UNIT 26 GENDER ISSUES OF DEVELOPMENT

Structure 26.0 Objectives 26.1 Introduction 26.2 Female Literacy 26.3 Sex Ratio 26.4 Gender Issues in Labour Market 26.5 Maternal Health 26.6 Women Empowerment 26.7 Panchyati Raj Institutions, 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendments 26.8 Self Help Groups and Micro Finance 26.9 Let us Sum up 26.10 Key Words 26.11 Suggested Books for Reading 26.12 Answers/Hints to CYP Exercises

Gender Issues of Development

26.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you will be able to:
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explain the position of women in India in terms of their sex ratio and literacy levels; discuss the gender issues in labour market vis--vis labour force participation rates and wage differentials; discuss issues like female foeticide/infanticide and the importance of women empowerment measures to combat such social evils; bring out the measures taken in uplifting the level of women in society in terms of institutional measures like formation of Self Help Groups and Micro Finance; and explain the governmental initiatives by way of enactment of constitutional amendments to improve the position of women in the Indian society.

26.1 INTRODUCTION
Equality between men and women is recognised by all members of United Nations Organisation (UNO) as a fundamental right and citizenship.
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Equality between sexes is explicitly extended by the constitutional guarantees of many countries. Yet, despite such formal commitments, and demonstrated benefits of gender equality to societies and economies, gender inequalities remain pervasive in many countries. Gender equality and the empowerment of women to fully participate in social, economic and political life is recognised as an important developmental need. This is reflected in the national development plans of many countries including India. In line with these legislative and constitutional provisions, specific policies and action plans for reducing the gender gaps have been initiated. In spite of these measures, discrimination against females have continued in one form or another. Common gender concerns relate to discrimination against female in respect of hunger, malnutrition, healthcare needs, opportunities for education and income earning avenues, etc. Gender linked discrimination against females, thus, pervade both the social and economic spheres of societal attitude and behaviour. In this context, the present unit deals with the various gender dimensions of Indian economy. Specifically, it deals with the issues of female literacy, sex ratio, labour market features, maternal health, and women empowerment.

26.2 FEMALE LITERACY

Literacy as a prerequisite to higher education and better employment is an instrument of empowerment. The more literate the population is, the greater consciousness of career options, as well as participation in the knowledge economy. Further, literacy can lead to health awareness and fuller participation in the cultural and economic activities of the community. Literacy varies considerably across gender, regions and social groups. When literacy begins to impinge upon ones basic freedom and consequently livelihood issues, it assumes a severe limiting character to the process of economic development itself. The link between gender equality and economic development is clear in areas like education and health. Research studies of World Bank and many other social scientists have revealed that more equitable access to education by women and girls yield positive returns in improving family health and greater productivity in work besides according the benefits of reduced family size. These studies have particularly estimated that countries in which there is more gender disparity in male to female enrolment ratio in schools, suffered 25 per cent low GDP than that of countries where there is less gender disparity in education. The findings of these studies have thus established that there is a strong correlation between female literacy and a development index like GDP of the country. The mean year of schooling provides a summary statistic of the average level of education of the population. As per National Family Health Survey (1998-99), the mean years of schooling for males and females in India (at all India level) is 5.33 and 3.39 respectively. Several strategies have been adopted to promote female literacy in Independent

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India. In particular, all formal and informal education and training programmes have been opened to both women and men. Separate provisions exclusively for women/girls have also been made by opening separate institutions for them. Education is free for girls up to the higher secondary stage. Several states have made education free for girls up to university level. There are other incentives like free midday meals, free books, free uniforms, scholar-ships for good attendance, bicycles, etc. Legislation for reservation of seats in institutions of higher learning are also made. Even with all these initiatives taken, India still has a long way to go in bridging the gap between the male and female literacy levels even after more than 5 decades of its independence. Table 26.1 shows the progress made and the disparity that still exists in respect of female literacy in India during the period 1951-01. Though there still exists disparity in male female literacy rates, post-1981, the gender gap is slowly reducing. Table 26.2 shows details of progress in female enrolment in primary, upper primary, secondary/high secondary and higher education stages. The trends show that the various measures initiated have contributed significantly to reduce the gender inequality in education although to reach the mid-mark of 50 percent level, there is still a long way to go. Table 26.1: Literacy Levels (%) by Gender in India: 1951-2001 Year 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 Persons 18.3 28.3 34.5 43.6 52.2 65.4 Males 27.2 40.4 46.0 56.4 64.1 75.9 Females 8.9 15.4 22.0 29.8 39.3 54.2 Male-Female Gap 18.3 25.1 24.0 26.6 24.8 21.7

