Gul, S. B. A. & Sheikh, T.A.

/ Educationia Confab

ISSN: 2320-009X

Attitude of Tribal Employed and Non Employed Women towards Education and Employment in Jammu and Kashmir
Showkeen Bilal Ahmad Gul** & Tariq Ahmad Sheikh*
**Research Scholar, Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (202002) U.P. India *Research Scholar, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
ABSTRACT The study explored the attitude of tribal employed and non employed women towards education and employment in Jammu and Kashmir. The descriptive survey research method was used for the study, the sample consisted of 96 tribal employed and non employed women selected by stratified random sampling technique. Two attitude scales in view of the two variables, viz, education and employment developed by Dr. Safia Iqbal were used. The finding of the study revealed that: (1) there was a significant correlation between the attitude of employed tribal women towards education with their attitude towards employment; (2) there was a significant correlation between the attitude of non employed tribal women towards education with their attitude towards employment; (3) there was no significant difference between the attitude of employed and non-employed tribal women towards Education; and (4) there was no significant difference between the attitude of employed and Non employed tribal women towards Employment. Key words: Attitude, Tribal, Women, Education, and Employment INTRODUCTION Education is the key to success. The same is true for women. Women are the epicenters of creation in this world. Women themselves even do not know for whom they have created. Woman has played a definite and defined role in the society, from daughter, sister, mother, and wife. The true assessment of their contribution to the family, society and the country is hardly done or counted till date. In this rapidly changing society and the world, women have to attain awareness about themselves, their rights, and responsibilities. In present times the role of women is considered in all aspects of social fiber. Many studies in the past have proved that they have been playing a constructive role in nation building. Education of women that constitute about half of the nations population, therefore, undoubtedly is the most important aspect of a developing country like India. Women, the first teachers of the child, constitute roughly half of the worlds population. So, definitely the education of women is realized to be the most essential part for the development of the society. The first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru strongly stressed on women education. According to him Education of a boy is education of one person, but education of a girl is the education of the entire family. The duty of a mother doesnt finish with giving birth to a number of children which our society also doesnt view prestigiously. It is the quality which our society requires at present. Hence our human community also should realize the need of their education for the betterment of the society as Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2014 29

Gul, S. B. A. & Sheikh, T.A. / Educationia Confab

ISSN: 2320-009X

a whole. Women education can help in solving their problems also like birth control, menace of drugs, poverty, dowry system, bride burning cases, inequality of women in the society and child labor etc. Women education is the backbone of social and economic development. Moreover it is an important measure in changing the overall spectrum of civilization. Her participation in family life, community development, management and administration by and large makes the social setup more dynamic. The tribal (Gujjars and Bakerwals), the third largest ethnic group in Jammu and Kashmir after Kashmari and Ladakhi, constitute more than 20 per cent population of the State. They are the states most populous Scheduled Tribe containing the population of more than 20 lakh as per the 2011 census and one forth of them are living nomadic life. Out of the total nomadic Gujjar and Bakerwals, 66 percent population of nomad Gujjar-Bakerwals who fall under Scheduled Tribe groups in the state of Jammu & Kashmir are living Below Poverty Line, revealed by a survey conducted by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation (TRCF), a frontal organization employed for the cause of Indian tribes (Koundal, 2012). The both groups of Gujjar community are without sufficient food, fodder for their animals. They lack basic facilities like proper shelter, health, drinking water, and education. The tribal Gujjar and Bakerwal women of Jammu and Kashmir live in utter deprivation due to poverty, illiteracy, early marriage, nomadic way of life, superstitions, traditional neglect and lack of awareness about welfare schemes, mentioned by study conducted by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation (TRCF). The Gujjar and Bakerwal women are not aware of their rights and schemes launched by the government for their education, health and social uplift as they live in far-flung and difficult areas and are nomads moving from one place to another. The facilities offered to the women in this community are inadequate. This can be understood from the fact that there are only two Government Hostels, one each in Jammu and Srinagar in the entire state for about 1.2 million Gujjar women. Unfortunately Gujjar and Bakerwal women life is still passing through the darkness of superstition and illiteracy. Although they are quite aware of their duties and contributes their best for the betterment of the tribal society of State but are not aware of their rights and continue to suffer as sacrificial goat at the hand of their family and society alike. Since half century back the women in the society, have became enlightened and have brought revolution in their life style to the extent that they have entered the field of Space Research but the unfortunate Gujjar Woman still lives a primitive life for away from the light of learning and devoid of modern facilities. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Sen (1992) in his study found that the cultural factors may play an intermediate role. It influence the choices made by individuals, through their own attitudes, and those of the people in their close environment. With respect to culture, India is part of what Caldwell (1982) has called the belt of classical patriarchy that stretches from North Africa to China and includes both Muslim, Hindu and Confucian cultures. His result indicated that the cultural factors show that belonging to a disadvantaged caste or tribe is negatively associated with schooling. Women belonging to a scheduled tribes are less in school in rural areas and womens belonging to a scheduled tribe are less in school in urban areas.TNS Social research (September 2003-June 2004) stated that women attitudes towards education were generally very positive. The majority (97%) agreed that a good education would help their child to get ahead in life. Research indicates that most womens show considerable interest in their Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2014 30

