Effects Of Depression On The United States - 2350 Words

Introduction That unexplainable feeling that touches every emotion. The action that creates something new inside, skydiving for the first time or getting your driver’s license. Imagine all these feelings lost in time and having no happiness while your mind is surrounded by a shroud of lonesome and self-hatred. Depression affects everyone, it does not matter what race, ethnicity, and genes have been proven to not have an affect. This illness shows the biggest increase in mental disorder compared to others. 18 million people have been affected, or are still experiencing Depression, this amount is more than cancer, and almost as much as heart attacks. There is a one in ten chance of people to become depressed in the U.S. I want to help the people close to me as I notice changes in them. My friends and loved ones do not deserve this conflict, and I will not let it lead to other deeper, and worse problems. I have found many different topics in my articles, and after reading these I have chose to talk about how to help those who are sheltered by Depression. Famous writers and organizations have detailed information based on evidence and experience. By knowing this information, they have begun to set up ways to help, based on the most efficient increase in happier people. With this information I hope any reader can help the cause also. Article Selection In my research, I found many articles basically giving overviews of Depression, I use a few of them. I was really exploringShow MoreRelatedThe Great Depression Effects On The United States2949 Words   |  12 Pagesâ€Å"The Great Depression was the most severe, prolonged economic crisis in American History. It displaced thousands of families, created hardships for millions of people, shaped an entire generation, and reshaped the way Americans viewed the role of their government,† (Cravens). Although the Great Depression had devastating effects on the United States, its impacts on family life and structure were the most devastating. Children had to take on more responsibilities by attempting to find jobs in a marketRead MoreCauses and Effects of The Great Depression in the United States1238 Words   |  5 PagesGreat Depression is a defining moment in time for not only American, but world history. This was a time that caused political, economical, and socia l unrest. Not only did the Great Depression cause a world wide panic, it also caused a world wide crisis unlike any before it. This paper will analyze both the causes and the effects of the Great Depression in the United States of America. One cause of the depression is the effects of World War One. World War one had many devastating effects on countriesRead MoreThe Problem Of Depression And Its Effects On The United States, Australia And The Uk Essay2283 Words   |  10 PagesDepression is a well-known mental health issue impacting a significant share of the Western population. This particular illness has become a contagious phenomenon, eliciting stigmatisation towards anyone displaying depressive behaviour. Thus, the subject is whether individuals are unknowingly, due to their cultural milieu, confusing and labelling normal notions of sadness with depression. This particular ideology can be concluded through examining the effect of the placebo in juxtaposition to anti-depressantsRead MoreChronic Depression And Its Effects On Children Urban And Rural Areas Across The United States Of America1545 Words   |  7 Pagesof children in the primary care settings. A higher rate of failure to thrive in infants is seen in underprivileged urban and rural areas across the United States. Eighty percent of diagnosed cases of failure to thrive were diagnosed under the age of eighteen months. The epidemiology of failure to thrive is not truly known within the United States of America After reviewing the literature; numerous studies evaluated failure to thrive in infants, although most literature classifies failure to thriveRead MoreTo What Extent Did World War Two Help The United States Of America Recover From The Effects Of The Great Depression1464 Words   |  6 PagesThe Great Depression To what extent did World War Two help the United States of America recover from the effects of the Great Depression? Nirbhay Bondili Historical investigation Mr. Lissina May, 1, 2017 Question: To what extent did World War Two help the United States of America recover from the effects of the Great Depression? Evaluation of sources Source 1: Steindl, Frank G. What Ended the Great Depression? It Was Not World War II. Independent Review 12, noRead MoreThe Real Causes of the Depression1020 Words   |  5 PagesStatistics show right now in the United States the unemployment rate is high. A lot of people are saying that this is bad and the economy is slowly going downhill, but most people forget to think that these things are normal and is nothing worse than the Depression of the 1930s. Although some people say that the Depression was caused by the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, it was strictly due to many reasons that were unrelated to the Act. