Status of Kerala Women

According to Indian constitution, WOMEN are the legal citizens of the country and have equal rights with men. But in the contemporary India, they have been the worst victims of exploitation. They are unaware of their rights due to illiteracy and the oppressive tradition. The caste system itself was a crucial element in creating this tyrannical status especially among dalits and adivasi women. They are not only the objects of sexual exploitation of upper caste men, but also a source of cheap labor for the reigning class. India is a society where the male is greatly revered and due to lack of acceptance from the male dominant society, Indian women suffer immensely. They are malnourished and are married at an early age which leads to pregnancies at younger age when the body is not adapted to bear a child. In some areas of India, still they are considered as a curse and their birth was taken as a burden. Because of the perception that girls are a drain on family resources, female infanticide and female foeticide are still prevailing in many parts of North India and women do not have any say in it. All they could do was to act according to the wish of their husbands and in-laws. Starting from birth, girls do not receive as much care and commitment from their parents and society as a boy would in the Indian society. The last decade witnessed a sharp deterioration in the status of women in India. The official statistics showed a declining sex-ratio, health status, literacy rate, work participation rate and political participation. While on the other hand a spread of social practices like dowry, child marriage, domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, exploitation of women workers are rampant in different parts of India. Like-wise they are powerless and are mistreated inside and outside the home. They remain aloof from the power to make decisions in both the public and private spheres and they are restricted in their movement and ability to access information. Violence against women is a common evil in the Indian society. Not just in remote parts but in cities also women bear the atrocities and are subjected to physical and mental violence at home and at work places. Every hour a woman is raped in India and every 93 minutes a woman is burnt to death due to dowry problem. Underlying social inequities that are justified and perpetuated through cultural and social stereotyping often violate a woman’s fundamental human rights. Moreover, communal and fundamentalist forces target the rights of women in the name of religion and tradition. Nonetheless, in India Womanhood is held firmly in the shackles of the male-dominated society.

It is in this scenario, that the Status of Women in Kerala has gained significance. Kerala presents a positive picture as far as women's development is concerned. It is the only state in India, where women outnumber men with a higher sex ratio since 1951. It is undeniable that women in Kerala enjoy liberties and freedoms denied to their sisters in other parts of India. Conventional indicators related to women development such as education, maternal health, access and utilization of health care facilities, are very high in the state. Female literacy rate is 87.86 percent whereas at the national level it was only 54.16 percent, maternal morality in the state has come down sharply. The women in Kerala lives six years longer than men. The life expectancy at birth is 76 for females while the national average is 61.8 years only. These are clear indicators which reflect the overall development of women in the state. The Kerala Model of Development owes its attributed success to the achievements in the arena of health and education where the contribution of women is particularly significant.

Women’s education is probably the most important factor behind Kerala’s low birth rate which has better nurtured children thereby making sure that our coming generation will be healthy. Presumably the position of women in Kerala is far better than in India. How did this happen? The status of women in Kerala did not rise all on a sudden, one fine morning. It is the interplay of a set of historical, political, social, economic and cultural factors which have resulted in the process of status of women rising to newer heights in the state of Kerala. Even though a matriarchal form of property inheritance had been prevailing in Kerala in the past, the male members of the family were able to manipulate the conveniences of that system and transform Kerala society into a male-dominated one. It was a society that had even denied the right of education to women, and it was only through a series of intense political struggles and social reform movements that the women in Kerala were able to win some fundamental rights. Women leaders had made yeomen contributions even in the historic struggles like the Kayyoor agitation and the Punnapra Vayalar struggle. Their actions have resulted in interesting path breakers and had broken the mould of stereotypes. For example, Akkamma Cherian, known as Jhansi Rani of Travancore was one of the veteran freedom fighters of Kerala who had participated in the Quit India Movement. K.R.Gowri Amma, another prominent figure in the Communist Movement in Kerala, has played a profound and significant role in determining the destiny of the state. A relentless and staunch crusader for the downtrodden, she has proved herself as an efficient administrator while remaining a perceptive politician.

