ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTRAINTS ON ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF THE EDUCATED MUSLIM WOMEN IN PUNE CITY Dr. Farida Mohammad Gaus Shaikh IDEA PUBLISHING WWW.ideapublishing.in i
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About The Author X Dr. Mrs. Farida Mohammed Gaus Shaikh has an outstanding academic career. Her teaching experience cover more than 28 years of teaching in graduate as well as post graduate level. She is currently working at Poona College of Arts science & Commerce Camp Pune. She is an Associate Professor and Head of department in Business Economics in the department of Economics (Postgraduate and Research Centre) in Poona College. She has a vast and rich experience in the field of Banking and Finance and Eco Growth and development. She shown her active participation in paper presentation in Seminar/workshop and presented more than 15 International level and 20 National level and 10 State level research paper. Her various research paper are published in well known Journals. She involved in various academic committees and activities. iii
About The Book X There is dearth of literature and research work emphasising the role of educated Muslim Women in their economic empowerment in terms of potential abilities, skills development, hidden leadership and risk taking abilities, entrepreneurial capacities and search for suitable livelihood activities to help as mechanisms for overall income generation and the well being of the Muslim family households. It is observed that majority of Muslim women household have unsatisfactory and inadequate educational 'drop-out' status due to many socio-economic, cultural and even religious constraints. It is also observed that if they had completed their education; they would have got more and better opportunities for economic empowerment. The Sachar Committee has rightly observed that, "In many meetings women participants emphasised that given appropriate opportunities to work and get educated, they would 'manage' all the issues such as family orthodoxy, male dominance, controlled and unsecured appearances in public places and so called ghettoism and dynamics of identity crisis." This observation needs to be further tested through research. It is against this background, this research work has analysed the aspirations of educated women households and how do they manage or face the constraints for economic empowerment in terms of self employment, salaried service sector employment or any other livelihood activities as support mechanism to enhancement of family income as well as well being of their kin and kith. Thus this is a very important work which must be read by all those who want to study Muslim women and also policy maker who are interested in improving a lot of Muslim women. iv
CONTENT X CHAPTER PAGE NO. 1 INTRODUCTION AND THE STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM 1-26 1.1 Gender Inequality and Empowerment: 1 1.2 Definition of Human Development: 1 1.3 The concept of Empowerment: 3 1.4 Role of Education in Empowerment 5 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Impact of Education on Lives of Women The Indian Overview : Muslim Women Constitutional Rights of Women for their Empowerment The Government Policies and Programs for Women 6 7 10 12 1.9 Role of NGO 14 1.10 Social Legislations 15 1.11 1.12 The Muslim Community and the Educated Muslim women The statement of the problem under Research 18 21 1.13 Objectives of the Research 23 v
1.14 Methodology of Research 23 1.15 Composition of Structured Questionnaire 24 1.16 Data Analysis 25 1.17 Hypothesis 25 1.18 Period of Study 26 1.19 Scope and Limitation of Study 26 2 MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONCEPT OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: LITERATURE REVIEW 27-46 2.1 Definition of Empowerment 28 2.2 Empowerment of Women 29 3 3.1 SOCIO ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF MUSLIMS AND MUSLIM WOMEN IN MAHARASHTRA Demography of Muslims in Maharashtra 47-72 47 3.2 Sex Ratio 49 3.3 The Educational Status 49 3.4 Economic Status 55 3.5 3.6 3.7 The conditions of Muslim Women in Maharashtra The Constraints on Empowerment of Women issues Constraints on entitlement of Muslim Women 56 58 61 vi
3.8 4 The Status of Women in Different Religion PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS DATA 62 73-110 4.1 Profile of Study Area : Pune City 73 4.2 4.3 The composition of Educated Muslim Women (EMW) Implications of Graduate and Post Graduate Degree: 85 87 4.4 Occupational Status of EMW 88 4.5 The Age Distribution of EMW 89 4.6 Marital Status of EMW 91 4.7 The Size and Headship of Household 92 4.8 The patriarchal Nature of EMW 93 4.9 Child population in the Family 95 4.10 Profile of EMW (who are female heads) 97 4.11 The Income Pattern of the EMW 100 4.12 The expenditure Pattern of EMW 101 4.13 The Major Findings 102 5 5.1 5.2 THE CONSTRAINTS ON EMPOWERMENT OF EDUCATED MUSLIM WOMEN The constraints on Empowerment of Women Constraints faced by the EMW of sample Households (270) 111-128 111 112 vii
6 THE FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION 129-154 6.1 Other Findings 131 6.2 The Policy Implications. 132 6.3 6.4 Accountability of Muslim Community for Educational Empowerment of the Women Challenges for Women Empowerment in India 132 133 6.5 Suggestions 135 viii
Chapter 1 Introduction and the Statement of Research Problem 1.1 Gender Inequality and Empowerment: The Gender Inequality Index shows that gender inequality varies tremendously across countries. The losses in achievement due to gender inequality (nor directly comparable to total inequality losses because different variable are used) range from 17 percent to 85 percent. The Netherlands tops the list of the most gender equal countries, followed by Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland. The concept empowerment of women is basically related to the human development in general and female society in particular which is expressed in terms of gender inequality between man and woman (which is biological difference between male and female). The inequality is also the outcome of the fact that women and girls are discriminated against in health, education and even labour market. Thus both the issues have origin in the subject of human development. 1.2 Definition of Human Development: Human development is the expansion of people's freedoms to live long, healthy and creative lives; to advance other goals they have reason to value; and to engage actively in shaping development equitably and sustainably on a shared planet. People are both the beneficiaries and the drivers of human development, as individuals and in groups. 1