Gender Issues of Development

Source: Census of India

Table 26.2: Female Enrolment as a Percent of Total Enrolment in Different Stages of Education: 1951-2001 Year Primary (I-V) Upper Primary Secondary (VIII-X)/ Higher (VI- VII) Higher Secondary Education (10+2) (degree level) 28.1 32.6 37.4 38.6 41.5 43.7 16.1 23.9 29.3 32.9 36.7 40.9 13.3 20.5 25.0 29.6 32.9 38.6 10.0 16.0 20.0 26.7 33.3 36.9 55

1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01

Source: Selected Education Statistics, Ministry of Education, GoI.

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26.3 SEX RATIO

Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 men. It is a useful indicator to understand womens health and position in a society. India, along with china and few other South Asian countries, has a deficit of females for a long period. Sex ratio in India has declined over the past century from 972 in 1901 to 927 in 1991. The sex ratio has since gone up to 933 in 2001.

26.3.1 Juvenile (0-6 age group) Sex Ratio

The sex ratio in the 0-6 age group in India shows a more disturbing situation. It has declined from 976 in 1961, to 962 in 1981 and to 927 in 2001. The decline is particularly steep in the post-1981 years. A number of reasons like poverty, illiteracy, culture and preference for male child are held accountable for the continuous decline in this ratio. In a country like India where most of the population is still steeped in feudal mindsets, the obsession for a son has led to an adverse sex ratio with the situation becoming particularly alarming in some states. A number research studies conducted in different parts of the country reveal that the main cause of adverse juvenile female sex ratio is the practice of female foeticide/infanticide.

26.3.2 Female Foeticide/Infanticide

Termination of foetus in the womb, after determining the sex of the unborn foetus, is termed female foeticide. This phenomenon is widely rampant in India. The prenatal techniques of sex determination called amniocentesis is medically useful for detecting genetic disorders or congenital malformations in pre-born foetuses. However, this technology is misused in large scale for sex determination of the foetus and to the practice of female foeticide in large parts of India. In order to curb the social evil of female foeticide, Government of India has enacted the Pre Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Act (PC&PNDT ACT) in 1994. Yet the incidence of female foeticide is unabated in several parts of India. States like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat and Union Territory of Chandigarh have witnessed large decline in sex ratio which has reached the alarmingly low level of 900 girls per 1000 boys in these states. Female foeticide is thus the result of an unholy alliance between the traditional preference for sons and modern medical technology coupled with other factors like the increasing greed of doctors, the rising demand for dowry that makes daughters a financial burden, the ineffective implementation of the Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Act and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, and most important of all, the lack of serious involvement of civil society in fighting the menace. Measures to control female foeticide
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Government policies coupled with grass root efforts are required to

curb the social evil of female foeticide. To reinforce, the various measures required to fight this social evil are:
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Gender Issues of Development

more effective implementation of PC and PNDT Act; active monitoring of birth ratios; detailed medical audits of all ultra sound examination carried out by registered clinics including sale-purchase records of ultra sound machines and to make these record public; sustained social campaigns, financial incentives to parents giving birth to female child, free educational scholarships, reservation for females in educational institutions and jobs; and active involvement of community, NGOs and other voluntary organisations and SHGs with support from government are needed.

Infant and Child Mortality Another critical gender dimension of economic development is the survival and health of female child. On the basis of biological factors, the survival ratio of female to male child would ordinarily be less than one. Many developing countries in East Asia and South Asia have female infant mortality ratio, compared to that of male infants, more than one. In India also female infant mortality rate is more than that for male as seen from Table 26.3. The ratio of male-female mortality ratio has increased from 1:1.02 to 1:1.09 over the years. The present trend of female foeticide along with relatively high female infant mortality is contributing to this adverse ratio. The trend needs to be arrested and reversed if the consequences of adverse ratio is to be checked. State Governments are taking number of measures like providing financial incentives to parents of female child. These include: payments for each female child in instalments until the girl reaches schooling age, a lump sum amount deposited in the name of child to meet the cost of higher education or marriage expenses, etc. Table 26.3: Infant Mortality Rate in India by Sex: 1980-2005 Year 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Male 113 96 78 73 67 56 Female 115 98 81 76 69 61 Ratio (male:female) 1:1.02 1:1.02 1:1.04 1:1.04 1:1.03 1:1.09 Male + Female 114 97 80 74 68 58
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Source: Sample Registration System, Registrar General, India.

