Her Right To Equality
From Promise to Power
Nisha Agrawal
- The
- sixth
- volume
- in
- the
- Rethinking
- India
- series,
- in
- collaboration
- with
- the
- Samruddha
- Bharat
- Foundation,
- looks
- at
- the
- reality
- of
- gender
- equality
- in
- the
- country
- against
- the
- promises
- of
- justice
- and
- equality
- made
- in
- the
- Constitution
- of
- India.
- What
- it
- finds
- is
- that
- even
- today,
- India
- remains
- an
- unequal
- country
- and
- that
- women
- control,
- at
- best,
- about
- 10-15
- per
- cent
- of
- economic
- and
- political
- resources.
- While
- there
- has
- been
- progress
- in
- some
- areas,
- in
- many
- other
- areas
- there
- has
- been
- very
- little
- and
- uneven
- change.
- One
- of
- the
- main
- reasons
- for
- this
- slow
- progress
- is
- that
- social
- norms
- that
- assign
- particular
- roles
- and
- identities
- to
- men
- and
- women
- are
- 'sticky'
- and
- hard
- to
- change.
- In
- India,
- a
- highly
- patriarchal
- society,
- these
- norms
- give
- very
- little
- power
- to
- women
- and,
- consequently,
- they
- have
- little
- control
- or
- influence
- over
- decisions
- taken
- within
- their
- households,
- in
- markets
- or
- in
- political
- spaces.
- Challenging
- the
- status
- quo
- can
- cause
- a
- backlash,
- leading
- to
- high
- levels
- of
- violence
- against
- women
- in
- the
- domestic
- sphere,
- the
- workplace
- and
- in
- public
- places.
- If
- we
- are
- to
- see
- a
- more
- safe,
- just
- and
- equal
- society
- by
- 2047,
- a
- hundred
- years
- after
- Independence,
- it
- cannot
- be
- business
- as
- usual.
- Her
- Right
- to
- Equality
- argues
- that
- what
- we
- require
- is
- disruptive
- change
- through
- individual
- and
- collective
- leadership
- and action.
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