Analysis of The Constraints on Economic Empowerment of the Educated Muslim Women In Pune City Human development is a process of enlarging people's choices. The most critical ones are to lead a long and healthy life to be educated and to enjoy a decent standard of living. Additional choices include political freedom, guaranteed human rights and self-respect- what Adam Smith called the ability to mix with others without being "ashamed to appear in public." Human development brings together the production and distribution of commodities and the expansion and use of human capabilities. It also focuses on choices -on what people should have, be and do to be able to ensure their own livelihood. Human development is, moreover, concerned not only with basic needs satisfaction but also with human development as a participatory and dynamic process. It applies equally to less developed and highly developed countries. As Sen so eloquently put it, "the twin recognition that human beings can (1) fare far better and (2) do much more to bring this about, may sensibly be seen as the two central theses of the human development approach." From the outset, the human development approach was oriented towards practical analyses and policies to advance well-being, emphasizing local and national public debates of alternative policy options. Countries with unequal distribution of human development also experience high inequality between women and men, and countries with high gender inequality also experience unequal distribution of human development. Among the countries doing very badly on both fronts are Central African Republic, Haiti and Mozambique. The central contention of the human development approach, by contrast, is that well being is about much more than money : It is about the possibilities that people have to fulfil the life plans they have reason to choose and pursue. Thus, our call for a new economics - an economics of 2
Dr. Farida Mohammad Gaus Shaikh human development - which the objective is to further human well-being and in which growth and other policies are evaluated and pursued vigorously in so far as they advance human development in the short and long term. Human development has three components : Well-being : expanding people's real freedoms - so that people can flourish. Empowerment and agency : enabling people and groups to act - to derive valuable outcomes. Justice : expanding equity, sustaining outcomes over time and respecting human rights and other goals of society Human development views people as the architects of their own development, both personally in families and communities and collectively in public debate, shared action and democratic practice. 1.3 The concept of Empowerment: According to Prof. Amartya Sen, empowerment requires both agency and supportive institutional structures. People can be empowered at home and at work, in politics, in the community and in society. Empowerment is about people as individuals and acting in groups - be they local cooperatives, trade unions or national political movements lobbying for change. The ability of individuals and groups to engage with, shape and benefit from political and other development processes in households, communities and countries is a vital component of people's freedoms. As we show in Chapter 3, empowerment has been linked with positive outcomes in health, education and other dimensions of human development. The outcomes that individuals and groups can bring about depend largely on power relations in society, both in the public sphere (political institutions and the market) and the private (gender relations within households). 3
Analysis of The Constraints on Economic Empowerment of the Educated Muslim Women In Pune City Empowerment is closely associated with participation: the possibility for all people, including poor and marginalized people, to have their voices heard and to participate meaningfully in shaping debates that affect their lives. This notion has broad resonance, especially in civil society. In a survey of civil society organizations for this Report, three- quarters of respondents agreed "to the highest extent" that empowerment was integral to human development (Box 6.6). The opening sentence of the preamble to the UN Charter anchors progress in the border context of "larger freedom." Empowerment - an increase in people's ability to bring about change - is central to the capability approach. It emphasizes the ability of individuals and groups to engage with, shape and benefit from political and other development processes in household, communities and countries. Empowerment has been recognized since the inception of the Human Development Report (HDR). The overview to the 1990 HDR states : "Human freedom is vital for human development. People must be free to exercise their choices in properly functioning markets, and they must have a decisive voice in shaping their political frameworks." It pointed to the need to measure political freedoms, because "the valuation given to similar human development achievements is quite different depending on whether they were accomplished in a democratic or an authoritarian framework." The 1993 HDR on participation was the first to directly address empowerment, which also underpinned the 2000 HDR on human rights, the 2002 HDR on democracy and the 2004 HDR on cultural liberties. Several recent national HDRs have also focused on empowerment, with many producing innovative measures. Empowerment is a means of creating a social environment in which one can make decisions and make choices either individually or collectively for social transformation. It strengthens the innate ability by way of acquiring knowledge, power and experience. 4
