India has an elaborate system of laws to protect the rights of women, including the Equal Remuneration Act, the Prevention of Immoral Traffic, the Sati (widow burning) Act,  and the Dowry Prevention Act. However the Government is often unable to enforce these laws, especially in rural areas where traditions are deeply rooted. Female bondage and forced prostitution are widespread in some parts of Indian society. According to a government study . . . violence against women -- including molestation, rape, kidnapping, and dowry-deaths -- has increased over the last decade. From the United States Government State Department Reports on Human Rights: India, 1994.

Many obstacles to the realisation of women's human rights in India, as elsewhere, are social and cultural in nature, deeply rooted in the traditions of its communities. These obstacles are extremely controversial subjects of reform. Examining them often directly challenges the traditional roles of women in society, and may prove particularly uncomfortable for those who benefit from women's subordination. Social institutions such as the system of dowry payment by the family of a marrying woman perpetuate serve to perpetuate abuses against women, particularly amongst poor and low-caste women.

This report analyses the state of women's rights in India in terms of India's international legal obligations to protect women's rights under the ' Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and reflects the main concerns of Khalsa Human Rights in focusing on the civil and political rights of women in India.

Socioeconomic Status Article 13 CEDAW:States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all other areas of economic and social life . . . According to the indicators published by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) the socioeconomic status of women in India is very low in comparison with other developing countries. Based on a country's achievements in terms of women's life expectancy, literacy, and real income in comparison with that of the men, India ranks 99th on a list of 130 countries, behind Argentina, Mexico, China and Sri Lanka, and just above Pakistan and Bangladesh, which rank 103 and 108 respectively.

While such indict ors obviously cannot fully describe the true conditions in any society, such a poor performance in the case of India must be considered cause for concern. Other statistical evidence, such as the fact that 25% of girls die from malnutrition before the age of 15 (in part a result of paying greater attention to the needs of male children), is even more difficult to argue with.

Political Power Under Article 7 of CEDAW , India is obligated to ensure that women participate equally in the formulation and implementation of government policy and perform all public functions at all levels of government. This goal is clearly along way from being realised. Less than 5% of those in Parliament or other government bodies are women. Of 116 countries, India is ranked 101 on women's participation by the UNDP, behind Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, ranked 79 and 80, respectively.

                                    
                                            next