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Women's status worst in north, central India

The 24 most backward districts of the country in terms of the status of women and children are all in north and central India, shows a national survey released by the Central Social Welfare Board.

The survey, which took into consideration women-sensitive variables such as sex ratio, literacy rates, child mortality, fertility and work participation, found the Hindi heartland states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana as the most women-unfriendly.

Uttar Pradesh, with 13 of the 24 most backward districts, was on top of the list, followed by Madhya Pradesh (six), Rajasthan (three) and Punjab and Haryana (one each).

The districts thus identified were: Badaun, Etah, Rampur, Mathura, Moradabad, Shahjehanpur, Hardoi, Agra, Bulandshahar, Pilibhit, Mainpuri, Bahraich and Etawah (UP), Bhind, Chattarpur, Datia, Morena, Shivpuri and Gwalior (MP), Bharatpur, Dholpur and Sawai Madhopur (Rajasthan), Jind (Haryana) and Amritsar (punjab).

The survey, conducted on behalf of the CSWB by a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Women's Studies, covered 15 major states and took up 13 main indicators to assess the status of women and children in the rural areas.

The chosen parameters included sex ratio, rural female literacy, the gender differential between male and female literacy, infant mortality rate, child mortality rate, difference in the CMR among males and females in rural areas, extent of child marriages, total fertility measure, proportion of main female workers in the total female population above seven years of age and gap in work participation rates among rural males and females.

The ''most backward districts'' list is formulated on the basis of poor showing in six or more indicators. Another list shows districts which are ''critical'' in terms of one or more indicators.

While Salem in Tamil Nadu fared badly in respect of juvenile sex ratio, Dakshin Kannad in Karnataka was has earned adverse remarks due to total marital fertility measures, Karimnagar and Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh for high child marriages, Ranchi in Bihar for high infant mortality rate among females and Kishanganj in Bihar for a wide gap in work participation rates among rural males and females.

Taking up the various indicators, the survey noted that a large number of districts in Punjab and Haryana had a low juvenile sex ratio.

Rajasthan recorded the highest percentage of illiterate rural females with the literacy rate at nine. Other educationally poor states were Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with only 14, 15 and 16 as literacy rates among females in the age group of six years and above.

In addition to educational backwardness, the states of Rajasthan, UP, MP and Bihar are also noted for the higher incidence of child marriages and lower mean age at marriage.

States with low levels of child marriages are Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The mean age at marriage in all these states was above 18 years. The mean age of marriage in Kerala (21) and Gujarat (18) was also on the higher side.

The infant mortality rates among females are the highest in Madhya Pradesh followed by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, while child mortality is prominent in UP, MP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Among 50 district with high fertility rates, the majority are in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Four districts of Punjab, Kinnaur in HP, Malda of West Bengal and Malappuram of Kerala also figure in this list.

The female work participation rates are low in Punjab, Haryana and UP as well as in West Bengal. The south Indian states and Maharashtra record a high degree of WPR among females.

UNI

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