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was signed by President Herbert HooverRead MoreThe World s Economy Was Devastated1732 Words   |  7 PagesWith the crash of the United States Wall Street, the realm drove into what is now known as the â€Å"Great Recession†. Its neighbour to the north, Canada also felt these affects as unemployment and poverty grew. After a decade of despai r, the massive rise in government spending for the Second World War and the reductions in taxes, the economies returned to prosper. With decades of industrialization, population growth and surging economies, the Western World mainly the United States and Canada, becameRead MoreThe Causes of Canadas Great Depression of 1929-1939 Essay1679 Words   |  7 Pagesto him heard. â€Å"It’s all gone.†# The term ‘Great Depression’ according to Kristin Brennan evokes black-and-white images of thin men in threadbare suits and worn-out shoes selling five-cent apples on city streets, of â€Å"grim-faced women lined up three deep to collect bread and milk at relief stations.†# The Great Depression of the 1930s was a devastating time toward many Canadians, where the collapse of the stock market was the beginning of the Depression, a period of severe economic and social hardshipRead MoreA National Landmark, The Empire State Building1268 Words   |  6 PagesA Na tional Landmark, The Empire State Building The Empire State Building, starting when it was first opened it 1931, was the tallest building in the world for 41 years. (Empire) This was not the only reason people all over the world have come to see the famous building, they visit to learn about all of the interesting structural facts and to truly understand why this building is so important. Although the building now is very popular, it was not always so well attended due to certain costs associatedRead MoreWorld War II And The Great Depression1658 Words   |  7 Pages The highly numbered risks of war have rigorous effects on societies around the world. World War II had positive and negative effects during and after the war. After the war, the formation of the United Nations helped negotiate and maintain peace, and during the war more jobs helped get the United States out of its biggest economic crisis, the Great Depression. Although, some economists argue that by creating more jobs during World War II, put America into even more debt than the country was already

Descartes Six Meditations on First Philosophy Essay

Throughout the six meditations on First Philosophy, French philosopher Rene Descartes seeks to find a concrete foundation for the basis of science, one which he states can only include certain and unquestionable beliefs. Anything less concrete, he argues will be exposed to the external world and to opposition by philosophical sceptics. The sense of the Cartesian reform is the imposition of a new method of thinking. Descartes’ method to begin with is reductive, removing all knowledge acquired without control, to become analytical, putting forward any knowledge in a process of division to present simple elements, those which are clear and distinct. In his philosophical thinking, certain parts are dedicated to scepticism, dualism between†¦show more content†¦The Sixth meditation is the most complex, representing a genuine summary of the previous five. He feels the need to more precisely clarify and distinguish between what was a mind game, in respect to methodical doubt and what should be known as a reasonable truth, in a more geometrical view. Descartes argues the existence of material things appealing to imagination, which he placed first at a level of geometrical objects which refers to expansion. As geometry hosts the necessity and universality and it is granted by Devine perfection, results that e ven real which exists under its incidence in imagination must exist. As a result he separates understanding from imagination, stating that the human mind exists separately from the body, yet are joined to form a unit. It is important to note that Descartes does not claim to have reached a concrete and stable foundation. His claim to certainty of his ideas regarding existence and knowledge extends further past his own interpretation. I believe that for Descartes, mathematics represents the ideal knowledge needed to follow philosophy in order to produce genuine variables. Ideal knowledge of mathematics drives Descartes to find, in regards to philosophy such solid foundations as geometry has, based on its axioms. Geometry’s axioms are true because they are evident through themselves. Their truth cannot be questioned because we cannot think coherently againstShow MoreRelatedEssay about Biography f Rene Descartes864 Words   |  4 PagesRene Descartes was a brilliant man who was born on March 31st, 1596. He was born in a small town in the South of France, named La Haye. Rene Descartes lived from 1596-1650. He was the son of an intellectual councilor in Parliament, named Joachim Descartes. His mother, Jeanne Brochard, died when he was only 1 years old. Rene Descartes was 8 years old when he attended the Jesuit College of Henry VI in La Fleche. Rene studied science, grammar, mathematics and literature which led him to become a famousRead MoreEssay Rene Descartess View on God1300 Words   |  6 Pagesseventeenth century?   Well, in the seventeenth century, there was a man, named Rene Descartes, who was interested in God and wondered about His existence.   