DOCSLIB.ORG

A Case Study of Jharkhand, India

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Case Study of Jharkhand, India 1 A Case Study of Jharkhand, India August 2012 Are Young Women in India 2 Prepared to Deal with Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues? Ipas Development Foundation is a non-profit organization that works in India to increase women’s ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, especially the right to safe abortion. We seek to eliminate unsafe abortion and the resulting deaths and injuries and to expand women’s access to comprehensive abortion care, including contraception and related reproductive health information and care. We strive to foster a legal, policy and social environment supportive of women’s rights to make their own sexual and reproductive health decisions freely and safely. Ipas Development Foundation (IDF) is a not-for-profit company registered under section 25 of The Indian Companies Act 1956. Ipas Development Foundation (IDF) E 63 Vasant Marg, Vasant Vihar New Delhi 110 057, India Phone: 91.11.4606.8888 Fax: 91.11.4166.1711 E-mail: [email protected] © 2013 Ipas Development Foundation Suggested Citation: Banerjee Sushanta K, Janardan Warvadekar, Kathryn L. Andersen, Paramita Aich, Bimla P. Upadhyay, Amit Rawat and Anisha Aggarwal (2013). Are Young Women in India Prepared to Deal with Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues?: A Case Study of Jharkhand, India. New Delhi, Ipas Development Foundation, India. Graphic Design: Write Media Produced in India 3 Are Young Women in India Prepared to Deal with Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues? A Case Study of Jharkhand, India August 2012 Sushanta K. Banerjee Janardan Warvadekar Kathryn L. Andersen Paramita Aich Bimla P. Upadhyay Amit Rawat Anisha Aggarwal Are Young Women in India 4 Prepared to Deal with Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues? Table of Contents A Case Study of Jharkhand, India August 2012 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................................5 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................9 1.1 Background ......................................................................................................................................................9 1.2 Rationale for the study ...................................................................................................................................11 1.3 Key research questions ..................................................................................................................................11 1.4 Scope of the pilot intervention .....................................................................................................................11 1.5 Structure of the report ..................................................................................................................................12 STUDY DESIGN ................................................................................................................................................................13 2.1 Methods of data collection .............................................................................................................................13 2.1.1 Sample implementation ........................................................................................................................13 2.1.2 Survey instrument .................................................................................................................................13 2.2 Ethical considerations and training ................................................................................................................14 2.3 Analysis and measures ....................................................................................................................................14 PROFILE OF YOUNG WOMEN .........................................................................................................................................16 3.1 Socio-demographic and economic characteristics .........................................................................................16 3.2 Media exposure and access to SRH information ............................................................................................18 AGENCY AMONG MARRIED AND UNMARRIED YOUNG WOMEN .................................................................................20 4.1 Involvement in decision-making ....................................................................................................................20 4.2 Access to financial resources ..........................................................................................................................21 4.3 Freedom of movement ...................................................................................................................................21 4.4 Self-efficacy .....................................................................................................................................................23 4.5 Factors influencing agency .............................................................................................................................24 Awareness OF SexuaL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ISSUES ...................................................................................26 5.1 Awareness of sex and pregnancy-related issues .............................................................................................26 5.2 Awareness and knowledge of contraceptive methods ...................................................................................26 5.3 Awareness of abortion ....................................................................................................................................27 5.4 Factors influencing awareness of SRH issues: A multivariate analysis ...........................................................30 REPRODUCTIVE HISTORY AND UTILIZation OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Services AMONG YOUNG MARRIED WOMEN .............................................................................................................................................32 6.1 Birth history and pregnancy outcome ...........................................................................................................32 6.2 Wantedness of pregnancies ............................................................................................................................32 