Gender inequality in education and employment in the scheduled castes and tribes of India

Abstract

Abstract:The complex stratification systems in India give rise to a multiplicity of social categories which often obscure the relative status of women and men within the more disadvantaged segments of the population. The focus of this study is on the situation of women in scheduled castes and tribes -groups which are referred to as "weaker sections of people' and granted special safeguards and concessions under the Indian constitution. Women in these underprivileged groups are doubly disadvantaged: their minority group status interacts with India's patriarchal culture to produce deplorable living conditions. Drawing from both ethnographic and statistical sources, the paper presents a descriptive profile of scheduled caste and tribe women's status in Indian society. Using Indian Census data, the study documents extreme degrees of gender inequality among the scheduled groups. Findings indicate that relative to men, women in these groups have far more limited access to both educational and employment resources. This research also suggests that socioeconomic development serves to reduce the disadvantage of scheduled group women relative to men. Among the scheduled groups considered to be more developed according to standard indicators, findings indicate less gender inequality in education and employment.

Cultural “Blind Spots,” Social Influence and the Welfare of Working Donkeys in Brick Kilns in Northern India

“…The Vanjara suffered systematic persecution mainly because the tribe maintained independence from the rest of society, were highly mobile within the country and had no set orientation with regards to religion making them difficult to control, and as such were subject to much distrust (40). State level "civilization" reduced the status of these people, women particularly, through the integration of nomadic tribes to Indian society (37,41). Vanjara traditionally used bullocks for transporting goods, but they also used camels, donkeys, horses and mules (42) so potentially have substantial inherited knowledge of animal care for various species including donkeys.…”

“…Lower caste women and those within Scheduled Tribes take position at the bottom of caste, class and gender hierarchies. Women in Vanjara caste (when they were long-distance traders) used to be considered of much higher status, they were involved with all economic, social and cultural activities and had influence over decision making including those around animal care (41). This is no longer the case in Indian society.…”

Women's and Men's Relative Status and Intimate Partner Violence in India

“…Thus the caste system may contribute to intimate partner violence through its effects on material resources and chronic stress (Krishnan 2005). Moreover, differing degrees of gender egalitarianism can be found between castes, with upper-caste women often granted greater physical mobility and autonomy than low-caste women (Deshpande 2002;Dunn 1993;Liddle and Joshi 1986). This distinction has implications for educational and occupational stratification between women, and may also correspond to higher levels of violence against low-caste women (Deshpande 2002).…”

Cultural Hegemony and Victimisation of Bedia Women in Central India

“…Discrimination on the basis of gender is a social reality. Women are fighting for their rights in India.https://web.archive.org/web/20120913050030/htt p://socialjustice.nic.in/sclist.php social, economic and political arenas in all communities (Dunn, 1993;Banerjee, 2014;Bhattacharyya, 2014;Verniers and Vala, 2018). In this study, cultural hegemony is implicit in the traditional exploitation of women because social structures seem to frame double standards in the context of duties, rights, behaviours for men and women.…”