless.
The education system is playing a responsible role as catalysts in ushering this equality in genders. Education must be inclusive and broad based to meet the needs of society. It should not be gender-biased and should break stereotypes. Schools also instil values and life skills like self respect and self esteem, courage and motivation, to have aspirations and entrepreneur mindsets and sense of empathy and belongingness, and taking on responsibility for the common good of the society. This has already started bearing fruit, and the mindset of teachers, parents, and children are changing for the better. The process of development through education is indispensable; however, the process is slow, so some immediate measures need to be adopted too.
In accordance with the capability-based approach, it is now part of education to let the child be exposed to the present scenario of society, interact, motivate, and be catalysts of the state schemes for society. In doing this, all the skills necessary at the workplace and in life are polished in school. They are thus playing an active role in society. Therefore, they will be able to work on their capabilities, as Dr. Amartya Sen says, not only being capable (of, say,z riding a bike) but also has the freedom to do so (actually riding the bike). Thus Education is playing a very vital role in engendering gender development in a social and economic contexts.
One of the major challenges womenfolk faces when they enter the workforce is of safety and security. There have been so many incidents, where the women are abused, harassed, or belittled that it has put a question mark on whether we are actually a progressive nation. In addition, the percentage of women employed in low-paying wages as compared to their counterparts and women getting lesser responsible jobs than men (all other things being constant) require immediate attention. In such cases, it is the woman in question herself who should bell the cat!
Retention of women in the job places should be worked through flexible timings and work from home, pick up and drop facilities, taking care of education and medical facilities would give rise to potential, loyal workforce who would generate high returns. Moreover, higher salaries to families mean increased spending or investment in education, insurance, and spending. Thus, with the women working, the national income increases, but the overall development of the country is enhanced.
To create a society that engenders development, Christine Lagarde’s 3 Ls of women empowerment could be followed:
Learn: The role of a mother in raising the family values, morals, nutrition, health and hygiene, education and guidance of children, of being a support to her family by contributing through earning and thus raising the family income and status is unquestionable. Little wonder it is said you educate a boy, you train a man. If you educate a girl, you train a village. So the first and the smallest and most vital step that has to be taken to engender development are to make sure our betis go to school, and there are no dropouts like the ones mentioned above.
Labour: Security, self-respect, and assertiveness all come unseen with the pay packet the lady brings home. She will have a better say in the house. She will be able to afford a break from the mundane home chores and will be able to engage in working on enhancing her own skills. She should choose to work. In fact, it should not be a matter of choice. If she does not, she will be living a primal life.
Leadership: When you work for a living, you mature with varied experiences. You get higher responsibilities at the workplace. You have goals. You have a purpose in life. You contribute to society through your experiences. Thus, you feel fulfilled and happy, which is the main goal of any civilised and developed society in the true sense.
Thus, it can be concluded that if development is not engendered, if the special focus is not paid on our women to play an active role in the development of the nation, then we would play a losing game as we would be playing a match with only half the team!