After an unforgettable night in November 10, 1619, his interest in God became stronger, and had developed many views that concerned or were about God. When he expressed his investigations of applying inductive methods of science and mathematics to philosophy by the Cogito ero sum (I think, therefore I am), he started to argue the existenceRead MorePhilosophy: Questions on Descartes Principles740 Words   |  3 PagesPHIL1500: MAJ OR ISSUES IN PHILOSOPHY BARUCH COLLEGE, CUNY, SPRING 2013 UNIT #4 QUIZ PART I. MULTIPLE CHOICE. (10 points available; you may justify/explain your answer) ____ In Meditation One, Descartes writes, My reason tells me that as well as withholding assent from propositions that are obviously false, I should also withhold it from ones that are not completely certain and indubitable (p. 1). Which of the following does this quotation express? Principle of Universal Doubt PrincipleRead MoreDescartes Meditations Of First Philosophy857 Words   |  4 PagesChristopher Joao Philosophy- 201 Mr. Jurkiewicz 4 March 2016 Descartes’ - Meditation #2 Rene Descartes was a French philosopher born in 1596. He is considered by many the father of modern philosophy and continues to have tremendous influence in the philosophical world to this day. The book, Meditations of First Philosophy, consist of six meditations and describes one meditation per day for six days. In meditation two, he claims that we have better knowledge of our own minds than of the physicalRead MoreThe Dream Argument by Rene Descartes Essay1008 Words   |  5 PagesOne of Rene Descartes’s most famous arguments, from his not only from his first meditation but all of the meditations, is his Dream Argument. Descartes believes that there is no way to be able to distinguish being in awake from being in a state of dreaming. In fact you could actually be in a dream right now. Rene Descartes’s theory that one is unable distinguish being awake from dreaming, as interesting as it is, can be at times a little farfetched, along with a few contradictions to himsel f, Descartes’sRead MoreThe Play Descartes Meditations On First Philosophy1666 Words   |  7 PagesIn this paper, I will explain the role doubt plays in Descartes’s philosophy. Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy is a book containing six different meditations. The idea of doubt is seen through every meditation. The first meditation is composed almost completely of doubt. Descartes begins with explaining his problem. What he knows, or what he thought he knew, is based completely on false things. How can he continue to â€Å"know† these things if they are based on false assumptions? How canRead MoreDescartes First Meditation Essay1328 Words   |  6 PagesDescartes First Meditation Rene Descartes decision to shatter the molds of traditional thinking is still talked about today. He is regarded as an influential abstract thinker; and some of his main ideas are still talked about by philosophers all over the world. While he wrote the Meditations, he secluded himself from the outside world for a length of time, basically tore up his conventional thinking; and tried to come to some conclusion as to what was actually true and existing. In orderRead MoreResponse Paper of Meditation Four, Five, and Six774 Words   |  4 PagesBo Guo Dr. Eric Morton PHIL 2010-200 7 July 2013 Response Paper of Meditation Four, Five, and Six Descartes talked about the true and the false, and how we make mistakes in Meditation Four. Descartes believed that error as such is not something real that depends upon God, but rather is merely a defect. And thus there is no need to account for my errors by positing a faculty given to me by God for this purpose(546). He thought that the reason why we make mistakes is that the faculty ofRead MoreDescartes: Relationship Between Mind and Body922 Words   |  4 PagesIn Meditation Six entitled â€Å"Concerning the Existence of Material Things, and Real Distinction between the Mind and Body†, one important thing Descartes explores is the relationship between the mind and body. Descartes believes the mind and body are separated and they are two difference substances. He believes this to be clearly and distinctly true which is a Cartesian quality for true knowledge. I, on the other hand, disagree that the mind and body are separate and that the mind can exist withoutRead Mo reDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy1712 Words   |  7 PagesDescartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) contains six Meditations. In the first two of these Descartes addresses doubt and certainty. By the end of the second Meditation Descartes establishes the possibility of certainty by concluding that he is a â€Å"thinking thing† and that this is beyond doubt. Having established the possibility of certainty, Descartes attempts to prove the existence of God. The argument he presents in the Third Meditation for the existence of God has been nicknamed the

Feminism in India Free Essays