6.3 Use of contraception ......................................................................................................................................34 6.4 Utilization of reproductive and adolescent health care services ...................................................................35 DISCUSSION AND Recommendations .......................................................................................................................37 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................................................41 APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................................................43 Abbreviations ..............................................................................................................................................................54 5 Executive Summary There are 114 million young women aged 15 to the pregnancy, face postabortion complications and 24 years in India, comprising 20% of the female are more likely to delay seeking help for abortion- population. This magnitude does not only imply related complications than adults. According to the future strength of India in terms of social and WHO estimates, adolescent girls (10-19 years) in economic development; rather this young cohort developing countries undergo 2.2 to 4 million unsafe will lead demographic stabilization and quality of abortions every year and globally account for 70% life in future. Although, today’s youth are relatively of all hospitalizations from unsafe abortion. These better educated and exposed to modern technologies often lead to mortality and prolonged morbidity. of social communications, social vulnerabilities As estimated by WHO young women account for persist with marked influence of gender norms, early approximately 46% of unsafe abortion-related deaths interruption of school education, early marriage and every year. teenage pregnancy. Despite a strong policy on the minimum legal age at marriage, a sizeable proportion One way to address the gap between awareness of of Indian women get married before 18 years and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues and almost one-fifth of women in the age group of service availability and utilization is through youth- 15-19 years start child-bearing. For many youth, focused interventions. Several national policies and sexual and reproductive health-related experiences programs have committed to act on young women’s are uninformed and unsafe primarily because of lack SRH-related issues in India. However, available of awareness and skills in negotiating safe sex and evidence on implementation of such program is discussing reproductive health matters with their limited in India. Realizing these gaps, it is decided partners and parents. to pilot a youth-focused intervention to specifically address the information and service delivery needs
Load more

Recommended publications
  • History of Jharkhand Movement: Regional Aspiration Has Fulfilled Yet
    Indian J. Soc. & Pol. 06 (02):33-36 : 2019 ISSN: 2348-0084(P) ISSN: 2455-2127(O) HISTORY OF JHARKHAND MOVEMENT: REGIONAL ASPIRATION HAS FULFILLED YET AMIYA KUMAR SARKAR1 1Research Scholar, Department of Political Science, Adamas University Kolkata, West Bengal, INDIA ABSTRACT This paper attempts to analyze the creation of Jharkhand as a separate state through the long developmental struggle of tribal people and the condition of tribal‟s in the post Jharkhand periods. This paper also highlights the tribal movements against the unequal development and mismatch of Government policies and its poor implementations. It is true that when the Jharkhand Movement gaining ground these non-tribal groups too became part of the struggle. Thus, Jharkhandi came to be known as „the land of the destitute” comprising of all the deprived sections of Jharkhand society. Hence, development of Jharkhand means the development of the destitute of this region. In reality Jharkhand state is in the grip of the problems of low income, poor health and industrial growth. No qualitative change has been found in the condition of tribal people as the newly born state containing the Bihar legacy of its non-performance on the development front. KEYWORDS: Regionalism, State Reconstruction, Jharkhand Movement INTRODUCTION 1859, large scale transference of tribal land into the hands of the outsiders, the absentee landlords has taken place in the The term Jharkhand literally means the land of forest, entire Jharkhand region, especially in Chotanagpur hill area. geographically known as the Chhotanagpur Plateau; the region is often referred to as the Rurh of India. Jharkhand was earlier The main concern of East India Company and the a part of Bihar.
    [Show full text]
  • Youth Development in India: Does Poverty Matter? Bijaya Kumar Malik*
    Malik SpringerPlus (2015) 4:613 DOI 10.1186/s40064-015-1410-z RESEARCH Open Access Youth development in India: does poverty matter? Bijaya Kumar Malik* Abstract This paper explores the differentials in youth development patterns determined by the economic condition of the household in India. The wealth index is used to glean youth development differentials in the different economic categories of the household. The findings suggest that youth from the bottom 20 per cent (poorest) of households are deprived in education, employment, labour force and are not working currently compared to youth from the middle and rich households. The states differ in youth development patterns (employment, appropriate education, skill development and awareness about health). There are more working youth among poor households than among rich households in India. Female youth are more disadvantaged compared to male youth and it is the same with the rural–urban distribution of youth. This paper concludes that the various economic categories/wealth index (poorest, poorer, middle, richer and richest) directly determine the pattern of youth development in India. Keywords: Youth development, Adolescence, Wealth index, Healthy lifestyle, Poverty Background and both adolescent and youth population comprise India has one of the highest adolescent (253 million) 40.1 per cent of the total population of India (Census of and youth populations in the world. The Census of India India 2011). Compared to the 2001 Census, the percent- (2011) has highlighted the profile and status of the ado- age of adolescents has declined, while that of youth has lescent and youth population, which constitutes a critical increased due to a decline in the level of fertility.
