Gender is a concept that is used to describe men and women. This denotes not only the biological features of man or woman, it includes the cultural, behavioural, and social layers of life. It includes the status of each in the social hierarchy. It is common to understand gender from the woman’s perspective only.
Gender is used to study issues related to women. Women and children are the ones who are usually left 1 behind in the society. Women have been j discriminated against since ages. Gender discrimination is present all over the world. But the nature of discrimination is not same everywhere, it is a complex whole of numerous social issues. It is great social evil and a bane even in this age of Artificial Intelligence.
India is a predominantly patriarchal society, generally preference is given for male child. Hence gender based foeticide is a common practice in India. This has led to skewed gender ratio in India. There is inequality in women accessing education, ownership, economic activities as well as social activities. Gender discrimination is evident in family structure too.
It is shocking to see that 2011, the ratio of female and male was 933 females to 1000 males. The governments of India have implemented many laws to curb gender inequalities. Yet gender equality is still a mirage. Laws and punishment seem to have no effect and women are still being discriminated. The only solution to gender discrimination seems to be awareness about gender bias.
But it will take a long time for this awareness to transform into a social change. While it is true that today woman have proved their worth in every field, there are still millions of women who face discrimination at every juncture of life. There is a great need for further empowering women so that they can lead an enriched life free of discrimination.
