LECOLE CHEMPAKA SILVER ROCKS

POLITICAL SCIENCE

DISCRIMINATION OF GIRL CHILD IN INDIA

DANIYA D
CLASS 12 TEAK

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CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 REASONS FOR THE SELECTION OF THIS TOPIC
 RESEARCH QUESTION
 EVIDENCE FROM INDIA
 CASE STUDY – DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 INFERENCES AND CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

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DISCRIMINATION FACED BY A GIRL CHILD IN THE 21st
CENTURY IN INDIA

We are currently in an age of modernization and rapid

growth, with astounding technological developments
and medicinal breakthroughs across the world. In this
age, it is evident that our society has also evolved from
a conservative system that held multiple universally
accepted stereotypes and widespread discriminatory
practices on the basis of caste, race, region, gender
etc. to one where human dignity, fundamental rights
and equality have prevailed not only as an accepted
necessity but also legally enforced for the benefit of the
people. Gender inequality has been an issue rooted
into most cultural paradigms of the world, but after
three strong waves of feminism one has seen these
norms change drastically. The first wave, occurring in
the 19th and early 20th century, was mainly concerned
with women’s right to vote. The second wave, at its
height in the 1960s and 1970s, refers to the women’s
liberation movement for equal legal and social rights.
The third wave, beginning in the 1990s, refers to a
continuation of, and a reaction to, second-wave
feminism. Women have come a long way today, into
being integrated as an equal part of society. There are
multiple case studies that prove that the ‘glass-ceiling’
has indeed been broken and females are not merely
confined to four walls of a household. People such as
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Hima Das, Hina Jaiswal, Gagandeep Kang, and Nirmala
Sitharaman hold testimony to the advancing mindsets
of a culturally conservative India. However, these
achievements cannot be equated with complete
eradication of a sexist mindset in people, and should
not undermine the efforts of millions of women still
suffering because of the social paradigms in societies.

REASONS FOR SELECTION OF THE TOPIC

Very recently, a three part video made by a
teenager called ‘Divyanana Trivedi’ went viral across
social media. The video named ‘Why I am against
Today’s Feminism’ insulted the current feminist
movement in India, conveniently mistaking them for
misogynists. She made unbelievable claims such as
‘Even the rural girl child today can dream of equal
education’ and that today’s feminism is striving for
female supremacy, which undermined the struggle of
women across the nation who have been striving for
equality amongst a community that punishes them
for not being a male member. While I expected this
video to be immediately labelled as misinformed and
ignorant, I was surprised at the kind of support it
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received from boys and girls alike across the youth of
the nation. A few days later, one of my closest
friends was forced to change homes in the midst of a
nationwide lockdown after she lodged a complaint for
physical and sexual assault against her step father, a
person she trusted and knew closely. Despite having
read of these instances in newspapers regularly,
seeing someone I knew go through this and the
subsequent emotional toll the family experienced
after the incident shattered my belief system to the
core and made me question male entitlement
amongst society. This further got me thinking of the
prevalent disregard of feminists and the accepted
‘sexist’ jokes for the sake of humour that are still
prevalent across our own educated and young
generation. People who honestly believe that
feminism strives for ‘female superiority’ and that the
21st century has managed to attain general equality
are increasing by the day, and this mindset can have
catastrophic results for societal growth as a whole,
since these individuals are not only failing to
recognise the problem at hand, but also putting men
on a pedestal as victims to ‘aggressive and power
hungry feminism’. Through the following research
paper I hope to find insight into these questions
regarding female equality and the steps taken and
which further need to be taken to enure a just social
paradigm.

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RESEARCH QUESTION
‘Is patriarchy a thing of the past, rendering gender
discrimination against a girl child in the 21st century
non-existent in India?’
HYPOTHESIS
Through the course of this paper, I have tried to
gather evidence, statistics, case studies and general
insight regarding girl child discrimination and gender
specific crimes still prevalent in the 21st century in a
world that still remains majorly patriarchal despite its
various developments and advances in different
fields, thus making modern feminism not only
important, but in fact fundamental for society to
grow as per the upcoming understanding. The paper
takes India as the focal point of its research and
bases all its evidences in the 21st century to inquire
into the increasingly widespread norm that gender
discrimination is a thing of the past.

