Indian Woman - School Essay

Indian women in ancient India were believed to have equal rights as men. They were educated and trained and were free to choose their husbands. However, their condition deteriorated in the medieval period, further suffering from evils like Sati custom, child marriage, Jauhar, dowry custom and Devdasi custom and so on. In the modern times, women have adorned high offices in India including that of the Prime Minister, President and Speaker of the Lok Sabha. However, they continue to face discrimination and other social challenges. They are often the victims of abuse and crime at the hands of their near and dear ones as well as others. According to a recent survey, India was found to be the fourth most dangerous country for women.

Women have worked shoulder to shoulder with men. They have worked as farmers and have helped their men from time immemorial. They have been in demand for certain types of jobs, especially after independence, such as that of teacher, clerk and certain domestic jobs as knitting sweaters. With the advent of education and awareness, women have now stepped out to work independently. We can see them working in almost all professions under the sun, including doctors, nurses, police and military. The social scene has changed completely with women contributing a significant part in the growth of our country's economy. Female literacy is rising gradually. The chief barriers to female education in India are inadequate school facilities, shortage of teachers and gender-bias; however, the government and many non-government organisations are coming forward to impart quality education to girls. There are legal measures, government programmes, women organisations and research groups which work for their well-being. There are industrial training institutes and polytechnics for women. The government has opened separate hostels for women for low income groups to provide safe and cheap accommodation for working women.

The Indian women excel in every department they join, but the number of crimes against them is on the rise too. In India, crimes against them are reported on daily basis from different corners of the country. Even the national capital is not immune from them. A large number of these crimes are not reported even. The types of crimes include exploitation, physical harassment, rape, transportation, acid-throwing, dowry, female infanticide, female foeticide, child marriage, and so on.

A recent trend amongst Indian women is an over-emphasis on physical grooming and slimming to the extent of torturing themselves just for the sake of misplaced notion of beauty imported from the West. The craze to look beautiful with no consideration for the inner beauty has become a tradition and beauty parlours have mushroomed throughout the country. Indian women have become fashionable and beauty-conscious, but it has also attracted men to them, leading to several instances of crimes just due to it.

An effort should be made to accord Indian women the glorious place of the past times they enjoyed in the society, respecting their dignity, respect and honour. A nation which respects its women can prosper infinitely.