IRA-International Journal of Management & Social Sciences ISSN 2455-2267; Vol.04, Issue 03 (2016) Pg. no. 642-655 Institute of Research Advances http://research-advances.org/index.php/RAJMSS
A Study of Gender Disparities among the Districts of Haryana
Shailendra Singh Rana Assistant Professor Amity Law School Amity University, Lucknow, India.
Type of Review: Peer Reviewed. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21013/jmss.v4.n3.p15
How to cite this paper: Rana, S. (2016). A Study of Gender Disparities among the Districts of Haryana. IRA- International Journal of Management & Social Sciences (ISSN 2455-2267), 4(3), 642- 655. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.21013/jmss.v4.n3.p15
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ABSTRACT
“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.”- Dr.B.R.Ambedkar
India’s demography is changing. At present, India is known worldwide for its demographic advantage on account of the young population at the time when world’s population is rapidly aging. Different aspect of this demographic advantage is the gender disparity.
Women comprise almost half of the human population of the world. No development can be thought without their help and support. Manusmriti(the ancient legal text of Hinduism) says,“yatr naryasto pojyantay, ramantay tatra devta [3/56](where women are provided place of honor, gods are pleased and reside there in that household)”but in much of South Asia and particularly in India sons are preferred over daughters and both are raised differently for a number of financial, economic, religious and social reasons including property inheritance, old age security, dowry, family lineage, power and prestige, rituals and beliefs about religious duties and salvation. A report by the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has revealed that the Indian girl child is the most vulnerable in world. Gender disparity is prevalent in different dimensions of life. This paper is an attempt to study the inter district gender disparity in the Indian state of Haryana by examining the variables which have a bearing on gender and equity issues.
I INTRODUCTION “Women do two-thirds of the world’s work; receive ten percent of the world’s income and own one percent of the means of production” (Robbins 1999: 354). Haryana is one of the richest states in India but is often criticized for its low sex ratio and large gender disparities which begin in the womb itself where female embryos are selectively aborted and continues as the girl child grows older in the form of smaller ration of food and nutrition available to her, fewer schooling and higher education opportunities and higher involvement of girls in household chores relatively to boys. This gender disparity goes on in the later stages of a female’s life first in the labor market where they get fewer chances of employment and lower wages relative to their male counterparts and at home where they have a lesser say in major economic and financial decisions.
This paper focuses on inter district gender disparities in the areas of education, health, marriage and nutritional status in Haryana.
II ABOUT HARYANA Haryana is a north Indian state came into existence in 1966 on 1st of November when it was separated from the state of Punjab on the grounds of different language. It stands 21st in terms of its area, which is spread about 44,212 km2 (17,070 sq mi). It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north and by Rajasthan to the west and south. Haryana shares its capital with Punjab. There are total 21 districts in Haryana out of which Gurgaon and Faridabad are among the fastest growing districts.
III OBJECTIVES Objective of this research is to study the inter district gender disparity by using selected variables which have direct bearing on gender issues like sex composition, education, marriage and health status.
IV METHODOLOGY Area of study- All 21 districts of Haryana Data used- secondary data Sources of data-National Family Health Survey 4 and Census of India 2011
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Figure 1
V DISCUSSIONS AND RESULTS
(A)SEX COMPOSITION Sex composition is one of the major demographic characteristic to measure the degree of gender disparity and it is concluded from the discussion below that sex ratio and sex ratio at birth are not uniform across the 21 districts in Haryana.
SEX RATIO Lower value of Sex ratio is a major indicator of women disempowerment. Census data and the different rounds of Sample Registration Surveys have revealed that the problem is acute in the economically progressive northern states of Punjab,Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat.
Haryana is the state which lags behind the national average (943*).Sex ratio for almost every district of Haryana suggests the same. Out of 21 districts in Haryana, 20 districts are below 943while Bhiwani is the
644 IRA-International Journal of Management & Social Sciences only district higher at 980.Panchkula which is second in women literacy rate(85.7)has the lowest sex ratio of 780 while Ambala which is at the top in women literacy (90percent) is among the six districts having the worst sex ratio. Contributing to the shock is the fact that Gurgaon often referred to as India’s fastest growing city is the second district after panchkula which has the worst sex ratio(812) .While Mewat(35.6 percent women literacy rate) and Sirsa(70.3 percent women literacy rate)which are predominantly rural and less literate have higher sex ratios of 932 and 913 respectively. This correlation between sex ratio and literacy rate shows inverse relationship.