After Independence, elected Communist governments in the State enshrined free, compulsory and universal education as a basic right. Today, Kerala outspends every Indian state in its budget outlays on education, and Keralites support over 50 newspapers. And what is striking is that every Kerala woman reads. There are many women in this tiny state who have entered the hall of fame. The celebrated poet and writer, Kamala Das first created a sensation when she penned her autobiography that translated into English, became a textbook in foreign universities. Another world’s celebrated novelists - Booker prize winner, Arundati Roy – she combines brilliant reportage with a passion. A lady that will be remembered for being a trendsetter is none other than P.T.Usha – hailing from a middle-class background her success led to a chain reaction. She is surely the one sportswoman whom the country as a whole recognises. Former Supreme court Judge – Fathima Beevi, Sugathakumari – poet and social activist were in the forefront when it come to stopping the conversion of the silent valley into dam, K. Ajitha – Social Activist, has done phenomenal work in helping women in distress, Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, Nilambur Ayisha – Theatre Artist, Leela Menon, Journalist, Pameela Anna Mathew – Industrialist, C.K Janu – Enviornmental Activist who champions the cause of adivasis etc were few among those who stood beyond the shadows of men. They are independent individuals who have played a part in Kerala’s social and cultural history in different ways. Kerala is proud by their immense contributions in both national and international levels.
The social reformers and the progressive political formations working in the society make women aware about the social dimensions of the oppressions which they experienced at subjective level, by unravelling the different exploitative structures and situations like caste, feudalism, colonial subjugation, male domination, and the injustice of inequality that was prevailing in the society then. The socio-religious reform movements as well as the progressive political movements have played a central role in the development of women in Kerala. By articulating the demands for education and health care, and organizing large sections of the population around such demands, the movements played a central role in their upliftment. The change in the approach on women is reflected in concrete measures in the decentralized planning process which was initiated in Kerala and it led to sea changes in the position and status of women in the state. Kerala is the first state in the country to have earmarked 10% for the Women’s Component Plan (WCP) out of the 40% state plan funds transferred to the Local Self Government institutions (LSGI’s). Also in Kerala, 33 percent of seats have been reserved for women in the LSGIs. Recently, on March 2008, the government had released the draft for women’s policy that includes the formation of ‘Gender Board’. This gender board is supposed to coordinate with various government departments, which will look into the allocation and utilization of funds for women, address the issues of health, employment and equality of women. Moreover, in the latest budget (2008-09), Rs. 2.25 crore was set apart for gender awareness programmes and Rs. 2 crores for initiating a Special Finishing School for women. From all these steps what we see is a couple of enabling factors that act as catalyst for empowerment of women in Kerala.

Despite all the impressive development indicators masked many of the underlying realities of the state with respect to the status and situation of women in Kerala. Even though concrete steps were taken in the beginning of nineties to bring women to the main stream of decision making process by reserving 33 percent of seats for them in LSGIs and thereby empowering them, unfortunately has not resulted in increased participation of women in the political process. Political process and realms of decision making still remains a male dominated field. So, it is a paradoxical situation that prevails with regard to women development and the status of women in Kerala. Different indicators with regard to women has shown commendable growth in the state, compared to her counterparts in other states and at the all India level her status, both economically and socially has been heads and shoulders above her counter parts elsewhere in the country. But on the other hand, despite positive trends in women development and social status, women in Kerala has been suffering on various counts. Atrocities against women have been growing to dangerous proportions. Suffering at home and at work places has been increasing. The outlook of the society has been shifting more and more to a situation wherein woman are seem as mere commodities with amount of dowry shooting up by leaps and bounds. In the field women have been marginalized. Her work participation rate has been low. The ultramodern fully globalized section of the society is blindly male dominated and male chauvinistic.

Even then, women in our state can proudly assert their unique identities because without their contribution, the ‘Kerala Model of Development’ would still be a dream of Keralities. ‘In the exceptional nature of Kerala's social achievements," Amartya Sen has written, "the greater voice of women seems to have been an important factor”.