GENDER AS AN IDENTITY
“Boys don’t cry”, “Don’t fight like a girl”, “Be a
man”, “Boys will be boys”. Phrases such as these are
some amongst many , that most people across India
have grown up listening to, and although they seem
mostly harmless, these have lasting impressions
upon the individual at young ages. Gender Identity is
our internal experience that corresponds to or differs
from the sex we were assigned at birth. Individuals
do not choose their gender, however, it forms a core
aspect of one’s identity and make-up. If one gender

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is continuously associated as superior or inferior
based on their gender, implicitly or explicitly, it
comes associate lifelong though processes. India
supports a plural or heterogeneous society consisting
of numerous stratifications based on religion, caste
and class. Dual structures of law exist side by side,
the religious sanctions condoned against
constitutional ones. Yet one finds that preference for
sons runs high amongst all religious groups and
social classes. This preference is due to shared
civilization patterns on the Indian subcontinent and
the underlying principle of a patrilocal, patrilineal and
patriarchal society. Women in such societies always
occupy a low status and are neglected. As women
are considered a burden, female infant mortality
exceeds that of males, notwithstanding the fact that
a female child is biologically stronger at birth. A girl
faces deprivation throughout her life. Preference for
sons is obvious from the brutal traditions that are
prevalent in India Feminism as a concept as well as
an ideology continues to be misinterpreted and
stereotyped. Women themselves continue self-
stereotyping and justify the patriarchal structures
that continue to oppress and marginalise several
sections of the society, including women. For
instance, the existing genderstereotype that women
are not as intelligent as men might lead one woman
to believe that she is actually intellectually inferior to
any man. This then translates to women not being as
outspoken, second-guessing their opinions, not being

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confident in interpersonal communication etc. at
workplace. Indian women collectively resonated with
feminism not even a decade back from now because
of the orthodox system of patriarchy we still believe
in. The #MeToo movement was a chance for women
who could access both technology and social media
to talk about sexual harassment, which is only one of
the swarming issues that we have left to address. We
have riot-based sexual violence, caste-based
harassment, virginity tests, period poverty,
infibulation, infertility stigma and vaginal mutilation
to name a few issues. Because of the cultural,
linguistic and religious diversity of India, every sect
comes up with a different form of prejudice.This is
just one of many examples regarding viewpoints and
biases of ones’ gender identity.

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EVIDENCE FROM INDIA
Although in general, couples with children have a lower
risk of divorce than do childless couples, the stabilizing
effect of marriage may depend on the children’s gender.
A recent survey in some states across India regarding sex
ratios gave way to some horrific statistics. State wise
Comparison of Sex Ratio in India Utter Pradesh (29.7
million), Bihar (18.6 million) and Maharashtra (12.8
million), Madhya Pradesh (10.5 million) and Rajasthan
(10.5 million) have the largest number of children
constituting 52% children in the age group 0-6 years.
(Census, 2011) As per census 2011, the State/ UTs with
alarmingly low child sex ratio ( =950) are Mizoram, (971),
Meghalaya (970), A & N Islands (966), Puducherry
(965),Chhattisgarh (964), Arunachal Pradesh (960),
Kerala (959), Assam (957), Tripura(953), West Bengal
(950). Top three states recording the highest value of sex
ratio are from the southern part of India, namely Kerla
(1084), Tamilnadu (995) and Andhra Pradesh (992). The
data shows the structural difference of sex disparity. If we
compare sex ratio between rural and urban areas of all
the states, then it is observed that sex ratio is better in
rural areas compared to urban areas,The sex ratio is the
ratio of males to females in a population. In most sexually
reproducing species, the ratio tends to be 1:1 unless
otherwise meddled with. These Indian states have
amongst the lowest sex ratios in the world. Most other
Indian states as well have in fact had a negative growth
from the 2001 census which is more prominent in the
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northern states. Surprisingly, the wealthier section such
as urban areas seem to have a lower sex ratio than rural
areas in most cases.
.

CASE STUDY- DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA

Domestic violence is any act which harms or endangers
the health, safety, life, limb, or wellbeing (mental or
physical) of the victim, or tends to do so, and includes
causing: physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse,
emotional abuse, and economic abuse. At times like
these, victims need to be aware of their rights and the
laws regarding abuse. 8.1 Statistics
• One out of three women in India are facing the problem
of physical/sexual abuse.