Feminism in India  is a set of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for Indian women. It is the pursuit of  women’s rights  within the society of  India. Like their feminist counterparts all over the world,  feminists  in India seek gender equality: the right to work for equal wages, the right to equal access to health and education, and equal political rights. We will write a custom essay sample on Feminism in India or any similar topic only for you Order Now [1]  Indian feminists also have fought against culture-specific issues within India’s  patriarchal  society, such as  inheritance laws  and the practice of widow immolation known as  Sati. The history of feminism in India can be divided into three phases: the first phase, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, initiated when male European colonists began to speak out against the social evils of Sati;[2]  the second phase, from 1915 to Indian independence, when Gandhi incorporated women’s movements into the  Quit India movement  and independent women’s organizations began to emerge;[3]  and finally, the third phase, post-independence, which has focused on fair treatment of women in the work force and right to political parity. 3] Despite the progress made by Indian feminist movements, women living in modern India still face many issues of discrimination. India’s patriarchal culture has made the process of gaining land-ownership rights and access to education challenging. [4]  In the past two decades, there has also emerged a disturbing trend of  sex-selective abortion. [5]  To Indian feminists, these are seen as injustices worth stru ggling against. [6] As in the  West, there has been some criticism of feminist movements in India. They have especially been criticized for focusing too much on women already privileged, and neglecting the needs and representation of poorer or lower  caste  women. This has led to the creation of caste-specific feminist organizations and movements. [7] Contents  Ã‚  [hide]   * 1  Defining feminism in the Indian context * 2  History * 2. 1  First phase: 1850–1915 * 2. 2  Second Phase: 1915–1947 * 2. 3  Feminism: Post-1947 * 3  Issues * 3. 1  Birth ratio * 3. 2  Marriage * 4  Theology * 4. 1  Hindu feminism * 4.   Islamic feminism * 5  Impact * 5. 1  Employment * 5. 2  Globalization * 5. 3  Education * 5. 4  Modernization * 6  Notable Indian feminists * 7  See also * 8  References * 9  Further reading * 10  External links| ————————————————- [edit]Defining feminism in the Indian context Tribal widow and single w omen protesting in  Jawhar,  Maharashtra Women’s role in Pre-colonial social structures reveals that feminism was theorized differently in India than in the West. 8]  In India, women’s issues first began to be addressed when the state commissioned a report on the status of women to a group of feminist researchers and activists. The report recognized the fact that in India, women were oppressed under a system of structural hierarchies and injustices. During this period, Indian feminists were influenced by the Western debates being conducted about violence against women. However, due to the difference in the historical and social culture of India, the debate in favor of Indian women had to be conducted creatively and certain Western ideas had to be rejected. 9]  Women’s issues began to gain an international prominence when the decade of 1975-1985 was declared the  United Nations Decade for Women. [2] Historical circumstances and values in India have caus ed feminists to develop a  feminism  that differs from Western feminism. For example, the idea of women as â€Å"powerful† is accommodated into patriarchal culture through religion,[10]  which has retained visibility in all sections of society. This has provided women with traditional â€Å"cultural spaces. Furthermore, in the West the notion of â€Å"self† rests in competitive  individualism  where people are described as â€Å"born free yet everywhere in chains. † In India the individual is usually considered to be just one part of the larger social  collective. Survival of the individual is dependent upon  cooperation, and  self-denial  for the greater good is valued. [10] Indian women negotiate survival through an array of oppressive patriarchal family structures: age, ordinal status, relationship to men through family of origin, marriage and procreation as well as patriarchal attributes. Examples of patriarchal attributes include:  dowry, siring sons etc. ,  kinship,  caste, community, village, market and the  state. It should however be noted that several communities in India, such as the  Nairs  of Kerala,  Shettys  of Mangalore, certain  Maratha  clans, and  Bengali  families exhibit matriarchal tendencies. In these communities, the head of the family is the oldest woman rather than the oldest man. Sikh  culture is also regarded as relatively  gender-neutral. 