Gul, S. B. A. & Sheikh, T.A. / Educationia Confab

ISSN: 2320-009X

childs school and this is equally the case for womens of children who have attendance problems. It illustrates the importance of womens involvement for the school success of adolescents spans nearly two decades. Duncan (1969), for example, compared the attendance, achievement, and drop-out rate of two junior high classes. In one class, students parents had individual meetings with counselors before their children entered junior high school. In the other class, students parents did not meet with counselors. After three years, students whose parents had met individually with the school counselors had significantly higher attendance, better grade point averages, and lower drop-out rates. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To study the relationship of attitude of tribal employed women towards education with their attitude towards employment. To study the relationship of the attitude of tribal non-employed women towards education with their attitude towards employment. To study the attitude of employed and non-employed tribal women towards education. To study the attitude of employed and non-employed tribal women towards employment. HYPOTHESIS There exists no relationship between attitudes of tribal employed women towards education with their attitude towards employment. There exists no relationship between attitudes of tribal non-employed women towards education with their attitude towards employment. There is no significant difference between the attitude of employed and non-employed tribal women towards education. There is no significant difference between the attitude of employed and non-tribal employed women towards employment. METHOD AND SAMPLE Descriptive survey method was used by the investigator to collect the relevant information for research. Descriptive statistics are used to describe the main features of a collection of data in quantitative terms. Sample In the present study the sample consisted of 96 tribal womens including employed and non-employed women. The data was collected through stratified random sampling technique. Tools For the data collection, investigators used two attitude scales developed by Dr. Safia Iqbal (2010) in view of the two variables, viz, education and employment. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION The data was analyzed by used Pearsons product moment correlation and t test. 1. Relationship between Attitudes of Employed Tribal Women towards Education with their Attitude towards Employment Results pertaining to relationship between attitudes of employed tribal women towards education with their attitude towards employment have been shown in table I. Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2014 31

Gul, S. B. A. & Sheikh, T.A. / Educationia Confab

ISSN: 2320-009X

Table I Attitude of Employed Tribal Women towards Education with their Attitude towards Employment Variables Attitude of Employed Tribal Women towards Education Attitude of Employed Tribal Women towards Employment 96 80.38 8.56 N Mean S.D Correlation Value Significance level

101.37

15.59 0.27 0.05

INTERPRETATION It is revealed from table I that the value of mean for attitude of employed tribal women towards education turned out to be 101.83, whereas their attitude towards employment is 80.37, which means that employed tribal women have higher attitude towards education as compared to employment. After calculating the mean, the coefficient of correlation was calculated to find the relationship among the variables. The value of correlation turned out to be 0.27 which interprets that there is a significant correlation between the attitudes of employed tribal women towards education with their attitude towards employment as significance value calculated by using SPSS is 0.05. This makes clear that attitude of employed tribal women towards education have a significant relationship with attitude of employed tribal women towards employment, which indicates that the relationship is real and meaningful. Thus hypothesis No.1 that there exists no relationship between the attitudes of employed tribal women towards education with their attitude towards employment is rejected. 2. Relationship between Attitudes of Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Education with their Attitude towards Employment Results pertaining to relationship between attitudes of non-employed tribal women towards education with their attitude towards employment have been shown in table II
Table II Attitude of Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Education with their Attitude towards Employment Variables Attitude of Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Education 96 Attitude of Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Employment 81.85 12.85 N Mean S.D Correlation Value Significance Level

102.06

14.96 0.39 0.006

INTERPRETATION It is revealed from table II that the value of the mean for attitude of non employed tribal women towards education turned out to be 102.06 whereas for attitude of non employed tribal women towards employment is 81.85, which means that unemployed tribal women have higher attitude towards education as compared to employment. After calculating the mean, the coefficient of correlation was calculated to find the relationship among the variables. The value of correlation turned out to be 0.39, which interprets that there is a significant correlation between the attitudes of non employed tribal women towards Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2014 32

