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According to the United Nations Organizations report, women constitute half of the total population of the world, yet their social, political and economic status is lower than men even after 75 years of independence. Therefore, it becomes important to ask what is the meaning of status and redefine the parameters on which the status of an individual is grounded. The word “status” in literal sense means “social position” which is defined in relation to “others” thereby being limited to the privileges or facilities one avails by being born in a particular family. The social status which is given to women is also defined by the roles that are assigned to them and the attitude or perspective of the society towards that role. The status of women keeps on changing in the society with the change in ideology and it is usually measured through parameters such as life expectancy rate, infant mortality rate, female literacy rate, female employment, women in politics and social status of a woman. There are many legal provisions to support women such as marriage laws, matters related to matrimonial rules, child marriage and other legal aids that have been implemented keeping in mind the roles played by women thereby limiting the scope of women to personal sphere and making them passive recipients in the process of development rather than become active participants which further results in lower status of women in comparison to men. Although after 75 years of independence, the status that a woman holds has changed with women playing active role in society and many women who come from elite high-class family feel that the status they hold is equivalent to that of men in their family because they speak from their privileged position. However, the category of a “woman” is not homogenous and therefore when one talks about the “status” of “woman” then it cannot be understood in the real sense from the perspective of an elite privileged women. If one really wants to understand the status of a woman in contemporary India then it is crucial to examine from the intersectional point of view which is through multiple lens by taking into account the perspective of marginalized woman and understand the status they hold in the society. This particular paper aims to examine the socio-political and economic status of women by understanding it through the lens of caste, class and gender. This will be particularly done by examining the status of Dalit female-headed households who face threefold marginalization due to their caste, class and gender.

The overall objective of this paper is to assess the status of women in India through parameters such as sex ratio, child sex ratio, literacy rate, infant mortality rate, and maternal mortality ratio. Further to understand the socio-economic status of women through caste, class and gender; this paper will be covering the condition of female headed household in order to ascertain the changes in the status of women and understand the role played by caste, class and gender in moulding the condition of women in India. Lastly recommend changes and initiatives for improving the status of women in India.

The status of women keeps on changing in the society with the change in ideology and it is usually measured through parameters such as life expectancy rate, infant mortality rate, female literacy rate, female employment, women in politics and social status of a woman.  On one hand where the industrialization and globalization has resulted in improving the situation of women through better education, opportunities, jobs and decision-making powers. On the other hand, there have also been increased incidences of violence against women due to commodification in the society (Selvaratnam, 1988).  Women are not given equal status to that of men owing to the limited opportunities given to women in the socio-economic sphere.

India is a male dominated patriarchal society wherein the control associated with economic, political, religious, social and cultural factors lies in the hands of men. Moreover family, communalism, caste and religion play an important role in reinforcing the patriarchal values.  There exist different discriminatory practices such as child marriage, dowry, and honour killing which profoundly increases the vulnerability of women in Indian Society (Selvaratnam, 1988).

There are many legal provisions to support women such as marriage laws, matters related to matrimonial rules, child marriage and other legal aids that have been implemented keeping in mind the roles played by women thereby limiting the scope of women to personal sphere and making them passive recipients in the process of development rather than become active participants which further results in lower status of women in comparison to men. The changes in the social reforms is required which involves bringing change in the mind sets towards girls which can be done through institutional initiatives which needs to be implemented at the macro and micro level (Razvi & Roth, 2004)

Although after 75 years of independence, the status that a woman holds has changed with women playing active role in society and many women who come from elite high-class family feel that the status they hold is equivalent to that of men in their family because they speak from their privileged position. However, the category of a “woman” is not homogenous and therefore when one talks about the “status” of “woman” then it cannot be understood in the real sense from the perspective of an elite privileged women (Selvaratnam, 1988).

If one really wants to understand the status of a woman in contemporary India then it is crucial to examine from the intersectional point of view which is through multiple lens by taking into account the perspective of marginalized woman and understand the status they hold in the society. This particular paper aims to examine the socio-economic status of women by understanding it through the lens of caste, class and gender. This will be particularly done by examining the status of Dalit female-headed households who face threefold marginalization due to their caste, class and gender.