    [Show full text]
  • Skills Development for Youth in India: Challenges and Opportunities
    CICE Hiroshima University, Journal of International Cooperation in Education, Vol.15 No.2 (2012) pp.169 ～ 193 Skills Development for Youth in India: Challenges and Opportunities Aya Okada Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University Abstract This paper reviews the current state of education, skills development, and employment for Indian youth, and considers the challenges facing India’s skills development system. Drawing from the experience of Karnataka, one of India’s most industrially developed states, the paper discusses recent initiatives to facilitate young people’s transition to the world of work. In India, young people who will soon be entering the labor market, constitute the largest segment of the demographic structure. The majority of young people have limited access to education and training, and most find work in the informal sector. In recent years India has rapidly expanded the capacity of educational institutions and enrollments, but dropout rates remain high, and educational attainment remains low. While India has a well-institutionalized system of vocational training, it has not sufficiently prepared its youth with the skills that today’s industries require. Thus, to speed its economic growth and take advantage of its “demographic dividend,” the country has recently embarked on drastic policy reforms to accelerate skills development. These reforms have led to important changes, both in the national institutional framework and at the institutional level. Introduction This paper reviews the current state of education, skills development, and employment for Indian youth, and considers the challenges facing India’s skills development system. Drawing from the experiences of Karnataka, one of India’s most industrially developed states, it discusses several recent initiatives to facilitate young people’s transition to work.
    [Show full text]
  • Ensuring Education for All in Jharkhand: Highlighting the Obstacles
    Population Council Knowledge Commons Poverty, Gender, and Youth Social and Behavioral Science Research (SBSR) 2009 Ensuring education for all in Jharkhand: Highlighting the obstacles International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) Population Council Follow this and additional works at: https://knowledgecommons.popcouncil.org/departments_sbsr-pgy Part of the Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Education Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, International Public Health Commons, and the Medicine and Health Commons How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! Recommended Citation International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Population Council. 2009. "Ensuring education for all in Jharkhand: Highlighting the obstacles," Youth in India: Situation and Needs Policy Brief no. 9. Mumbai: IIPS. This Brief is brought to you for free and open access by the Population Council. Youth in India: Situation and Needs, Policy Brief Number 9, 2009 Ensuring Education for All in Jharkhand: Highlighting the Obstacles The extent to which India will be able to successfully men and 2,141 unmarried young men. This brief is harness its demographic dividend depends based on data obtained from 2,637 young men and significantly on the situation of its youth, notably 5,414 women aged 15–24. on the levels of education and market-oriented skills they attain. While many states have made progress Achieving universal education: how far have youth on the education front, many other states, including in Jharkhand come? Jharkhand
    [Show full text]
  • List of Eklavya Model Residential Schools in India (As on 20.11.2020)
