JOIN US'Sex ratio goes down in northern states'
Delhi, Punjab and Haryana indicate a sharp decline in sex ratio over past five years compared to other states, states a report by the National Commission for Women (NCW) and UN Women released on Tuesday.
Celebrating the International Women's Day, the Commission said that its focus for 2012 will be on gender inequality.
The report noted that Delhi has 848 women for every 1,000 men, Haryana has 756 women for every 1,000 men and Punjab has 728 women for every 1,000 men.
The report noted that the difference between the number of men and women is lesser in rural areas with 919 women for every 1,000 men than in urban India with 902 women per 1,000 men.
Anita Agnihotri, member secretary of NCW said the joint report named “Understanding Gender Equality in India 2012” is a comprehensive presentation and analysis of secondary data from several sources like Census of India, District Level Household Survey, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Labour and Employment and National Family Health Survey.
“The indicators of equality have been divided under three distinct categories — women’s survival, women’s freedom and women’s visibility. The chapter on women’s visibility has views on women’s participation on all fronts including professional occupation and political participation,” said Agnihotri.
Low representation
While quoting the report, Charu Wali Khanna, member NCW highlighted that women occupy less than 8 per cent of cabinet positions, less than 9 per cent of seats in High Courts and Supreme Court and less than 12 per cent of posts of administrators and managers.
The NCW also awarded women who had an indomitable spirit of fighting against adversities and had dedicated their lives to fight for rights of other women.
Mamta Sharma, chairperson of NCW presented the awards. “Our focus this year is on eliminating gender inequality by reaching women at the panchayat and grameen levels, as many women are unaware of their rights,” she said.
However, she added women have to come forward to safeguard their legitimate rights.
The Awards went to Aarti Dixit of Kanpur, Dr Anjana Goswami of Guwahati, Asma Khanam, Bengia Dipti Tako of Arunachal Pradesh, Chanda Zariwala of Maharashtra, Geeta Devi of Rajasthan, Dr Ila Pathak of Ahmedabad, Krishna Yadav of Uttar Pradesh, Lily Thomas, Manasi Pradhan of Odisha, Manjula Rath of New Delhi, Manu Hari Pathak of Rajasthan, Meenakshi Arora of New Delhi, Dr Meea Singh of Rajasthan, Mukesh Devi of Haryana, Pramila Devi of Bihar, Sister Prema of Missionaries of Charity, Rehana Begum of Puducherry, Dr Sarojini Pritam and Dr Shakuntala Sharma.