The study is primarily based on secondary data obtained the Government of India reports. The main sources of data are Census 2001-2011, National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) and secondary sources such as reports, books and articles. The time period for the study is from 1947 onwards by specifically comparing the census data of 2001 from 2011 to examine the status of women in India. The overall objective of this paper is to assess the status of women in India through parameters such as sex ratio, child sex ratio, literacy rate, infant mortality rate, and maternal mortality ratio. Further to understand the socio-economic status of women through caste, class and gender; this paper will be covering the condition of female headed household in order to ascertain the changes in the status of women and understand the role played by caste, class and gender in moulding the condition of women in India. Lastly recommend changes and initiatives for improving the status of women in India.

Understanding the Socio- Economic Status of Women in India through the Indian Census

Population Growth

Female population has recorded higher population growth as compared to male population in two successive censuses - 1991-2001 and 2001-2011.

Population Growth 2001-2011
	2001	2011	Difference	% Growth in 2001-2011
Persons	1,02,87,37,436	1,21,01,93,422	18,14,55,986	17.64
Males	53,22,23,090	62,37,24, 248	9,15,01,158	17.19
Females	49,65,14,346	58,64,69,174	8,99,54,828	18.12
Source: Census 2001-2011

Gender Composition- Sex Ratio

i. Overall Sex ratio at the National level has increased by 7 points since Census 2001 to reach 940 at Census 2011

ii. This is the highest Sex Ratio recorded since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961

iii. Increase in Sex Ratio is observed in 29 States/UTs

iv. Three major States (J&K, Bihar & Gujarat) have shown decline in Sex Ratio as compared to Census 2001 (Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, 2011).

Gender Composition- Sex Ratio-2011
	2001		2011 (provisional)
	Population (in million)	Population (in %)	Population (in million)	Population (in %)
Males	532.2	51.74	623.7	51.54
Females	496.5	48.26	586.4	48.46
Sex Ratio		933		940

Source: Census 1901-2011

Child Sex Ratio

i. Child sex ratio is the number of girl children per 1,000 boys children (Census, 2011)

ii. For provisional population totals of Census 2011, child sex ratio has been compiled for the age‐group 0‐6 years only.

iii. In the final population series (PCA) this will be available up to village level for rural areas and ward level for towns (Census, 2011).

iv. This decline in Rural India is more than three times as compared to drop in Urban India in 2011 – a matter of great concern

Chid Sex Ratio 0-6 years (1981-2011)
Census	Total	Rural	Urban
1981	962	963	931
1991	945	948	935
2001	927	933	906
2011	914	919	902

Source: Census 2001-2011

Effective Literacy Rate- Gender Gap

i. The literacy rate for males 82.14 % and females 65.46 %. The increase in literacy rate in males and females during 2001-2011 is in the order of 6.88 and 11.79 percentage points respectively.

ii. It is encouraging to note that out of total of 217,700,941 literates added during the decade, female 110,069,001 outnumber male 107,631,940 (Census, 2011).

iii. The gap of 21.59 percentage points recorded between male and female literacy rates in 2001 Census has reduced to 16.68 percentage points in 2011. (DH, PTI) Planning Commission has set up target of reducing this gap to 10 percentage points by the year 2011-2012.

iv. As per 2011 Census there is decline of 31,196,847 among illiterates in the country.

v. Out of total decrease of 31,196,847 in number of illiterates, the female 17,122,197 outnumber males 14,074,650 (Census, 2011).

Literates 2001-2011
	2001		2011		Difference		Growth %
Person	56,07,53,179		77, 84,54,120		21,77,00,941		38.82
Male	33,65,71,822		44,42,03,762		10,76,31,940		31.98
Female	22,41,81,357		33,42,50,358		11,00,69,001		49
Source: Census 2001-2011 (Population, India)
Effective Literacy Rate 2001-2011
		2001		2011		Difference
Persons		64.83		74.04		9.2
Males		75.26		82.14		6.9
Females		53.67		65.46		11.8

Source: Census 2001-2011 (Sofal, 2015)

Improvement in female literacy is more than males in both rural and urban areas. The gender gap in literacy has come down from 24.6 in 2001 to 19.8 in 2011 in rural areas and from 13.4 in 2001 to 9.8 in 2011 in urban areas (Census, 2011)(Karande).

