Violence Against Women in Haryana

The violence against women has increased so much in Haryana in recent years that the state has attained the dubious distinction of being among the states with high VAW rate.
A girl's status in the state is that of an unpaid labourer, be it her parents' place or her in-laws. The whole day they are found toiling in various chores such as rearing children, tending cattle, managing the home, working as labourers in fields Despite all this, these women do not have any role in decision-making, even where it concerns them. The inferior status of women is the result of repression inflicted on her, it is the off-shoot of gender inequality of hundreds of years, female foeticide, female infanticide, dowry, lower benefits of employment, issues relating to inheritance, lack of political participation and illiteracy. Sex ratio is an important social indicator to measure the extent of prevailing inequality between males and females of this society. And some of the important reasons for Haryana being one of those states where the sex ratio is lowest are neglect of girl child resulting in higher mortality at younger age, high maternal mortality, sex selective female abortions and female infanticide. One of the Haryana folklores depicts death of female child as a stroke of luck and that of a male child as a stroke of bad luck. ''Chora mare nirbhag ka, chori mare bhagvaan ki.'' At the time of birth of a boy ‘ladoo bantey jatey hain’ and at birth of an girl ‘Mattam manaya jata hai’ When agirl is born, the mother is given 5 kg of ghee and when o boy is born the mother is given 10 kg of ghee. ''Parda'' is another form of repression responsible for the backwardness of women. This makes them more dependant on their male counterparts and is also the main hindrance in their active participation in Panchayati Raj institutions.

R.S.Dahiya