The document discusses the status of women in India, noting that while women make up a large part of the population and professionals, they still face many issues in society such as dowry, female infanticide, and child marriage. It outlines constitutional provisions and government schemes aimed at empowering women, such as education initiatives, self-help groups, healthcare programs, and hostels for working women. However, women's participation in the workforce is declining due to traditional gender norms and lack of access to opportunities and flexibility. International initiatives and programs specific to Tamil Nadu are also highlighted.

1. BY
BALAJI S
CEG,ANNA UNIVERSITY

5. POSITIVITY RISING
 India has worlds largest number of professionally qualified women's.
 The number of working women in India had climbed between 2000
and 2005, increasing from 34 per cent to 37%.
 India has more doctors,surgeons,scientists,professors than United
States.

6. ISSUES PREVALENT
IN
MALE DOMINATING SOCIETY
 Women constitute 48 per cent of the total population of the country.
They suffer many disadvantages as compared to men in literary rates,
labour participation rates and earnings.
 Dowry
 Female infanticide
 India has the highest number of child brides in the world. It is
estimated that 47% of girls in India are married before their
18th birthday.
 Maternal mortality rate :174/1,00,000.

7.  In the Population Census of 2011 it was revealed that the population
ratio in India 2011 is 940 females per 1000 of males.
 In Tamilnadu it is 996 females per 1000 males.
 Female literacy rate is 65.46%.
 In Tamilnadu it is 73.6%.

8. DECLINE IN WOMEN WORKFORCE
 The decline came at a time when the Indian economy saw
"unprecedented growth.“
 Lack of access to higher education, fewer job opportunities, the lack
of flexibility in working conditions, as well as domestic duties.
 Much of the reason they don't work appears to lie in the persistence
of India's traditional gender norms.
 Even a 10 per cent increase in women participating in the workforce
can boost gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.3 per cent.

9. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
PART – III
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Article -15: Prohibition of discrimination on certain grounds.
 State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of
religion,race,caste,SEX or place of birth.
 State is permitted to make any special provisions for WOMEN and
children.

10. PART IV
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY
Article-39A: Equal justice and free legal aid.
 Equal pay and equal work for women's.
ARTICLE-42 :Provisions for just and humane conditions of work and
maternity relief.

11. ACTS AND ORDINANCES
 1829-Abolition of sati
 1856-Widow remarriage act
 1956-Immoral traffic and prevention act
 1961-Dowry prohibition act, Maternity benefit act
 2005-prevention of women from domestic violence act

12. WELFARE SCHEMES
RAJIV GANDHI NATIONALCRECHESCHEMEFOR THE CHILDREN OF WORKING
MOTHERS (RGNCS):
 provides day care facilities to the children in the age group 0-6 years
from families with monthly income of less than 12000/-.
 In addition to being a safe space for the children, the crèches provide
services such as supplementary nutrition, pre-school education and
emergency health care, etc.

13. CENTRALSOCIALWELFAREBOARD:
 The main women welfare related schemes and programmes being
implemented by CSWB are family counselling centres, awareness
generation programme and condensed courses of education for
women.
NATIONAL MISSIONFOR EMPOWERMENTOF WOMEN (NMEW):
 An initiative for empowering women holistically. It is a Centrally
Sponsored Scheme sanctioned in April 2011.

14. WORKINGWOMEN’SHOSTEL(WWH):
 Scheme envisages provision of safe and affordable hostel
accommodation to working women, single working women, women
working at places away from their home-towns and for women being
trained for employment.
RASHTRIYAMAHILAKOSH (RMK) :
 With a corpus of Rs.100 crore extends micro-finance services to bring
about the socio-economic upliftment of poor women.

15.  To facilitate credit support or micro-finance to poor women to start
such income generating schemes as agriculture, dairying, shop-
keeping, vending and handicrafts.

16. SUPPORTTO TRAININGAND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME
(STEP) :
 For Women was launched as a Central Sector Scheme during 1986-87.
It aims at making a significant impact on women by upgrading skills
for self and wage employment. The target group includes the
marginalized asset less rural women and urban poor.

17. INDIRAGANDHI MATRITVASAHYOGYOJANA(IGMSY):
 Conditional Cash Transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating (P&L)
women introduced in the October 2010 to contribute to better
enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved
health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers.

18. SWADHAR SCHEME:
 The Ministry of Women and Child Development had been
administering Swadhar scheme since 2001 for Women in difficult
circumstances.
 Under the Scheme, temporary accommodation, maintenance and
rehabilitative services are provided to women and girls rendered
homeless due to family discord, crime, violence, mental stress, social
ostracism. Another scheme with similar objectives/target groups
namely Short Stay Home (SSH) is being implemented by Central Social
Welfare Board.

19.  This scheme provides integrated services to women without support
from their families such as widows living at Vrindavan and Kashi;
prisoners released from jail; survivors of natural calamities;
women/girls rescued from brothels and other places; victims of
sexual crimes, etc.
 The scheme includes such services as food, clothing, shelters, health
care, counselling and legal aid and rehabilitation through education
awareness, skill formation and behavioural training.

20. UJJAWALA:
 A comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue,
rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking for
commercial sexual exploitation.
PRIYADARSHINI:
 An initiated in April 2011, is a programme that offers women in seven
districts access to self-help groups.

21. INITIATIVES TAKEN ON
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
Unitednations decade for women's:
 1975-1985
 Included several women related welfare issues on international
agenda.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW):
 Described as an international bill of rights for women.

22. INITIATIVES BY TAMILNADU
GOVERNMENT
 Periyar EVRNagammai Free EducationScheme:
The scheme has been implemented in the Tamil Nadu from 1989-90
to women students irrespective of caste, creed and community to
encourage their education and to reduce dropout rate.
 Self Help Group(SHG) Movement(1989):
Self Help Groups are small homogenous groups consisting of 12-20
women from BPL families voluntarily organized to promote savings.
They are self-managed groups of poor women which primarily came
into existence to mobilize financial resources through their own
savings.

23.  Department of Social Welfare ,Tamil Nadu is implementing various
schemes, programmes, social welfare schemes ,Health and Nutrition,
scholarship for women empowerment.
 It gives assistance in the form of:
Subsidy on the loans
Education, Training
Financial assistance/Cash
Scholarship
Nutrition
self employment
And others much more etc.

24.  The schemes has been initiated in order to :
To encourage Women Empowerment
To promote development and empowerment, gender equality and
gender justice of women
To ensure women’s social, economic and political empowerment,
fulfilment of their rights, promoting their participation and leadership
To protect Women from Domestic Violence
For child development, empowerment and protection
To the Child Sex Ratio, Child Care,etc.