10][11] The heterogeneity of the Indian experience reveals that there are multiple patriarchies, contributing to the existence of multiple feminisms. Hence, feminism in India is not a singular theoretical orientation; it has changed over time in relation to historical and cultural realities, levels of consciousness, perceptions and actions of individual women, and women as a group. The widely used definition is â€Å"An awareness of women’s oppression and exploitation in so ciety, at work and within the family, and conscious action by women and men to change this situation. [11]  Acknowledgingsexism  in daily life and attempting to challenge and eliminate it through  deconstructing  mutually exclusive notions of  femininity  and  masculinity  as  biologically determined  categories opens the way towards an equitable society for both men and women. [11] The male and female dichotomy of polar opposites with the former oppressing the latter at all times is refuted in the Indian context because it was men who initiated  social reform movementsagainst various  social evils. Patriarchy is just one of the hierarchies. Relational hierarchies between women within the same family are more adverse. Here women are pitted against one another. Not all women are powerless at all times. [12] There have been intense debates within the Indian women’s movements about the relationship between Western and Indian feminisms. Many Indian feminists simultaneously claim a specific â€Å"Indian† sensitivity as well as an international feminist solidarity with groups and individuals worldwide. [9][13]  The rise of liberal feminism in the West in the 1970s focused deeply on demands for equal opportunities in education and employment, as well as ending violence against women. To a large extent, the emerging feminist movement in India was influenced by Western ideals. These called for education and equal rights, but also adapted their appeals to local issues and concerns, such as dowry-related violence against women,  Sati, sex selective abortion and custodial rape. Some Indian feminists have suggested that these issues are not specifically â€Å"Indian† in nature but rather a reflection of a wider trend of patriarchal oppression of women. [9] ————————————————- [edit]History Kamini Roy  (poet and suffragette) became the first woman Honors Graduate in India in 1886. Unlike the Western feminist movement, India’s movement was initiated by men, and later joined by women. The efforts of these men included abolishing sati, which was a widow’s death by burning on her husband’s funeral pyre,[2][14]  the custom of child marriage, abolishing the disfiguring of widows, banning the marriage of upper caste  Hindu  widows, promoting women’s education, obtaining legal rights for women to own property, and requiring the law to acknowledge women’s status by granting them basic rights in matters such as adoption. 15] The 19th century was the period that saw a majority of women’s issues come under the spotlight and reforms began to be made. Much of the early reforms for Indian women were conducted by men. However, by the late 19th century they were joined in their efforts by their wives, sisters, daughters, protegees and other individuals directly affected by campaigns such as those carried out for women’s ed ucation. By the late 20th century, women gained greater autonomy through the formation of independent women’s own organizations. By the late thirties and forties a new narrative began to be constructed regarding â€Å"women’s activism†. This was newly researched and expanded with the vision to create ‘logical’ and organic links between feminism and Marxism, as well as with anti-communalism and anti-casteism, etc. The Constitution of India did guarantee ‘equality between the sexes,’ which created a relative lull in women’s movements until the 1970s. [3] During the formative years of women’s rights movements, the difference between the sexes was more or less taken for granted in that their roles, functions, aims and desires were different. As a result, they were not only to be reared differently but treated differently also. Over the course of time, this difference itself became a major reason for initiating women’s movements. Early 19th century reformers argued that the difference between men and women was no reason for the subjection of women in society. However, later reformers were of the opinion that indeed it was this particular difference that subjugated women to their roles in society, for example, as mothers. Therefore, there was a need for the proper care of women’s rights. With the formation of women’s organizations and their own participation in campaigns, their roles as mothers was again stressed but in a different light: this time the argument was for women’s rights to speech, education and emancipation. However, the image of women with the mother as a symbol underwent changes over time – from an emphasis on family to the creation of an archetypal mother figure, evoking deep, often  atavistic  images. [3] [edit]First phase: 1850–1915 The colonial venture into  modernity  brought concepts of  democracy,  equality  and individual  rights. The rise of the concept of  nationalism  and introspection of discriminatory practices brought about social reform movements related to caste and gender relations. This first phase of feminism in India was initiated by men to uproot the  social evils  of  sati  (widow immolation),[16]  to allow widow remarriage, to forbid child marriage, and to reduce illiteracy, as well as to regulate the age of consent and to ensure property rights through legal intervention. In addition to this, some upper caste Hindu women rejected constraints they faced under Brahminical traditions. 