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26.4 GENDER ISSUES IN LABOUR MARKET

Gender issues in labour market can be discussed in terms of two main factors viz. (i) work force participation rates and (ii) wage discrimination.

26.4.1 Work Force Participation Rate

Work force generally consists of persons in the age group of 15 to 59 years. They refer to economically active population who are physically and mentally able and willing to work. The work force participation rate (WFPR) for females in India is very low as compared to males. For instance, in 2003, as per the usual status of individuals, for rural areas, the WFPR for females was 31.1 percent as against 54.7 percent for males. The corresponding estimates for urban areas was 54.1 percent for males and 14.6 percent for females. Several constrains restrict the women to participate in labour market. These constraints are different for the urban educated and the rural poor. For the urban areas, the arguments made are on the following two grounds.
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One, the availability of well paying, secure jobs for educated women is low. Hence, educated women belonging to the high socio economic strata, prefer to opt out of the labour force. Two, cultural factors prevent many households from allowing women to go out and work.

In case of poor households, mainly in rural areas, their ability to participate in labour market is influenced by many factors like:
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Remoteness of work site from habitations requiring long travel. These will affect womens work participation, as they need to combine their outside work with household work chores like child care; Lack of education and skills marginalise poor women from opportunities outside their home compelling them to confine themselves to low wage work in agriculture and allied activities many times on their own farm which is often unpaid; Discrimination in labour markets affects women, not only due to wage differentials, but also due to social norms restricting womens participation in labour market. Quite often, certain types of work are labelled as inappropriate for women. Such typification makes it discriminatory in nature.

26.4.2 Wage Differentials

Gender based wage differences are not observed in organised sector, especially in government sector jobs, where wages differ only by skill

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levels. Wage differential based on gender, however, exists in unorganised sector jobs, especially in manual works. Since most manual workers have minimum education, exploitation based on wage differentials becomes easier. Research has revealed that about 30 percent malefemale wage differences are explained due to productivity differences and the residual, amounting to a majority of 70 percent, is based on discrimination due to gender.

Gender Issues of Development

26.5 MATERNAL HEALTH

Maternal health relates to healthcare of women during pregnancy, child birth and the postpartum period. Large number of women in India and other developing countries die due to pregnancy related factors every year. The major causes identified for high incidence of maternal mortality are: haemorrhage, toxaemia (hypertension during pregnancy), anaemia, obstructed labour, puerperal sepsis (i.e. infections after delivery or abortion), etc. Promotion of health of mother and children has been one of the most important thrusts of the Family Welfare Programme in India. The primary objective of the programme is to provide public health services to pregnant women, locating expecting mothers and infants, strengthening child survival and safe motherhood by specifically targeted programmes, etc. The National Population Policy (2000) recommended a holistic strategy for bringing about inter-sectoral coordination at the grass roots level by involving NGOs, Civil Society, Panchyat Raj Institutions and Women Self Help Groups in reducing maternal mortality.

26.5.1 Maternal Health Care Measures

Maternal health care measures include: (i) policy directed to strengthen or create health infrastructure and (ii) targeting expectant mothers directly. The former includes: (i) establishment of Regional Institutes of Maternal and Child Health in states where infant and maternal mortality rates are high; (ii) provision of essential and emergency obstetric care in Public Health Centers (PHCs) and First Referral Units (FRUs); (iii) referral transport, safe delivery and abortion services; (iv) training of MBBS doctors in anaesthetic skills for emergency obstetric care at PHCs and FRUs; (v) setting up of blood storage centers at FRUs; etc. In order to improve maternal health at the community level, a cadre of community level skilled birth attendants is to be established. Further, a new scheme called vandemataram to reduce maternal mortality rate (MMR) under Public Private Partnership (PPP) is taken up. This scheme envisages setting up of private clinics under PPP with the involvement of Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Society of India. The aim of the scheme is to involve and utilise the vast resources of specialists/trained workforce available in the private sector. The scheme intends to provide free antenatal and postnatal check, counselling on nutrition, spacing of births, breastfeeding practices, etc.