DISTRICT SEX WOMEN LITERACY RATE RATIO(arranged in descending order) Bhiwani 980 76.2 Mewat 932 35.6 Rohtak 916 78 Sirsa 913 70.3 Fatehabad 908 71.8 Jhajjar 894 82.5 Rewari 894 77.6 Jind 893 77.2 Kurukshetra 892 80.4 Kaithal 889 73.1 Hisar 883 73.3 Karnal 881 78.4 Palwal 880 59.8 Mahendragarh 876 79 Yamunanagar 867 84.3 Ambala 846 90 Panipat 846 78.6 Sonipat 830 82.1 Faridabad 826 74.2 Gurgaon 812 74.6 Panchula 780 85.7
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Sex ratio
Yamunanagar 867
Sonipat 830
Sirsa 913
Rohtak 916
Rewari 894
Panipat 846
Panchkula 780
Palwal 880
Mewat 932
Mahendragarh 876
Kurukshetra 892
Karnal 881
Kaithal 889
Jind 893
Jhajjar 894
Hisar 883
Gurgaon 812
Fatehabad 908
Faridabad 826
Bhiwani 980
Ambala 846
Chart 1
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Women Literacy
Yamunanagar 84.3 Sonipat 82.1 Sirsa 70.3 Rohtak 78 Rewari 77.6 Panipat 78.6 Panchkula 85.7 Palwal 59.8 Mewat 35.6 Mahendragarh 79 Kurukshetra 80.4 Karnal 78.4 Kaithal 73.1 Jind 77.2 Jhajjar 82.5 Hisar 73.3 Gurgaon 74.6 Fatehabad 71.8 Faridabad 74.2 Bhiwani 76.2 Ambala 90
Chart 2
SEX RATIO AT BIRTH In case of sex ratio at birth also, situation is not very different.Panchkula and Ambala which top the list in women literacy rate are among the six states having the worst sex ratio at birth. Faridabad which is the largest district (its population is almost the double of next most populated city Gurgaon) of Haryana and has almost the same women literacy rate(74.2 percent) as Gurgaon(74.6) falters on sex ratio at birth front. Out of 21 districts only 9 districts (Bhiwani Fatehabad,Gurgaon, jind, kaithal,Palwal)have the values of sex ratios at birth more than their sex ratio.If we assume the effect of fertility,mortality and migration constant,the higher values of sex ratio at birth when compared with the sex ratio will affect the sex ratio positively in these nine districts in future.But in the remaining 12 districts sex ratio at birth is alarming and it is below the sex ratio(except karnal where both the ratios are almost equal) which can again distort the sex ratio in times to come.
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SEX RATIO AND SEX RATIO AT BIRTH Sex ratio at birth and sex ratio
867 Yamunanagar 616 830 Sonipat 855 913 Sirsa 847 916 Rohtak 930 894 Rewari 704 846 Panipat 918 780 Panchkula 751 880 Palwal 888 932 Mewat 891 876 Mahendragarh 698 Sex ratio 892 Kurukshetra 823 Sex ratio at birth 881 Karnal 880 889 Kaithal 949 893 Jind 1003 894 Jhajjar 713 883 Hisar 776 812 Gurgaon 916 908 Fatehabad 922 826 Faridabad 686 980 Bhiwani 999 846 Ambala 730
Chart 3
(B) EDUCATION Literacy is one of the main components of human development index.It is the component of gender inequality index also which was introduced in 2010 in Human Development Report by United Nations Development Programme.
COMPARISON OF WOMEN AND MEN LITERACY
Disparity in male and female literacy rate is a major indicator of gender based inequality. Ambala is the district having the highest women literacy(90 percent) and Mewat has the minimum women literacy rate(35.6 percent).
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There is a wide gender disparity in the literacy rate in the districts of Haryana though disparity as a whole has decreased in 2015-16. Mewat has the maximum disparity and Ambala has the minimum disparity in women and men literacy.
SURVEY Male Female Maximum Minimum disparity in disparity in literacy literacy
NFHS-4 90.6 75.4 Mewat Ambala
97.9
96.5
96.3
95.9
94.8
94.7
93.3
93
92.5
92.2
92
90.9
90
89.5
89.4
89
87.3
86.5
86.3
85.7
84.9
84.3
82.5
82.1
80.4
79 79
78.6
78.4
78 78
77.6
77.2
76.2
74.6
74.2
73.3
73.1
71.8
70.3 59.8
Women Literacy
35.6 Men literacy
Chart 4
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN WITH 10 OR MORE YEARS OF SCHOOLING- Panchkula has the highest percentage of women with 10 or more years of schooling (67%) while Mewat has the lowest percentage (12.7%).