3]  However, efforts for improving the status of women in Indian society were somewhat thwarted by the late nineteenth century, as nationalist movements emerged in India. These movements resisted ‘colonial interventions in gender relations’ particularly in the areas of family relations. In the mid to late nineteenth century, there was a national form of resistance to any colonial efforts made to ‘modernize’ the Hindu family. This included the Age of Consent controversy that erupted after the government tried to raise the age of marriage for women. 2][17] [edit]Second Phase: 1915–1947 Women’s procession during Quit India Movement in 1942 During this period the struggle against colonial rule intensified. Nationalism became the pre-eminent cause. Claiming Indian superiority became the tool of cultural revivalism resulting in an essentializing model of Indian womanhood similar to that of  Victorian  womanhood: special yet separated from public space. Gandhi  legitimized and expanded Indian women’s public activities by initiating them into the non-violent  civil disobedience  movement against theBritish Raj. He exalted their feminine roles of caring, self-abnegation, sacrifice and tolerance; and carved a niche for those in the public arena. Women-only organizations like  All India Women’s Conference  (AIWC) and the  National Federation of Indian Women  (NFIW) emerged. Women were grappling with issues relating to the scope of women’s political participation,  women’s franchise, communal awards, and leadership roles in  political parties. [3] The 1920s was a new era for Indian women and is defined as ‘feminism’ that was responsible for the creation of localized women’s associations. These associations emphasized women’s education issues, developed livelihood strategies for working class women, and also organized national level women’s associations such as the All India Women’s Conference. AIWC was closely affiliated with the Indian National Congress. Under the leadership of  Mahatma Gandhi, it worked within the nationalist and anti-colonialist freedom movements. This made the mass mobilization of women an integral part of Indian nationalism. Women therefore were a very important part of various nationalist and anti-colonial efforts, including the civil disobedience movements in the 1970s. 3] After independence, the All India Women’s Conference continued to operate and in 1954 the Indian Communist Party formed its own women’s wing known as the National Federation of Indian Women. However, feminist agendas and movements became less active right after India’s 1947 independence, as the nationalist agendas on nation buildin g took precedence over feminist issues. [18] Women’s participation in the struggle for freedom developed their critical consciousness about their role and rights in  independent India. This resulted in the introduction of the franchise and civic rights of women in the Indian constitution. There was provision for women’s upliftment through  affirmative action, maternal health and child care provision (creches), equal pay for equal work etc. The state adopted a patronizing role towards women. For example, India’s constitution states that women are a â€Å"weaker section† of the population, and therefore need assistance to function as equals. [15]  Thus women in India did not have to struggle for basic rights as did women in the West. The utopia ended soon when the social and cultural ideologies and structures failed to honor the newly acquired concepts of fundamental rights and democracy. 3] [edit]Feminism: Post-1947 Post independence feminists began to redefine the extent to which women were allowed to engage in the workforce. Prior to independence, most feminists accepted the sexual divide within the labor force. However, feminists in the 1970s challenged the inequalities that had been established and fought to reverse them. These inequalities included unequal wages for women, relegation of women to ‘unskilled’ spheres of work, and restricting women as a reserve army for labor. In other words, the feminists’ aim was to abolish the free service of women who were essentially being used as cheap capital. [3]  Feminist class-consciousness also came into focus in the 1970s, with feminists recognizing the inequalities not just between men and women but also within power structures such as caste, tribe, language, religion, region, class etc. This also posed as a challenge for feminists while shaping their overreaching campaigns as there had to be a focus within efforts to ensure that fulfilling the demands of one group would not create further inequalities for another. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the focus of the Indian feminist movement has gone beyond treating women as useful members of society and a right to parity, but also having the power to decide the course of their personal lives and the right of self-determination. [3] ————————————————- [edit]Issues Despite â€Å"on-paper† advancements, many problems still remain which inhibit women from fully taking advantage of new rights and opportunities in India. There are many traditions and customs that have been an important part of Indian culture for hundreds of years. Religious laws and expectations, or â€Å"personal laws† enumerated by each specific religion, often conflict with the Indian Constitution, eliminating rights and powers women should legally have. Despite these crossovers in legality, the Indian government does not interfere with religion and the