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Targeting expectant mothers directly include arranging for: (a) antenatal care, (b) tetanus toxoid vaccination, (c) providing iron and folic acid tablets, and (d) encouraging institutional deliveries. Antenatal care refers to pregnancy related health care provided by a doctor or a health worker before the birth of the child in a hospital or at home. It includes advice on correct diet and the provision of iron and folic acid tablets to pregnant women. Antenatal care can contribute significantly to the reduction of maternal mortality. Further, improved nutritional status can help reduce the incidence of low birth weight babies and thus reduce prenatal, neonatal and infant mortality deaths. The tetanus toxoid immunisation programme for expectant mothers in India was initiated in 1975-76 and was integrated with the expanded programme of immunisation (EPI) in 1978. An important cause of death among neonates in India is neonatal tetanus which is caused by infection of the new born (usually at the umbilical stub) by tetanus organisms. Neonatal tetanus is most common when the delivery takes place in an unhygienic environment using unsterilised instruments. The tetanus toxoid immunisation programme was integrated with the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) in 1985-86. The UIP, the objective of which was to vaccinate all the pregnant women against tetanus by 1990, was recognised as a technology mission. Proper maternal nutrition is important for the healthy intrauterine growth of a baby and can affect the birth weight of the baby. In India, 33 per cent of babies are low birth weight, suggesting a nutritional deficiency among many expectant mothers. Improvement in mothers nutritional status, coupled with proper healthcare during pregnancy, can substantially increase birth weight of the children. Provision of iron and folic acid tablets to pregnant women to avoid nutritional anaemia is an integral part of mother and child health activities. It is recommended that a woman take 100 tablets of iron and folic acid during pregnancy. Encouraging institutional deliveries in which at least one trained worker is involved is another important measure planned under the programme of reaching out to the targeted expectant mothers directly. Check your progress 1 1. Briefly state the progress made in female literacy in India. .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... 2. What are the causes for decline in juvenile sex ratio? .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

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.................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... 3. In which sector and type of work wage discrimination is rampant and why ? .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... 4. Explain briefly the maternal healthcare measures instituted in India. .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

Gender Issues of Development

26.6 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment means involvement in decision making and control over resources for being able to achieve higher quality of life, and also improving the capability for taking advantage of the opportunities for development, provided by the system. Women empowerment is a mission that aims at enabling women to gain control over the sources of power - economic, social and political - through awareness and capacity building leading to greater participation in decision making process, control and transformative action. What is important here is to identify the factors that result in poor women disempowerment, so that measures to alleviate these can be worked out. Factors Behind Women Disempowerment The factors behind women disempowerment can be classified under two heads viz. (i) general and (ii) women specific. The general causes include: (i) lack of possession of productive assets, (ii) inadequate access to institutional sources of credit due to absence of ability to provide collateral security, (iii) gender discrimination in general, and (iv) lack of skills. Causes specific to women can be identified as: (i) illiteracy, (ii) seclusion, (iii) lack of organisation, (iv) absence or limited control over family earnings, (v) exclusion in household decisions relating to size of the family, education and marriage of female children, purchase or sale of assets etc., and (vi) lack of awareness and information. Various strategies aimed at empowering women have been tried out to address the causes of women disempowerment. It is particularly emphasised in all developmental plans to have greater focus on women
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empowerment. A more vigorous thrust in this respect is particularly given since the 8th Five Year Plan in India. Since overall empowerment of women is crucially dependent on earnings of women, policy makers have time and again reinforced government intervention at different levels to ensure removal of discrimination as a step towards enhanced earnings for women. These include focused development projects that enhance income earning capacity of women through appropriate and specific skill formation, capacity building, and increased access to institutional credit. In this context, the efforts of many non-government organisations and social workers who have supplemented the government efforts in bringing women into the mainstream of economic development need to be appreciated. The 73rd and the 74th constitutional amendments effected in 1994 marks a significant step in the direction of providing legislative provision for women empowerment in India.

