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Women worst sufferers, most vulnerable in J&K: World Bank
52%of female-headed households widows
11/24/2015 12:45:02 AM
Syed JunaidHashmi
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Nov 23: From glaring gender disparities in all walks of life to lack of active and significant participation in political affairs, women are worst sufferers and most vulnerable group in Jammu and Kashmir.
World Bank has made these stinging remarks in its project evaluation report of the Rs. 1659 crore Jhelum and Tawi flood recovery project. Bank while laying stress on women empowerment has said that the main barriers to gender justice and women's empowerment in Jammu and Kashmir are violence against women; lack of decision-making authority; lack of participation in political affairs; poor and low status of women; lack of education; lack of awareness; inadequate and unorganized health care delivery system; and unemployment leading to poverty.
Bank has specifically said that the in the regional context, gender justice and women's empowerment need to be viewed through an interconnected web of multiple vulnerabilities and restricted access to health, education, gainful employment, social and physical security, and decision-making. Referring to instability in the region over past few decades, the report maintains that the conflict has impacted the livelihoods of several families and given rise to a fragile social milieu.
World Bank has noted with concern that region's infant mortality rate was 37 as against India's figure of 40. It has elaborated that female literacy remains low when compared to men. The literacy rate has increased substantially in the last decade from by 13 percent in the last decade i.e. from 55 percent in 2001 to 68.74 percent in 2011. While female literacy has also increased dramatically from 42.22 percent in 2001 to 58.01 percent in 2011, gender disparities in education still exists in rural and urban areas.
The dropout rate from class 10th to 12th is 25.33 percent, which is very high. Out of 22 districts, the dropout rate in 12 districts is higher than the regional level dropout rate. Huge difference in gross enrollment ratio (GER) at upper primary level and secondary level is also a cause of concern. World Bank has further said that GER at the upper primary level is 96.7 percent; whereas GER at the secondary level is very low i.e. 63.45.
It has added that the number of out of school children in the age group of 6-7 years is 13,077. Out of these, 5,391 are boys and 7,686 girls. Similarly, in the age group of 8-10 years, the number of children not attending schools is 16,027. Out of these, 6,605 are boys and 9,422 girls. The number of such children in the age group of 11-14 years is 20,715, out of which 8,391 are boys and 12,324 girls.
Further elaborating on the female dis-empowerment in Jammu and Kashmir, the report has said that women remain under-represented across sectors and a majority of their contribution tends to be invisible. 6.8 percent of the households are female-headed and 52 percent of these female-headed households are widows (Census 2011). Bank has called for need to mainstream women's concerns and development needs more systematically.
Another interesting aspect brought out by the report is that 51.5 percent of married women aged 15-49 in urban areas suffer from anemia. Most women are primarily responsible for household work like fetching water, washing, caring for the elderly or children, and cooking (only 42 percent women do work other than carry out household chores). This prevents them from engaging meaningfully in income generation activities or education, particularly in the case of young and adolescent girls.
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