| Dowry, domestic violence rampant in Kerala: Study | |||
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| The
Kerala Human Development Report (KHDR) unveiled on Tuesday notes
'serious social problems of women's autonomy' that deny the very notion
of human development for the fairer sex. |
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| The
report says gender parity in some dimensions of human development has
not translated into gender freedom. Dowry harassment and domestic
violence are the main problems for women, who number 16,372,760 in
Kerala compared to 15,468,614 men. |
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| "Dowry,
which was previously confined to sections of the Kerala society, has
now permeated virtually to all of the state," the KHDR says. |
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| "The
evidence of domestic violence reflects the seriousness of the problem.
Social awareness and mobilisation in the highly conscious state has
failed to challenge such glaring gender unfreedom." |
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| Also, more women are found to be unemployed compared to men with the same qualifications. |
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| The
report says: "The incidence of unemployment among women with 8-12 years
of education is two-and-a-half times higher than men with similar
educational background." |
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| The
labour market discrimination was revealed through the small range of
job opportunities for women and very low work participation among women. |
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| According to the 2001 census, there are 2,310,152 women job seekers compared to 1,694,886 men seeking employment in Kerala. |
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| The
KHDR 2002 was prepared by a core team of social scientists drawn from
the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), to unravel what they believe
is 'lopsided development' characterising Kerala's economy till the late
1980s. |
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| K Navaneetham, a core team member, said the final report would be made available in three months. | |||
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"Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power.
It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality."
- Dr BR Ambedkar
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