    List of Eklavya Model Residential Schools in India (as on 20.11.2020) Sl. Year of State District Block/ Taluka Village/ Habitation Name of the School Status No. sanction 1 Andhra Pradesh East Godavari Y. Ramavaram P. Yerragonda EMRS Y Ramavaram 1998-99 Functional 2 Andhra Pradesh SPS Nellore Kodavalur Kodavalur EMRS Kodavalur 2003-04 Functional 3 Andhra Pradesh Prakasam Dornala Dornala EMRS Dornala 2010-11 Functional 4 Andhra Pradesh Visakhapatanam Gudem Kotha Veedhi Gudem Kotha Veedhi EMRS GK Veedhi 2010-11 Functional 5 Andhra Pradesh Chittoor Buchinaidu Kandriga Kanamanambedu EMRS Kandriga 2014-15 Functional 6 Andhra Pradesh East Godavari Maredumilli Maredumilli EMRS Maredumilli 2014-15 Functional 7 Andhra Pradesh SPS Nellore Ozili Ojili EMRS Ozili 2014-15 Functional 8 Andhra Pradesh Srikakulam Meliaputti Meliaputti EMRS Meliaputti 2014-15 Functional 9 Andhra Pradesh Srikakulam Bhamini Bhamini EMRS Bhamini 2014-15 Functional 10 Andhra Pradesh Visakhapatanam Munchingi Puttu Munchingiputtu EMRS Munchigaput 2014-15 Functional 11 Andhra Pradesh Visakhapatanam Dumbriguda Dumbriguda EMRS Dumbriguda 2014-15 Functional 12 Andhra Pradesh Vizianagaram Makkuva Panasabhadra EMRS Anasabhadra 2014-15 Functional 13 Andhra Pradesh Vizianagaram Kurupam Kurupam EMRS Kurupam 2014-15 Functional 14 Andhra Pradesh Vizianagaram Pachipenta Guruvinaidupeta EMRS Kotikapenta 2014-15 Functional 15 Andhra Pradesh West Godavari Buttayagudem Buttayagudem EMRS Buttayagudem 2018-19 Functional 16 Andhra Pradesh East Godavari Chintur Kunduru EMRS Chintoor 2018-19 Functional
    [Show full text]
  • A Study on Sexual Abuse of Children and Youth in India 1R
    International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 119 No. 17 2018, 1063-1072 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/ Special Issue http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/ A Study on Sexual Abuse of Children and Youth in India 1R. Kavinth Chandar and 2M. Kannappan 1Saveetha School of Law, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai. ping me [email protected] 2Saveetha School of Law, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai. [email protected] Abstract Child abuse is that the physical or psychological abuse of a toddler, will be differentiated into four major classes, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and worst of all; the sex offense. Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) could be a quite physical or mental violation of a toddler with sexual intent, sometimes by a person who is in a very position of trust or power the kid. Asian nation is that the second largest kid population in the world, forty second of India’s total population is below eighteen years “Millions of children are victims of violence and exploitation. They are physically and emotionally vulnerable and they can be scarred for life by mental or emotional abuse. We know what to do, and we know how to do it. The means are at hand, it is up to us to seize the opportunity and build a world that is fit for children”- Ban-Ki-Moon, Secretary General of United Nations (Remarks on the twentieth Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, New York, 20 November 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • GLOBAL CENSORSHIP Shifting Modes, Persisting Paradigms
    ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE RESEARCH GLOBAL CENSORSHIP Shifting Modes, Persisting Paradigms edited by Pranesh Prakash Nagla Rizk Carlos Affonso Souza GLOBAL CENSORSHIP Shifting Modes, Persisting Paradigms edited by Pranesh Pra ash Nag!a Ri" Car!os Affonso So$"a ACCESS %O KNO'LE(GE RESEARCH SERIES COPYRIGHT PAGE © 2015 Information Society Project, Yale Law School; Access to Knowle !e for "e#elo$ment %entre, American Uni#ersity, %airo; an Instituto de Technolo!ia & Socie a e do Rio+ (his wor, is $'-lishe s'-ject to a %reati#e %ommons Attri-'tion./on%ommercial 0%%.1Y./%2 3+0 In. ternational P'-lic Licence+ %o$yri!ht in each cha$ter of this -oo, -elon!s to its res$ecti#e a'thor0s2+ Yo' are enco'ra!e to re$ro 'ce, share, an a a$t this wor,, in whole or in part, incl' in! in the form of creat . in! translations, as lon! as yo' attri-'te the wor, an the a$$ro$riate a'thor0s2, or, if for the whole -oo,, the e itors+ Te4t of the licence is a#aila-le at <https677creati#ecommons+or!7licenses7-y.nc73+07le!alco e8+ 9or $ermission to $'-lish commercial #ersions of s'ch cha$ter on a stan .alone -asis, $lease contact the a'thor, or the Information Society Project at Yale Law School for assistance in contactin! the a'thor+ 9ront co#er ima!e6 :"oc'ments sei;e from the U+S+ <m-assy in (ehran=, a $'-lic omain wor, create by em$loyees of the Central Intelli!ence A!ency / em-assy of the &nite States of America in Tehran, de$ict.