Urban-Rural Differentials (2001-2011) - Literacy Rate (in %)
	2001	2011	Difference
Males
India	75.3	82.1	6.8
Rural	70.7	78.6	7.9
Urban	86.3	89.7	3.4
Females
India	53.7	65.5	11.8
Rural	46.1	58.8	12.7
Urban	72.9	79.9	7
Source: Census 2001-2011

Source: Census 2001-2011

1. Pace of increase in Female Literacy Rate is perceptibly higher in Rural areas (UNSD - demographic and social statistics).

2. It has increased from 46.13% in 2001 to 58.75% in 2011 (UNSD - demographic and social statistics).

3. Gender gap in Literacy Rate has narrowed down considerably over the Censuses but continue to be high (19.81) (UNSD - demographic and social statistics). 

4. India’s population stands at 1210 million

5. 624 million are males and 586 million are females (Key findings WPP 2017 final embargoed - united nations)

6. Decadal population growth rate during 2001‐2011 has been 17.64 which is lower than 21.54 noted in the previous decade 1991‐2001

7. Growth of female population is higher at 18.12 % than males 17.19% during 2001‐2011

8. Overall Sex Ratio(females per 1000 males) up from 933 in 2001 to 940 in 2011‐more women are part of Census (inclusive counting)

9. Female literacy up from 53.7% in 2001 to 65.46 in 2011‐Rural –urban differentials is high

10. Male female gap in literacy reduced from 21.59 to 16.68.

11. Still have huge back log of rural female lliterates

12. Child Sex Ratio (0‐6years)is slumped from 927 in 2001 to 914 in 2011

13. Unabated Declining trend in (0‐6) child sex ratio since 1961 is distressing and call for more intensified and effective interventions

Infant Mortality Rate

1. IMR measures number of infant( < 1 year) deaths per 1000 live births.

2. Every 6th death in the country pertains to an infant

3. IMR in India has registered a 3 points decline to 44 in 2011 from 47 in 2010

4. IMR 2011

– Male- Total- 43, Rural-47, Urban- 27

– Female- Total- 46 Rural-50 Urban- 31

5. Gender gap in IMR have reduced but persists indicating differentials health care of female child

Maternal Mortality Ratio

1. MMR measures number of women aged 15-49 years dying due to maternal causes per 1,00,000 live births.

2. Decline in MMR estimates in 2007-09 over 2004-06:

– For India: 212 from 254 (a fall of about 17%)

– In Empowered Action Group (EAG) states & Assam: 308 from 375 (18%)

– Among Southern States: 127 from 149 (15%) – In Other States: 149 from 174 (14%)

 

Source: Census 2001-2011

3. Tamil Nadu & Maharashtra and Kerala have achieved the MDG target (109).

4. Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Haryana are in closer proximity

5. Uttarakhand has the lowest MMR whereas, Assam has the highest

6. Maternal Deaths under AHS are based on response of relatives of the deceased

7. There is a move to introduce tools of Verbal Autopsy under AHS

  

Source: Census 2001-2011

Female Headed Household

A 'household' is usually a group of persons who normally live together and take their meals from a common kitchen unless the exigencies of work prevent any of them from doing so. The head of the household for Census purposes is a person who is recognized as such in the household. She or he is generally the person who bears the chief responsibility for the maintenance of the household and takes decisions on behalf of the household (Census of India 2011). The head of the household need not necessarily be the eldest male member (Census, 2011).

According to 2011 census, there are about 27 million female headed households in the country which constitute 10.9% of total households in the country. Primarily 43.7% of household in Lakshadweep and 23 % of households in Kerela have female heads in the household followed by less than 10 % female headed household in Haryana (9.5%), Gujarat (9%), Chandigarh (8.9%), Jharkhand (8.6%), UP (8.3 %), MP (8%), J&K (7.9%) and Rajasthan (4%). About 49 lakh (5 million) single member female headed household are there in the country, out of which 75% of them live in rural areas and the remaining live in urban areas (Census, 2011).