Gul, S. B. A. & Sheikh, T.A. / Educationia Confab

ISSN: 2320-009X

education with their attitude towards employment as significance value calculated by using SPSS is 0.006. This makes clear that attitude of non-employed tribal women towards education have a significant relationship with an attitude of non-employed tribal women towards employment, which indicates that the relationship is real and meaningful. Thus hypothesis No.2 that there exists no relationship between the attitude of non-employed tribal women towards education and employment is rejected. 3. Comparison between the Attitude of Employed and Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Education Results pertaining to study the significant difference between the attitude of employed and non-employed tribal women towards education have been shown in table III
Table III Attitude of Employed and Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Education Variables Attitude of Employed Tribal Women towards Education Attitude of Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Education N 48 48 Mean 101.83 102.06 S.D 15.58 14.82 SEd 2.24 -0.074 2.13 t-value Significance Not Significant at 0.05 level

INTERPRETATION The table III depicts that the difference between the mean score of employed and Non -employed tribal women towards Education is very slight that is (101.83) and (102.06) respectively .The standard deviation of both the groups are (15.58) and (14.82).The t -value (0.074) is not significant at 0.05 level of confidence. This indicates that both the groups do not differ in their attitude towards education, whatever is the difference it is due to the chance error. This communicates that both employed and non-employed tribal women have equal attitude towards education. Therefore the hypothesis No. 3 that is, there is no significant difference between the attitude of employed and non-employed tribal women towards education is accepted. 4. Comparison between the Attitude of Employed and Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Employment Results pertaining to study the significant difference between the attitude of employed and non-employed tribal women towards employment have been shown in table IV.
Table IV Attitude of Employed and Non-Employed Tribal Women towards Employment Variables Attitude of Employed Tribal Women towards Employment Attitude of Non Employed Tribal Women towards Employment N 48 48 Mean 80.37 81.85 S.D 8.56 12.85 SEd 1.23 -.66 1.85 t-value Significance Not Significant at 0.05 level

INTERPRETATION It is revealed from table IV that the difference between the mean scores of employed and non tribal employed women towards employment is very slight that is (80.37) and(81.85) Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2014 33

Gul, S. B. A. & Sheikh, T.A. / Educationia Confab

ISSN: 2320-009X

respectively .The value of S.D for both the groups are (8.56) and (12.85).The t-value (0.664) is not significant at 0.05 level of confidence. This indicates that employed and non-employed tribal women do not differ in their attitude towards employment, whatever is the difference it is due to chance over .This communicates that both employed and non-employed tribal women have equal attitude towards employment, therefore the hypotheses No. 4 that, there is no significant difference between the attitude of employed and Non employed tribal women towards Employment is accepted. DISCUSSION An insight into the investigation of attitude of employed and non employed tribal women towards education and employment, it can be deduced that there is significant relationship between the attitude of employed and non employed tribal women towards education and employment. Women cannot make meaningful and significant contribution to national development without the acquisition of education and employment. This implies that there should be greater effort by the government, non-governmental organizations and the society at large in promoting and developing attitude of tribal women towards education and employment. The Education enables tribal women in making significant contributions towards national development. Therefore, such practices such as traditional practices, cultural beliefs among others that have hindered the full participation of women in education and employment must be eradicated as to give room for tribal women to make significant contributions to national development. Since the results of this study revealed that positive attitude of tribal women towards education and employment lead to women empowerment to a great extent, by implication, national development can be induced through the activities of women that are empowered through education and employment. This means that those obstacles that have hindered tribal women from attaining higher height in education and employment such as gender biases in the practice of patriarchy, preference male to female child among others must not be allowed to hinder tribal womens contribution to the development of their nations in this 21st century. From development point of view, women education and employment is therefore necessary since it raises human capital, productivity and economic growth, hence resulting to national development. This implies that in order to boost tribal women participation in education and employment, the government should make steps for womens empowerment. Those with physical and psychological challenges should be provided with moral and political support. Also incentives should be provided for those from poor background. Empowering tribal women through education has important implications for womens economic empowerment, access to information, knowledge and skills and decent and remunerative work. Viewed in a wider sense, education enhances womens capability to make choices, develops self-confidence, decision-making power and autonomy. "Education is one of the most important means of empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process." CONCLUSION It is thus concluded that present study revealed that there is no difference in attitude of tribal employed and non employed women towards education and employment in Jammu and Kashmir. The investigator has drawn some conclusions which are being presented below:-

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Gul, S. B. A. & Sheikh, T.A. / Educationia Confab

ISSN: 2320-009X

The employed tribal women have higher attitude towards education as compared to employment and there exists relationship between the attitude of employed tribal women towards education and employment. The unemployed tribal women have higher attitude towards education as compared to employment and there exists no relationship between the attitude of non employed tribal women towards education and employment. There is no significant difference between the attitude of employed and nonemployed tribal women towards education. There is no significant difference between the attitude of employed and non employed tribal women towards employment.

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