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Percentage of women age 15-49 years with 10 or years of education 67 64.2
53.2 54 54.4 51 49.6 50.5 47.8 49.5 45.3 46.6 46.7 42.8 43.1 42 40.8 38.3 36.2 33.2
12.7
Chart 5
(C) MARRIAGE AND PREGNANCY
Early marriage cut shorts the childhood and compromise the fundamental rights of a child.
In 2006, "The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006" was passed to prohibit solemnization of child marriages in India. This law states that men must be at least 21 years of age and women must but be at least 18 years of age to marry. Practice of early marriages in Haryana is widespread for both the genders but the percentage of men age 25-29 years married before 21 years is greater than the percentage of women age 20-24 years married before 18 years for each district.
District with maximum and minimum percentage of women age 20-24 years married before 18 years are Mewat(37.6%) and Yamunanagar (6.9%) respectively. For men maximum and minimum percentage of 25-29 years married before 21 years is found in Mewat (70.4%) and Ambala(14.5%) respectively. Highest disparity is found in Hisar where 15.5% of women age 20-24 years are married before 18 years and 48.6 % of men age 25-29 years married before 21 years. Lowest disparity is in Fatehabad where almost the same percentage of women age 20-24 years married before 18 years and men age 25-29 years married before 21 years is found.
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Percentage of women age 20-24 years married before 18 years and men age 25-29 years
married before 21 years
70.4
49.9
48.6
42.9
41.9
38.1
37.6 36.8
33.7 Women age 20-24 years married 30.1
28.3 before 18 years
27.7
26.1
26
25.1 23.6
22.1 Men age 25-29 years married
21.8
21.5
21.2 20.4
20 before 21 years
17.7
16.8 16.8
16.4
16.2
15.8
15.6 15.6
15.5
15.1
14.5
9.9
9.6
8.4
7.2
6.9
Jind
Sirsa
Hisar
Karnal
Jhajjar
Kaithal
Rewari
Palwal Palwal
Rohtak
Sonipat
Ambala Panipat
Mewat Mewat
Bhiwani
Gurgaon
Faridabad
Panchkula
Fatehabad
Kurukshetra
Yamunanagar Mahendragarh
Chart 6
PREGNANCY Medical, economic and psychological impact of early childbearing can be significant for a women. Mewat (14.2%) has the maximum percentage of women age 15-19 years who were already mother or pregnant at the time of NFHS-4 survey while Panchkula (1.2%) has the lowest percentage of such women. Other districts with high percentage of women age 15-19 years who were already mother or pregnant at the time of NFHS-4 survey are Palwal (12.5%), Rewari (10.8%) and Rohtak(10.2%).
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Percentage of women age 15-19 years who are already mother or pregnant at the time of survey
14.2 12.5 10.8 10.2
6.5 6.5 6.8 5.8 4.3 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.5 3.8 4.1 4.1 3.9 2.6 1.3 1.2 1.4
Chart 7
(D) NUTRITIONAL DISPARITIES
Adequate nutrition, a fundamental cornerstone of any individual's health, is especially critical for women because inadequate nutrition wreaks havoc not only on women's own health but also on the health of their children(Elizabeth I. Ransom and Leslie K. Elder)
BODY MASS INDEX(BMI) The BMI is an attempt to quantify the amount of tissue mass (muscle, fat, and bone) in an individual, and then categorize that person as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese based on that value. Commonly accepted BMI ranges are underweight: under 18.5 kg/m2, normal weight: 18.5 to 25, overweight: 25 to 30, obese: over 30.
Highest percentage of women as well as men age 15-49 years whose BMI is below normal is in Mewat(27.1% women and 30.4% men )but it is lesser in case of women. Panchkula(6.8%) has the lowest percentage of women whose BMI is below normal while Sonipat(4.3%)has least percentage of men with below normal BMI. Ambala, Kaithal and Mewat are the only districts where percentage of men with lower BMI is more than the percentage of such women. In restof the districts percentage of women with below normal BMI is more than the men and the highest disparity is in Sirsa where percentage of women and men with below normal BMI are 20.6 % and 10.9 % respectively.