Housing Condition- India, 2011

Housing Condition- India, 2011 (Type of Census Houses)(Census of India)
Type of Census Houses	Female Headed Household %	Male Headed Household %
Permanent	60.5	62.1
Semi-permanent	26.2	25
Temporary	12.4	12
Any other	0.9	1

Source: Census 2001-2011

Availability of Amenities- Number of Dwelling Rooms India

Number of dwelling rooms	Female Headed household %	Male Headed household %
Total	100	100
No exclusive room	5.2	3.8
One room	39.3	36.8
Two rooms	29.6	31.9
Three rooms	13.7	14.6
Four rooms	7.1	7.5
Five rooms	2.5	2.6
Six rooms and above	2.6	2.8

Source: Census 2001-2011

Availability of Amenities- Source of drinking water, India

Source of drinking water	Female Headed Household %
Source:	Total	SC	ST
Tap water	48.5	48.5	29.6
Well	12.6	8.7	19.5
Hand-pump	27.7	32.2	35.8
Tube well/bore hole	7.7	7.4	7.9
Other sources	3.6	3.3	7..3
Location
Within premises	45	34.3	20.5
Near the premises	37.2	44.7	47.2
Away	17.8	20.9	32.3

Source: Census 2001-2011

Possession of Assets- India

Assets	Female Headed Household %	Male Headed Household %
Radio/Transistor	16.1	20.3
Television	45.3	47.5
Computer/Laptop- with internet	2.5	3.2
Computer/Laptop- without internet	6	6.4
Telephone (Landline only)	4.3	4
Mobile Phone	44.3	54.3
Bicycle	28.9	46.8
Scooter/Motorcycle/Moped	13.7	21.9
Car/Jeep/Van	3.2	4.8
None of the specified assets	28.7	16.5

Source: Census 2001-2011

The status of women keeps on changing in the society with the change in ideology and it is usually measured through parameters such as life expectancy rate, infant mortality rate, female literacy rate, female employment, women in politics and social status of a woman. There are many legal provisions to support women such as marriage laws, matters related to matrimonial rules, child marriage and other legal aids that have been implemented keeping in mind the roles played by women thereby limiting the scope of women to personal sphere and making them passive recipients in the process of development rather than become active participants which further results in lower status of women in comparison to men. Although after 75 years of independence, the status that a woman holds has changed with women playing active role in society and many women who come from elite high-class family feel that the status they hold is equivalent to that of men in their family because they speak from their privileged position. However, the category of a “woman” is not homogenous and therefore when one talks about the “status” of “woman” then it cannot be understood in the real sense from the perspective of an elite privileged women. If one really wants to understand the status of a woman in contemporary India, then it is crucial to examine from the intersectional point of view which is through multiple lens by taking into account the perspective of marginalized woman and understand the status they hold in the society.

National, state, district and village level

1. Rigorous implementation and monitoring of the laws and schemes and strengthened enforcement of legislation on girls and women (child marriage, sex determination, domestic violence, sexual harassment, etc.) (Report on the Status of Women in India)

2. Strong support services to women for shelter, medical, legal aid and counselling services, witness/victim protection programmes and other services that help them to live in dignity.

3. Developing a plan for ensuring gender friendly public spaces, which includes workplaces, transport, street lighting, toilets etc. within two years (Report on the Status of Women in India).

4. Develop a plan for large scale gender sensitisation and capacity building of stakeholders (parliamentarians, police, judiciary, media, government officials, duty bearers, healthcare professionals and workers, Anganwadi workers, youth and other stakeholders), within two years (Report on the Status of Women in India).

5. Investment in community based programmes and services to create public awareness and motivation to influence mind‐sets at large.

Reforming public and private institutions

1. Ensure and encourage engendering of sectors and institution ‐family, school, workplace, peers, mass media and information and communication technologies (ICTs) ‐ to explore ways in which they discriminate and marginalise women and perpetuate stereotypes.

2. Support training of frontline workers, community and social mobilisation activities, awareness campaigns with self‐help groups, federations, mothers’ clubs, religious leaders, priests, teachers and NGO.

3. Support and encourage studies at the community level to foster consensus and collaboration for knowledge building and dissemination. Incorporating targeted interventions and dialogue for and with boys and men to engage them in the process of making change is equally important.

4. Develop effective communication tools for families and communities to work to change attitudes and stereotypes.

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