CHAPTER – IV 4.1 STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE IN BONGAIGAON DISTRICT AREA :- As per population census of 2011, Bongaigaon District Area (BDA) contains 7,38,804 people. Out of which, the female consists 3,62,986 of total population and their percentage is 49.13% which is maintained in table 5.1 BDA covers almost all category of people like General caste, SC, ST, other backward class (OBC) etc. Though the lion share of population goes to Koch Rajbongshi Community, but there exists about 36.32% Muslims, 12% SC, 1% ST and others (Brahmin, Yogi etc) 3%. Therefore, we must discuss the social status and role of women in BDA area separately so that actual facts come into light. 4.2 : Women in Assamese Society : The Assamese society is a rich society in so far as the status of women is concerned. In a human society, each individual can utilize his or her own thoughts and ideas and that is considered to be the basic human right of an individual. But it is a matter of fact in recent time that in reality each one of us hardly gets any opportunity to display our own individual ideas. Especially the women are the most vulnerable sections of society are often being sidelined from taking any important decision. They are facing problems like torture, domestic violence, dowry related problems, rape, eve-teasing etc. etc. Another very important aspect of this point is that women themselves are still ignorant about their own rights and policy formulated especially for them. Since of late modern educated women has become very conscious of their rights, and empowering the women as a whole has become a new motto of the world around. Mahatma Gandhi, while defining empowerment of women, had described it as a situation “when women, whom we call abala become sabala, all those who are helpless will become powerful.”23 This means that the position of women should be as equal as of men. However, the greatest challenge in our society is to improve the status of 23. Retrived from https:/www.ukessays.com 99 women who constitute half the population of the country. The Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles given in the Constitution of India bear faithful application of the principle of nondiscrimination so that women are entitled to the same rights as men as citizens of India. Yet women are not treated as equal as men. The Indian Constitution gives equal political rights to both men and women, but the representation of women in Parliament and State Legislatures is very less. The 81st Constitutional Amendment Bill to provide for one-third reservation for women in Parliament was tabled for the first time in 1996 but was soon engulfed in the conflicts over the demand of special quota for women of other Backward Castes and Minorities. Till today there are no sincere efforts on the part of national and regional political parties towards the passing of the Bill. Position of women in north-eastern region of India is different in comparison to those living in the other part of the country. Position of women in Assam is better in comparison to the women of some other States of India. One salient feature in the Assamese society is the absence of the dowry system in the past. But in the post-independence era, the evil of dowry system has stealthily been invading the Assamese society with the result that some dowry death cases have been reported. “The State of Indian Women Report 2001-02" released by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, revealed that the crime rate against women is even higher than the all-India average. In 1999, crimes against women including rape, molestation, sexual harassment, abduction, dowry deaths and cruelty at home were 127 cases per million persons at the all-India level. In contrast, in Assam it was 138 cases per million persons.”24 The statistics are eye capturing. Moreover, incidents of molestation, trafficking, murder and domestic violence have also gone up, indicating that all is not well with women in Assam in the present times. Some recent incidents have make us to say that there is an insecure position of women in some parts of Assam. Sex ratio is a very important indicator that reflects the status of women in society. It reflects whether she enjoys those rights to survival, protection and development. In 2001 the male-female ratio in Assam was 1000: 932 which was lower than the all India average of 1000: 933.25 The imbalance in the male female ratio is due to blind faith as well 24. State of Indian Women Report 2001-2002 released by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. 25. ibid. 100 as the result of illiteracy which have resulted in destruction of the baby girl at prenatal stage due to sex determination test, results in deliberate malnutrition and neglect of the girl child which results in this imbalance. In the field of education, women in Assam are in a better position than the all-India average. As per 2001 census the literacy rate for Assam is 64.28 per cent as against 65.38 per cent for India. While male literacy is 71.93 per cent (India-75.85 per cent), female literacy stands at 56.03 per cent (India-54.60 per cent).26 The male-female gap in the literacy rate is still prevaling though it is declining over time and is much below the all-India average. Acquiring of higher literacy rate alone does not indicate that a community educationally advanced. Completion of elementary classes of education and continuation of school up to 14 years of age, etc. are taken as indicators of literacy rate. The problem of school drop-out is a negative indicator of educational attainment. Dropout rates of both boys and girls (specially) in the state of Assam remained higher than all-India average from 1981 to 2001. Women work participation is another indicator of women's status in the society. The maximum number of female in salaried jobs, the better is their position for most women in the world. The state of Assam is not the worst among majority states of the Indian Union in relation to human development and gender equality but it ranks quite low. The state has rural agrarian economy, which is featured by high rate of work sharing of women. Although Women Work Participation Rates (WWPR) is high, as it is subsistence farming, women do not benefit economically, because they share a dismonitor share of the work load. The work participation rate of the women in Assam is obviously lower than that of men in general except in the basic sector where the rates are in favour of women. Participation of female in the secondary and tertiary sectors is low in Assam. The male- female gap in the work participation rate is considerably in favour of female, in the primary sector and in favour of male in the other two higher sectors. The matter of concern is that the status of women in Assam is the worst in terms of their share in decision making bodies. In Assam in 1977, out of 3 female candidates who contested for the Lok Sabha, 2 candidates were elected. No women from the 26. Census Report, 2001. 101 State of Assam contested in the Lok Sabha election in 1984 and 1989. In 1991, 7 women candidates contested for the Lok Sabha but none was elected. In the general election of 1996, only one woman was elected to the Lok Sabha out of 9 contesting candidates who contested. Participation of women is low not only in the elected bodies but also in administrative posts. The over-all picture seems to be quite dismal. However, there are much possibilities and potentialities for increasing participation of women of Assam in the national mainstream. Women Groups in Assam : Our earnest efforts to discuss about women groups in the state of Assam along with a brief history of the past and the challenges which are facing by them at present. Our discussion on the nature of women's work, their organizational capacities and the changes that women's organizations or mahila samitis need to deal with today. The status of women in north-eastern region of India is more or less different in cintrast to those living in the rest of the country. For instance, mobility of women in Assam is far higher. This may be due to factors like, a) absence of purdah, b) absence of caste groups resulting in caste flexibility and c) An influence of tribal work pattern where rural economy revolves mostly on women’s labour. But this does not mean that women in Assam enjoys equal footing with men. One can only observe that despite a strong patriarchal order, there is a distinct tendency towards matriarchal functioning. A major finding of our analysis is that low income village women ‘faces negligence’ in all spheres of livelyhood. Women's Traditional Work Pattern: Our analysis of rural women’s livelyhood in Assam has showed examples of greater mobility in their work pattern and social position. An outstanding characteristics of intra-household power sharing in various communities such as the Muslin, Bodo, Kacharis, Mishings, Bengali Hindus and the Assamese is the relative autonomy that women enjoy with regard to their incomes. Earnings of unmarried young women, for instance, are not allowed by other family members. They normally work for investment in domestic animals or yarn for weaving. Secondly, while income from economic activities is not really earned in cash, a system of barter and loan is prevailing largely at the village level.