GS Paper 2
Syllabus: Social Justice (Issues related to women)
Source: TH
Context: A recent analysis (in The Lancet) has concluded that India is not on-target to achieve 19 of the 33 SDGs indicators.
Background:
- The SDGs were adopted by the UN in 2015 with a vision to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
- India is one of the signatory countries that has committed to achieving these goals by 2030.
Achievements: The 5 indicators with the highest number of districts that have met the target area –
- Adolescent pregnancy
- Multidimensional poverty
- Electricity access
- Bank accounts
- Improved sanitation
- Full vaccination
- Internet use
- Skilled birth attendants
The critical off-target indicators:
- Access to basic services
- Wasting and overweight children
- Anaemia
- Child marriage
- Domestic violence
- Tobacco use
- Modern contraceptive use
Worst performer: More than 75% of the 707 districts analysed were off-target, concentrated in the States of MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Odisha
Focus areas of 2023 International Women’s Day (March 8):
- The 2023 IWD was commemorated under the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”.
- However, women’s lack of access to technology and digital tools makes them less likely to be a part of the wider domains of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
- Globally, 18% of girls in higher-level education are pursuing STEM studies, compared with 35% of boys.
Case of India – The gender gap in STEM:
- According to the All India Survey of Higher Education (2020-2021), in UG, PG, MPhil and PhD engineering programmes, 71% of enrolled students were males and 29% were females.
- But of all students enrolled in science courses at UG, PG, MPhil and PhD levels, women at 53% of enrolment outnumbered men.
Why does the gap exist?
- Presence of existing resources such as mentors and programmes offering scholarships
- General societal attitudes on women’s education
- Gender bias in curricula. In India, more than 50% of illustrations in math and science textbooks show boys and only 6% show illustrations of girls.
Recent initiatives/achievements by/of the GoI:
- To mark the IWD 2023, the Union Ministry of Science & Technology announced an exclusive women’s portal for research grants and funds under CSIR-ASPIRE.
- 68% of 2 crore PM Awas-Gramin beneficiaries are women and over 23 crore MUDRA loans have been granted to women beneficiaries.
- For the first time, sex ratio in India has improved to 1,020 women per 1,000 men (NFHS-5).
- Permanent Commission for Women in the Armed Forces. Over 10,000 Women Officers are currently serving in the Armed Forces, the majority in the Medical Services.
- Group Captain Shaliza Dhami – the first woman officer to command a missile squadron in the Western sector facing Pakistan.
Insta Links:
Different faces of the Indian women’s movement
Mains Links:
Discuss the desirability of greater representation to women in the higher judiciary to ensure diversity, equity and inclusiveness. (UPSC 2021)