26.7 PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS: 73RD AND 74TH CONSTITUTION AMENDMENTS

Article 40 of the Indian constitution directs the government to establish panchayats to serve as institutions of local self government. Most states implemented this directive principle along the lines of the recommendations of the Balwantarai Mehta Commission report. The commission recommended a three tier system of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) viz. the popularly elected village council (gram panchayat) as the village level basic unit, Block (block is a larger sub unit of a district) council (or panchayat samithi) at the Block level, and the district council (or the Zilla parishad) at the district level. Introduction of PRIs was hailed as one of the most important political initiatives in India. It was envisaged as a institutional arrangement for achieving rural development through peoples initiative and participation.

26.7.1 Main Problems

The panchayat raj system has been experiencing ups and downs over the years. The activities of these institutions are broad based but its resource base is very weak. In view of this, the PRIs constituted in various states could not live up to the expectations of the people. Deficient in funds and authority, the panchayats in most states were largely inactive until late 1970s. Some of the major problems and short comings that adversely affected the functioning of these institutions are:
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elections not being held regularly; lack of adequate transfer of powers and resources; lack of power to generate their own resources; and

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non representation of women and weaker sections in the elected bodies.

Gender Issues of Development

In 1989, the Government of India took two major initiatives to enhance the role of panchayats. First, it initiated the Jawahar Employment Plan (Jawarhar Razgar Yojana) which provided funding directly to village councils to create jobs for unemployed through public woks. Second, it also proposed the 64th Constitution Amendment Bill to make it mandatory for all states to establish a three tiered (village, block and district ) system of Panchayats in which representatives would be directly elected for five year terms. Panchayats were to be given expanded authority and funding over local development efforts. Despite the popular appeal of transferring power to panchayats, the 64th amendment bill was rejected by Rajya sabha.

26.7.2 73RD AND 74TH Constitution Amendments

In the year 1990, the issue relating to the strengthening of panchayati raj institutions were considered afresh and based on detailed discussion in the cabinet, sub-committees were set up for this purpose. It was resolved that a Constitution Amendment Bill may be drawn up afresh. In June 1990, the matter of constitution amendment was discussed in the Chief Ministers conference which endorsed the proposals for the amendment. On December 22, 1992, the 73rd Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by the parliament which came into effect from April 24, 1994. Principally, it gave: a) the panchayats constitutional status (previously panchayat matters were considered as state subject); b) an institutionalised three tier system (except for states with a population of less than 2 million) at village, block , and district levels; c) the amendment stipulated that all panchayat members be elected for five year term in the elections supervised by the state election commission.

26.7.3 Reservation For Women

The73rd amendment act has made mandatory on the part of the states to reserve a minimum of one third of seats to women in the PRIs so as to involve women actively in the decision making process. In accordance with this, 33 percent of seats have been reserved for rural women in the PRIs. This statutory reservation has provided an opportunity for the formal involvement of women in the development through political process at the grass roots level thereby enabling them to influence the decisions in the local governments. Further, the state legislature may: a) authorise a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes, duties,
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tolls and fees in accordance with laid down procedures and limits; b) assign to a panchayat such taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the state government to be used for specific purposes subject to specified conditions and limits; and c) provide grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the state. The amendment also empowers the governor of the state to review the financial position of the panchayats and make suitable recommendations for distribution of resources between the panchayats in the state. Further, Article 243-I provides for the constitution of a state finance commission to review the financial position of panchayats and make suitable recommendations for sharing the resources, between the state and the PRIs.