    [Show full text]
  • Youth Employment and Unemployment: an Indian Perspective
    I L O A s i a - Pacific Working Paper Series Youth employment and unemployment: an Indian perspective Arup Mitra and Sher Verick March 2013 DWT for South Asia and Country Office for India ILO Asia-Pacific Working Paper Series Youth employment and unemployment: An Indian perspective Arup Mitra and Sher Verick March 2013 DWT for South Asia and Country Office for India Copyright © International Labour 2013 First published 2013 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with reproduction rights organizations may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. Mitra, Arup; Verick, Sher Youth employment and unemployment: an Indian perspective / Arup Mitra and Sher Verick; International Labour Organization, DWT for South Asia and Country Office for India. - New Delhi: ILO, 2013 ILO Asia-Pacific working paper series, ISSN 2227-4491; 2227-4405 (web pdf) International Labour Organization; ILO DWT for South Asia and ILO Country Office for India youth employment / youth unemployment / young worker / labour force participation / India 13.01.3 ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of COVID 19 on India's Family Planning Program
    Impact of COVID 19 on India’s Family Planning Program Policy Brief | May 2020 Executive Summary The nationwide lockdown imposed from 25th March onwards in an effort to combat the COVID 19 pandemic, has adversely impacted contraceptive access. Using supply side data of clinical Family Planning (FP) services and sales of over the counter contraceptives (OTC) in 2018 and 2019, FRHS India has attempted to estimate the impact for three scenarios, Best Case, Likely Case and Worst Case. In a best case scenario we estimate that as a result of the pandemic, 24.55 million couples would not be able to access contraceptives in 2020. Method wise the loss is estimated at 530,737 sterilizations, 709,088 Inter Uterine Contraceptive Devices (IUCDs), 509,360 doses Injectable contraceptives (IC), 20 million cycles of OCPs, 827,332 ECPs and 342.11 million condoms. This is likely to result in an additional 1.94 million unintended pregnancies, 555,833 live births, 1.18 million abortions (including 681,883 unsafe abortions) and 1,425 maternal deaths. The likely case scenario estimates are: 25.63 million couples unable to access contraceptives, method wise loss of 693,290 sterilizations, 975,117 IUCDs, 587,035 doses of IC, 23.08 million cycles of OCPs, 926,871 ECPs and 405.96 million condoms. This is likely to result in an additional 2.38 million unintended pregnancies, 679,864 live births, 1.45 million abortions (including 834,042 unsafe abortions) and 1,743 maternal deaths. The worst case scenario estimates are: 27.18 million couples unable to access contraceptives, method wise loss of 890,281 sterilizations, 1.28 million IUCDs, 591,182 doses of IC, 27.69 million cycles of OCPs, 1.08 million ECPs and 500.56 million condoms.
    [Show full text]
  • From Education to Employability: Preparing South Asian Youth for the World of Work
    From Education to Employability: Preparing South Asian Youth for the World of Work By Sabina Dewan & Urmila Sarkar December 2017 From Education to Employability: Preparing South Asian Youth for the World of Work By Sabina Dewan & Urmila Sarkar December 2017 Published in December 2017 by JustJobs Network Inc. Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the members of the Advisory Committee who offered invaluable feedback for the writing of this report: 1. Mr. Anil Kakani, Managing Partner, Vikasa Holdings 2. Mr. Anurag Behar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation 3. Ms. Gemma Wilson-Clarke, Senior Education Advisor, UNICEF 4. Ms. Lay Cheng Tan, Program Officer, UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education 5. Mr. Michael Ettlinger, Director, Carsey School of Public Policy 6. Ms. Natalie Fol, Adolescent Development and Participation Program Officer, UNICEF South Asia 7. Mr. Nomaan Majid, Senior Employment Specialist, ILO 8. Ms. Shabnam Sinha, Senior Education Specialist, The World Bank 9. Mr. Shashank Vira, Director, Hearth Education Advisors We also thank the JustJobs Network and UNICEF South Asia colleagues, including Ivan Coursac, Sanaullah Panezai and Tanja Matheis for their help through the research process and production of this report. The JustJobs Network would like to extend a special thanks to Mr. Anurag Behar for allowing access to some of the AZim Premji Foundation’s field sites and for the many thought provoking discussions that led us to probe deeper for more meaningful research and solutions. And to Prachi Agarwal who not only provided research support, but also managed various moving parts of the research, fieldwork and dissemination events.
