Indian Women and Reproductive Health
INDIAN WOMEN AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Introduction
The reality of women’s life remains invisible to men and women alike and this invisibility persists at all levels beginning with the family to the nation. The more fact that “women hold up half the sky”- does not appear to give them a position of dignity and equality.
Health
“Health is not mainly an issue of doctors, social services and hospitals. It is an issue of social justice”.
WHO defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely an absence of any disease or infirmity”.
Women play many roles as being a member of the family and society. Women do more than 67% of the hours of work done in the world and earn only 10% of the world’s income and own only 1% of the world’s property. Women are paid 30-40% less than men for comparable work on an average. 60-80% of the food in most developing countries is produced by women. Women hold between 10-20% managerial and administrative jobs. Women make up less than 5% of the world’s heads of state. 60% of the 130 million children in the age group of 6-11 years, who do not go to school, are girls. Approximately 67% of the world’s 875 million illiterate adults are women. 3 out of 5 women in southern Asia are still illiterate.
Women account for 50% of all people living with HIV/AIDS globally. In the year 2009 there were 80 million unwanted pregnancy, 20 million unsafe abortions, 5 lakhs maternal deaths. 99% of these cases were reported in developing countries.
In india the status of the women is lower while comparing with men. The child sex ratio has dropped from 945 females per 1000 males in 1991 to 927 females per 1000 males in 2001. Participation of women in the workforce is only 13.9% in the women in the urban sector and 29.9% in the rural sector. Women’s wage rates are on an average only 75% of men’s wage rates and constitute only 25% of the family income. Women occupy only 9% of parliamentary seats and less than 4% seats in
Introduction
The reality of women’s life remains invisible to men and women alike and this invisibility persists at all levels beginning with the family to the nation. The more fact that “women hold up half the sky”- does not appear to give them a position of dignity and equality.
Health
“Health is not mainly an issue of doctors, social services and hospitals. It is an issue of social justice”.
WHO defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely an absence of any disease or infirmity”.
Women play many roles as being a member of the family and society. Women do more than 67% of the hours of work done in the world and earn only 10% of the world’s income and own only 1% of the world’s property. Women are paid 30-40% less than men for comparable work on an average. 60-80% of the food in most developing countries is produced by women. Women hold between 10-20% managerial and administrative jobs. Women make up less than 5% of the world’s heads of state. 60% of the 130 million children in the age group of 6-11 years, who do not go to school, are girls. Approximately 67% of the world’s 875 million illiterate adults are women. 3 out of 5 women in southern Asia are still illiterate.
Women account for 50% of all people living with HIV/AIDS globally. In the year 2009 there were 80 million unwanted pregnancy, 20 million unsafe abortions, 5 lakhs maternal deaths. 99% of these cases were reported in developing countries.
In india the status of the women is lower while comparing with men. The child sex ratio has dropped from 945 females per 1000 males in 1991 to 927 females per 1000 males in 2001. Participation of women in the workforce is only 13.9% in the women in the urban sector and 29.9% in the rural sector. Women’s wage rates are on an average only 75% of men’s wage rates and constitute only 25% of the family income. Women occupy only 9% of parliamentary seats and less than 4% seats in