26.8 SELF HELP GROUPS AND MICRO FINANCE

A major rethinking on the existing strategies of rural development in general and women empowerment, in particular, led to the realisation that a new approach is needed to help the women to help themselves. Such an approach, popularly known as promotion of Self Help Group (SHG) formation, was started with the objective of meeting the micro credit needs of poor women. Micro credit in common parlance refers to small loans that help the poor women to meet their immediate credit needs. The SHGs were imbibed the habit of thrift and credit by which small but regular contributions made by the members were pooled together and used for lending to the members for meeting their short term credit needs. The SHGs are small groups having members ranging from 12 to 18 and mostly belonging to the same social and economic group. Members of the group voluntarily come together to form a group, mutually agreeing to contribute to a common fund, so that the pooled savings could be lent to its members at some agreed rate of interest (normally 2 percent per month). Once the group performs well and exhibits its strength and financial soundness, the group will have bank linkage with which the members can take up major economic proposition enabling them to earn additional income. With the central and state Governments, along with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), extending the required support for women SHGs as a strategy for women empowerment, the SHGs have taken firm roots in India. The movement is eventually expected to reduce gender inequalities in the country. Important policy initiatives initiated in this regard include: promotion of groups under the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWACRA) Programme and adoption of the model of South Asia Poverty Alleviation Programme (SAPAP). The SAPAP is assisted by United Nations

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Development Programme (UNDP) as a response to the Dhaka declaration of the SAARC summit on Eradication of Poverty and Reduction of Gender Inequalities. The major elements of the SHG approach to micro credit include the following: a) provide a cost effective approach to formal institutions for expanding and reaching out to poor; b) offer an effective alternative to pursue the objective of growth by facilitating the empowerment of rural poor women; c) make available micro finance to cater to the consumption and production needs of poor women; d) provide a platform for poor women to participate in mainstream economic activity; and e) help in capacity building by providing greater awareness on various development and welfare programmes relating to women and child health in general and education of children in particular. The SHGs, by providing access to financial services and informing the women members about the various welfare programmes especially targeted to women and children, truly empower women by making them partners in bringing about the needed social and economic transformation. The efforts of SHGs are thus, to a very great extent, contributing to address the gender issues of economic development in India. Check your progress 2 1. What are the general and specific causes for women disempowerment? .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... 2. What are the main problems that adversely affected the functioning of Panchayat Raj Institutions in India? .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

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3. What are the major elements of the SHG approach to micro credit? .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................

26.9 LET US SUM UP

Maintaining a healthy sex ratio and according a rightful place for the women in a country, has important socio-economic consequences. The development of a country will not only depend but also be greatly determined on the extent to which a country is able to cater to the needs and concerns of its women. The Indian situation is both unsatisfactory and dangerously imbalanced in this regard. The unit has discussed the specific aspects of the falling sex ratio, lack of equal opportunities to education and employment of women, absence of familial and institutional systems of support of womens economic enterprises, etc. as it obtains in India. The achievements on gender development are placed in contrast to the gaps requiring to be bridged on the basis of available empirical evidence. The developments of 1990s, in terms of Self Help Groups formed by women, the official recognition and support accorded to the SHGs, and above all, the constitutional amendments to extend an earmarked share for womens representation in the grass roots level elected bodies (PRIs) are the major achievements in the direction of promoting gender equality in the country.

26.10 KEY WORDS

Female foeticide Wage differential Juvenile sex ratio : Termination of unborn female foetus by medical intervention : Discriminatory payment in wages for work of equal nature on the basis of gender : Sex ratio of children in the age-group 0-6

Women empowerment : Providing control over resources and decision making to women by legislative and institutional guarantee Self Help Groups : Women groups in villages from poor families who organise themselves to support each other in various ways

26.11 SUGGESTED BOOKS FOR READING

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Bina Agarwal (1994), Gender and Command Over Property: A Critical Gap in Economic Analysis and Policy in South Asia.

Ajay Tankha (2002), Report on SHGs and Financial Intermediaries in India: Cost of Promotion, Sustainability and Impact. G. Ramachandrudu and C. Appa Rao (2007), Female Deficit in IndiaFacts and Factors, Associated Publishers. S. B. Agnihotri (2001), Rising Sons and Setting Daughters, Provisional Results of the 2001 Census, Rainbow Publishers, New Delhi. Chandan Saha (2003), Gender Equity and Equality, Rawath Publishers, New Delhi. Rajib Lochan Panigrahy (2007), Panchayati Raj Institutions: Issues and Challenges, Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi.

Gender Issues of Development

26.12 ANSERS/HINTS TO CYP EXERCISES

Check Your Progress 1 1. See Tables 26.1 and 26.2 and answer. 2. See section 26.3.1 and answer. 3. See section 26.4.2 and answer. 4. See section 26.5.1 and answer. Check Your Progress 2 1. See section 26.6 and answer. 2. See section 26.7.1 and answer. 3. See section 26.8 and answer.

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