Gender Discrimination and Domestic Violence against Women
A wake up call
Keywords:
Gender Discrimination, Domestic Violence, Women, Wake up callAbstract
Gender discrimination is not biologically determined but it is determined rather socially. Denial of equality, rights and opportunity and supplement in any form on the basis of gender is gender discrimination. Women-folk have been suffering in the form of discrimination, oppression, exploitation, degradation, aggression, humiliation since ages. The discrimination against women is not only hampering the growth of women at social, economic and personal level but also significantly lower female-to-male ratios impact the growth in both agriculture and industrial sectors. Thus, gender discrimination, in a way, also impedes the country’s growth.
Domestic violence, on the other hand, is one of the crimes against women which are linked to their disadvantageous position in the society. Domestic violence refers to violence against women especially in matrimonial homes. Domestic violence has been recognized as a significant barrier of the empowerment of women, with consequences on women’s health, their health-seeking behaviour and their adoption of small family norm. The concept of ‘Ardhangini’ [half of the body] seems to be restricted only in literatures and have never been implemented in practical life. Women in India constitute nearly half of its population but most of them are grinding under the socio-cultural and religious structures. One gender has been controlling the space of the India’s social economic, political and religious fabric since time immemorial. The present study feels that in the era of globalization and modernization the incidences of crime against women are on the rise