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• 31.1% of married women aged 15-49 years experienced
spousal violence at least once in their lives.
• About 86% women who experienced violence never
sought help, and 77% of the victims did not even mention
the incident(s) to anyone
• Every year, as many as 275 million children worldwide
become caught in the crossfire of domestic violence and
suffer the full consequences of a turbulent home life.
• The number of complaints of domestic abuse has risen
by 53% in the first week of the lockdown (March 23- April
1) in India. 8.2 Suggested steps to be taken
• The victim should approach the police for help or to
seek the help of a Protection Officer, appointed by the
government to assist victims of domestic violence. They
can also file a complaint before the Magistrate’s Court, a
Family Court or the District Court within the jurisdiction of
where the act(s) of domestic violence have taken place or
where they reside.
• One should keep in mind that the police are duty-bound
to register an F.I.R. even if it doesn’t fall within their
territorial jurisdiction. After recording an F.I.R., the police
authorities may transfer it to the police station under the
proper jurisdiction. However, if they fail to do so, you can
approach the court having jurisdiction over the particular
police station where the F.I.R. has been recorded.
• Once a complaint is lodged, notices are issued to the
aggressor(s) and after hearing them, necessary orders

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and directions are passed by the Court. The Protection
Officer and the court take steps to prevent any further
acts of domestic violence and to ensure the safety and
wellbeing of the victim concerned.# It is not common
knowledge that the victim need not move out of the
house and, in fact, can even get a protection order from
the court barring the aggressor from diss-housing her. In
some cases, the court has even directed the aggressor to
move out of the house irrespective of who owns it. The
aggressor can be directed to pay for medical expenses.
We know that Acts of domestic violence are seldom
committed in public view or in broad daylight. However, if
a victim’s testimony and the evidence before the
authorities stand the test of cross-examination, it is
ideally sufficient proof of an act(s) of domestic violence in
most cases.
• Once a person is charged with domestic violence, he or
she is usually subjected to a protective order being
placed on the reset of the family or those residing in the
same household. If the court ordered protection order is
violated, new charges are often the outcome.
• While talking to a lawyer, it is best to provide any and
all possible favorable information that may be used in
negotiations. This could include any violent history the
victim has against the defendant, false accusations that
were made by the alleged victim, psychological illnesses
or drug addictions and other similar behaviors that may
explain the events in a different context. # In some
cases, false accusations may have been lodged against

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the defendant. It is vital to know about these concerns
immediately to defend against them. Any additional
information that has not been shared up to this point
should be explained to legal counsel to ensure a better
outcome.
• Many times, the first attempt is always to save the
marriage, as the solution to domestic violence is not
always separation. Yet this decision is in the hands of the
wife, if she believes she does not want to stay with her
husband then she is not obliged to go through counseling.

INFERENCES AND CONCLUSION

The existing evidence makes it extremely clear, that
despite having reached epitomes of advancement and
development in space exploration and international fame,
there exists a massive intellectual gap even amongst the
educated members of society that makes India the most
dangerous country for women on the planet by and
making half its population suffer. 2020 is experiencing a
parallel pandemic of increasing domestic abuse as
victims are trapped in houses amid the lockdown. The
talk of equality although far closer now than before, is
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still a very distant reality. Discrimination is prevalent in
its rubric and most basic form in rural areas where it is
evident, but this is also the case with more advanced and
educated communities in several practices and customs.
Being a female child is still a curse in India, and
patriarchy stays embedded in fundamental tasks and
customs amongst religions, Agrawal Eshanya;
International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and
Innovations in Technology © 2020, www.IJARIIT.com All
Rights Reserved Page |26 castes and economic groups
and classes. Modern feminism is stereotyped and labelled
as misogynistic, but remains an important characteristic
and a symbol of strength and struggle of women across
the world. Misogyny although misguided is only a logical
and inevitable extremist view after centuries of suffering
amongst women as a community. Multiple laws are in
place regarding women rights, however the current
statistics easily prove that they have not in the least
stopped the offenders and managed to decrease male
ego and entitlement in society. Domestic violence
continues to be a major problem faced by the entire
community. Awareness of various rights and judicial help
that women can reach out for has to be promoted in
order to successfully safeguard one’s interests. The
mindset and thinking of the people needs to change at
the very rubric level for this enforced equality to actually
become a reality where one does not hear horror stories
regarding gender related discrimination and crimes each
day. Matriarchal communities are few, and while one
must acknowledge that people are changing as

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individuals, as a whole this claim does not stand true
especially when women themselves self-stereotype their
gender. More laws need to be made while the existing
ones need to be effectively enforced for the judiciary to
ensure justice. The change starts with every member of
society as they effectively persuade their fathers, uncles,
brothers, sons, husbands and friends to respect women
and change their misinformed perceptions of gender
identity in order to ensure a future where equality, a
fundamental right provided by the constitution, can
become a reality.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Criminal abuse of women and children

 Child marriages and its curses
 Interdisciplinary feminist perspectives on crimes regarding sexual
abuse
 The juvenile justice
 How to be a feminist
 Crime against children

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