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Percnetage of women and men age 15-49 years
whose BMI is below normal
30.4
27.1
22.2
21.4 21.4
20.6
19.8
19.2
17
16.9
16.2 16.1
16.1 PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN AGE 15-49
15.3 14.9
14.7 WHOSE BODY MASS INDEX(BMI) IS
14.4 14.4 14.1
13.2 BELOW NORMAL
12.9
12.5
12.4
12.2
12.1
11.4 11.1
11 PERCENTAGE OF MEN AGE 15-49
10.9
10.7 10.7 10.4
9.9 WHOSE BODY MASS INDEX(BMI) IS
9.2 BELOW NORMAL
7.2
7.1
6.8
6.4
6.1
5.5
4.3
3.9
Jind
Sirsa
Hisar
Karnal
Jhajjar
Kaithal
Rewari
Palwal Palwal
Rohtak
Sonipat
Ambala Panipat
Mewat Mewat
Bhiwani
Gurgaon
Faridabad
Panchkula
Fatehabad
Kurukshetra
Yamunanagar Mahendragarh
Chart 8
ANAEMIA- Nutritional disparity is clearly visible when comparing the percentage of anaemic women and men across the districts of Haryana.For women the highest percentage of anaemic women is 73.2% found in Gurgaon.The lowest percentage of anameic women is in Faridabad(54.1%) which is even greater than the highest percentage of anaemic men found in Yamunanagar(33.7%).Across all the districts of Haryana percentage of anaemic women is more than the percentage of anaemic men.
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Percenatage of women and men age 15-49 years
who are anameic
73.2
70.1
68.6
67
66.5
66.2
65.4
65.1
64.8
63.5
62.7
61.1
60.2
59.8
59.5
59.3
57.8
57.1
55.4
54.6
54.1
34.1
33.7
32
30.2
29.3 25.9
25.5 PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN AGE 15-
23.7
23.6
23.1
21.5 19.5
18.3 49 WHO ARE ANAEMIC
17
16
14.7
14.6
14.2
13.6 11.9
8.7 PRECENTAGE OF MEN AGE 15-49
WHO ARE ANAEMIC
Jind
Sirsa
Hisar
Karnal
Jhajjar
Kaithal
Rewari
Rohtak
Palwal Palwal
Sonipat
Ambala
Panipat
Mewat Mewat
Bhiwani
Gurgaon
Faridabad
Panchkula
Fatehabad
Kurukshetra
Yamunanagar Mahendragarh
Chart 9 Since anemia develops during pregnancy, Comparison of anemic men with non pregnant anemic women was again done but the results didn’t very much.
Percentage of non pregnant women age 15-49 who are anameic and men age 15-49 who are
anaemic
73.6
69.8
69.1
67.2
67.1
66.5
65.6 65.6
65.3
64.3
62.7
61.2
60.3
60.1 60.1
59.7
57.8
57.1
56.5
55.9
55.5
34.1
33.7
32 30.2
29.3 PERCENTAGE OF NON PREGNANT
25.9
25.5
23.7
23.6
23.1 21.5
19.5 WOMEN AGE 15-49 WHO ARE
18.3
17
16
14.7
14.6
14.2
13.6 11.9
8.7 ANAEMIC PRECENTAGE OF MEN AGE 15-49
WHO ARE ANAEMIC
Jind
Sirsa
Hisar
Karnal
Jhajjar
Kaithal
Rewari
Rohtak
Palwal Palwal
Sonipat
Ambala
Panipat
Mewat Mewat
Bhiwani
Gurgaon
Faridabad
Panchkula
Fatehabad
Kurukshetra
Yamunanagar Mahendragarh
Chart 10
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VI CONCLUSION This paper found regional disparities in gender equality. It is found that sex ratio is low in Gurgaon,Faridabad and Panchkula districts where the migration rate is high due to industrial development and their proximity to Delhi or to Chandigarh. Since the women’s education helps in averting child marriage and early peregnancy,Mewat tops in both due to least female literacy and highest gender disparity in literacy rate among all the districts of Haryana. Regional disparities are also found in nutritional status of females and males.Compared with males,females are at higher risk of below normal BMI and anemia. Females in Mewat district have the worst nutrition status but few more developed districts like Gurgaon and Faridabad also falter with high percentage of anemic women relatively to men.
REFERENCES:
NFHS-4 District fact sheets for key indicators. Retrieved from http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS4.shtml on August 8, 2016
George, D. & Dahiya, R. 1998: Female Foeticide in Rural Haryana. Economic & Political Weekly, 33(32), 2191-2198. Visaria, L. 2002
Deficit of women in India: Magnitude, trends, regional variations and determinants. The National Medical Journal of India-2, Vol. 15, 195.
Sekher T.V. and Neelambar Hatti. eds. (2010). Unwanted Daughters: Gender Discrimination in Modern India, Rawat Publications, Jaipur.
Agnihotri, S.B. 2000: Sex Ratio Patterns in the Indian Population: A fresh exploration. New Delhi: Sage Publications.
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