Eleventh Five Year Plan

190 Eleventh Five Year PlanTABLE 6.3Women in the Government SectorYear Central government State government Local bodies Total (In million)Female Total Female % Female Total Female % Female Total Female % Female Total Female%1981 0.14 3.19 4.3 0.65 5.67 11.4 0.41 2.04 20.4 1.2 10.91 112004 0.25 3.03 8.25 1.46 7.22 20.22 0.58 2.13 27.23 2.29 12.38 18.5Source: Directorate General of Employment and Training, Ministry of Labour, New Delhi.Violence against Women (VAW)6.27 Despite improving education levels and consistenteconomic growth, every form of violence againstwomen including female foeticide, rape, abduction,trafficking, dowry death, domestic violence, and witchhunting,has been increasing. We have 10 million missinggirls in India and this number is rising. Dowrydeaths rose from 6822 in 2002 to 7026 in 2004. In2005, highest number of dowry deaths were registeredin UP, followed by Bihar, and MP. NFHS-3 shows thatmore than half of all Indian women believe thathusbands can beat wives if they have an appropriatereason and 37% admit to being victims of spousal violence.Data from NCRB reveals little or no change incrime trends in rape and molestation. In 84–89% ofthe rape cases in the years 2002–04, the victim knewthe offenders. In 9% cases, the offender was the father,family member, or close relative, highlighting theprevalence of incestuous and child sexual abuse.Abduction and trafficking for sexual and other exploitationsaccounted for 19.4% and 7.2% cases registeredin 2005. Campaigns and stricter laws notwithstanding,8.3% of registered cases in 2005 were dowry deaths,a fall of 0.3% from 2004.Despite the high incidence of VAW, reporting is rareand conviction rates for reported cases, abysmally low;conviction rate for cruelty by husband was 19.2% and25.5% each for dowry and rape. 12CHALLENGES IN THE ELEVENTH PLAN6.28 The challenges for gender equity and the roadmapfor the Eleventh Five Year Plan can be clubbed under afive-fold agenda.(i) Ensuring economic empowerment.(ii) Engineering social empowerment.(iii) Enabling political empowerment.(iv) Effective implementation of women-related legislations.(v) Creating institutional mechanisms for gendermainstreaming and strengthening deliverymechanisms.ENSURING ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTEmploymentWOMEN IN THE UNORGANIZED SECTOR6.29 The Eleventh Plan recognizes that women in theunorganized sector need social security covering issuesof leave, wages, work conditions, pension, housing,childcare, health benefits, maternity benefits, safety andoccupational health, and complaints committee forsexual harassment. While it is difficult to tackle someof these issues immediately due to the nature of unorganizedenterprises, steps will be taken to ensure safety,childcare facilities, toilets, etc. for women. The Plan willensure increased availability of micro-credit to womenin the unorganized sector.WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE6.30 The challenge in the Eleventh Plan is to improvethe availability of agricultural inputs, credit, marketingfacilities, technology, and skill training for the increasingnumber of women farmers. Resource poolingand group investment, financial and infrastructuralsupport will be provided. Women in agriculture willbe on the top of the Eleventh Plan agenda and a twoprongedstrategy will be adopted: (i) ensuring effectiveand independent land rights for women, and(ii) strengthening women’s agricultural capacities.6.31 A specific scheme will be devised by MoWCDfor identifying and helping women in States where12National Crime Record Bureau, 2005.