Dr. Farida Mohammad Gaus Shaikh Empowerment is the process of enabling or authorizing individual to think, take action and control work in an autonomous way. It is the process by which one can gain control over one s destiny and the circumstances of ones lives. Empowerment includes control over resources (physical, human, intellectual and financial) and over physiological, humanitarian factors such as beliefs, values and attitudes. Greater self confidence and an internal transformation of empowerment also enables one to overcome external barriers to accessing resources or changing traditional ideology. 1.4 Role of Education in Empowerment : Knowledge and wisdom : These are the two outcomes of education which promote creativity and imagination. Education thus expands peoples freedom. Expansion of education has often accompanied expansion of the voting franchise and democratization appears to drive numerous indicators of education. The educational attainment of adults - though this changes slowly - as well as enrolment, literacy and public education spending, which are more immediately amenable to institutional change. While democratization may have the strongest effects on primary education, decentralization can have stronger effects on higher levels of schooling. Higher educational attainment expands women's freedoms by strengthening their capacity to question, reflect and act on their condition and by increasing their access to information. Educated women are more likely to enjoy satisfying work, participate in public debate, care for their and their family's health and take other initiatives. We focus on differences in secondary and higher educational attainment. Education as means of empowerment of women can bring about a positive attitudinal change. It is therefore, crucial for the socio-economic and political progress of India. The Constitution of India empowers the 5
Analysis of The Constraints on Economic Empowerment of the Educated Muslim Women In Pune City state to adopt affirmative measures for prompting ways and means to empower women. Education significantly makes difference in the lives of women. These can be direct or indirect. 1.5 Impact of Education on Lives of Women: 1.5.1 Economic benefits: Education increases the economic, social and political opportunities available to women. It leads to direct economic benefits in the form of higher lifetime earnings for women. The society and community also benefit from the higher productivity of its labour force. Besides improving human capital and increasing economic growth, female education also reduces the fertility rate. The lowering in the number of dependants is referred to as the "demographic gift". Keeping women illiterate clearly retards economic growth. Societies that do not invest in girls' education pay a price for it in terms of slower growth and reduced incomes. Investments in female education start a virtuous cycle that leads to improved levels of income, growth and gender equality. Inequality in education is like a distortionary tax that misallocates resources, thereby reducing economic growth. 1.5.2 Access to Family Planning: Education increases women's knowledge about controlling fertility and access to family planning services and often encourages them to delay the age at which they marry. In the field survey Table 5.2 indicates clearly that the higher literacy rate improves the monthly income of the family and vice-versa. They also have more control over household resources and greater involvement in reproductive decisions. Women with more than a primary schooling had a smaller gender bias in sending children to school than women with less than primary schooling. But the question arises if all sections of society do not have access to the right to education as a fundamental right, how can empowerment take 6
Dr. Farida Mohammad Gaus Shaikh place? And how can education lead to the promotion of other human rights? The political commitment behind many education campaigns has remained unfulfilled. Disparities in education between various social groups defined by region, area, caste, sex, class, disabilities etc. still exist. The lack of educational opportunities for girl is contrary to Article 10 of the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women) which states that governments should undertake all appropriate steps towards the elimination of any stereotyped concepts in all forms of education. They are indicative of government's failure to deal with the problem of right to education. There is an urgent need to convert the government's commitments regarding education into action. Only then it will be possible to use education as a key instrument for bringing changes in social and cultural attitudes in relation to human rights. 1.6 The Indian Overview : Muslim Women - In view of religious, cultural and traditional bondages, patriarchal nature of Indian society, the denial of their rights and opportunity to education is the most damaging factor in India. The 1980s and 1990s brought with them yet another daunting challenge. The expansion of the market economy and industrialization and globalization brought increased inequalities, resulting in loss of livelihoods, erosion of natural resources and with it decreased women's access to water, fuel, fodder and traditional survival resources. It also brought new forms of exploitation-displacement, tourism, sex trade and retrenchment to mention a few. Women are being pushed into less productive sectors. Increased pressure on rural resources accelerated migration to urban areas in search of livelihood. People from backward regions, tribal communities, disadvantaged castes and the displaced communities were being pushed against the wall. Women in such countries shouldered the brunt and this phenomenon was labelled feminization of poverty. 7
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