    [Show full text]
  • Agenda LTOA and Connectivity
    Agenda for Connectivity and Long Term (Open) Access of IPP Generation Projects in Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal of Eastern Region 1.0 Applications for Connectivity and Long Term (Open) Access. Applications for grant of Connectivity and Long Term (Open) Access (LTOA / LTA) have been received by POWERGRID from the following applicants in Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal of Eastern Region. IPP generation projects in Jharkhand Complex. Sl. Project/Applicant Unit Size Ins. LTOA Time Applied for No. Capacity (MW)/Con Frame (MW) nectivity 1 Dumka (CESC) 2x300+1x600 1200 1100 2014-15 LTOA 2 ESSAR St-II 1x600 600 550 2013-14 LTOA Jindal Steel and 3 2x660 1320 1320 Jan,2015 Connectivity Power Ltd. (JSPL) Inland Power Mar’13 to 4 2x63+2x135 396 360 Connectivity Limited Mar‘16 Total 3516 3330 IPP generation projects in Bihar Complex. Sl. Project/Applicant Unit Size Ins. LTA/LTOA/C Time Applied for No. Capacity onnectivity Frame (MW) (MW) JAS Infrastructure Connectivity 1 2x660 1320 1200 Jan'14 Capital Pvt Ltd. & LTA Adhunik Power and 2 2x660 1320 1000 Dec' 14 Connectivity Natural Resources 3 Arissan Power Ltd 2x660 1320 1320 May’14 Connectivity Kanti Bijlee Connectivity 4 Utpadan Nigam 2x195 395 121.6 Nov’12 & LTA Limited India Power 5 2x660 1320 1320 Jul’15 Connectivity Corporation (Bihar)Ltd Total 5675 4961.6 IPP generation projects/Load Centre in West Bengal Complex. Sl. Project/Applicant Unit Size Ins. LTA/Conne Time Applied for No. Capacity ctivity Frame (MW) (MW) Himachal EMTA 1 2x250 500 500 Mar' 14 Connectivity Power Ltd 2 DPSC Ltd.
    [Show full text]
  • Unheard Voices -DALIT WOMEN
    Unheard Voices -DALIT WOMEN An alternative report for the 15th – 19th periodic report on India submitted by the Government of Republic of India for the 70th session of Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Geneva, Switzerland Jan, 2007 Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum 76/37, G-1, 9th Street, "Z" Block, Anna Nagar West, Chennai, 600 040, Tamil Nadu, INDIA Tel: +91-(0)44-421-70702 or 70703, Fax: +91-(0)44-421-70702 E-mail: [email protected] Tamil Nadu Women's Forum is a state level initiative for women's rights and gender justice. Tamil Nadu Women's Forum (TNWF) was started in 1991 in order to train women for more leadership, to strengthen women's movement, and to build up strong people's movement. Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum is a member organization of the International Movement against All forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), which has consultative status with UN ECOSOC (Roster). Even as we are in the 21st millennium, caste discrimination, an age-old practice that dehumanizes and perpetuates a cruel form of discrimination continues to be practiced. India where the practice is rampant despite the existence of a legislation to stop this, 160 million Dalits of which 49.96% are women continue to suffer discrimination. The discrimination that Dalit women are subjected to is similar to racial discrimination, where the former is discriminated and treated as untouchable due to descent, for being born into a particular community, while, the latter face discrimination due to colour. The caste system declares Dalit women as ‘impure’ and therefore untouchable and hence socially excluded.
    [Show full text]