personal laws they hold. [19]  Religions, like Hinduism, call for women to be faithful servants to God and their husbands. They have a term called  pativrata  that describes a wife who has accepted service and devotion to her husband and her family as her ultimate religion and duty. Indian society is largely composed of hierarchical systems within families and communities. These  hierarchies  can be broken down into age, sex, ordinal position, kinship relationships (within families), and caste, lineage, wealth, occupations, and relationship to ruling power (within the community). When hierarchies emerge within the family based on social convention and economic need, girls in poorer families suffer twice the impact of vulnerability and stability. From birth, girls are automatically entitled to less; from playtime, to food, to education, girls can expect to always be entitled to less than their brothers. Girls also have less access to their family’s income and assets, which is exacerbated among poor, rural Indian families. From the start, it is understood that females will be burdened with strenuous work and exhausting responsibilities for the rest of their lives, always with little to no compensation or recognition. [20] India is also a  patriarchal  society, which, by definition, describes cultures in which males as fathers or husbands are assumed to be in charge and the official heads of households. A  patrilinealsystem governs the society, where descent and inheritance are traced through the male line and men are generally in control of the distribution of family resources. [12] These traditions and ways of Indian life have been in effect for so long that this type of lifestyle is what women have become accustomed to and expect. Indian women often do not take full advantage of their constitutional rights because they are not properly aware or informed of them. Women also tend to have poor utilization of voting rights because they possess low levels of political awareness and sense of political efficacy. Women are not often encouraged to become informed about issues. Due to this, political parties do not invest much time in female candidates because there is a perception that they are a â€Å"wasted investment. â€Å"[15] The female-to-male ratio in India is 933 to 1000, showing that there are numerically fewer women in the country than men. This is due to several factors, including  infanticides, most commonly among female infants, and the poor care of female infants and childbearing women. Although outlawed, infanticides are still highly popular in rural India, and are continuing to become even more prominent. This is due to the fact, most especially in rural areas, that families cannot afford female children because of the  dowry  they must pay when their daughter gets married. Like infanticide, the payment of dowry is also  illegal, but is still a frequent and prevalent occurrence in rural India. [21]  Women are considered to be â€Å"worthless† by their husbands if they are not â€Å"able† to produce a male child, and can often face much abuse if this is the case. [22] [edit]Birth ratio Between the years of 1991 to 2001, the female-male ratio of the population of India fell from 94. 5 girls per 100 boys to 92. girls per 100 boys. [5]  Some parts of the country, such as  Kerala, did not experience such a decline, but in the richer Indian states of  Punjab,  Haryana,  Gujarat, and  Maharashtra, the female-male ratio fell very sharply (the female-male ratios in these states were between 79. 3 and 87. 8). [5]  This is evidence of natality inequality, and an indication that  sex-selective abortion  has become more pervasive. The Indian parliament has banned the use of sex determination techniques for fetuses due to this, but enforcement of this law has been largely ignored. [23] [edit]Marriage Most of the average Indian woman’s life is spent in marriage; many women are still married before the legal age of 18, and the incidence of non-marriage is low in India. Childbearing and raising children are the priorities of early adulthood for Indian women. Thus, if they enter the workforce at all, it is far later than Indian men. Urban Indian men reach the peak of their labor force participation between the ages of 25 and 29, while urban Indian women do so between the ages of 40 and 44. [4]  Because of this, women have less time for the acquisition of skills and fewer opportunities for job improvements. There is a poor representation of women in the Indian workforce. Females have a ten percent higher drop-out rate than males from middle and primary schools, as well as lower levels of literacy than men. Since unemployment is also high in India, it is easy for employers to manipulate the law, especially when it comes to women, because it is part of Indian culture for women not to argue with men. Additionally, labor unions are insensitive to women’s needs. Women also have to settle for jobs that comply with their obligations as wives, mothers, and homemakers. [4][21] ————————————————- edit]Theology [edit]Hindu feminism In the  Hindu  religion, there has been partial success in terms of gender equality reform laws and family law. While this is a major advancement relative to other religions in India, it is still not a complete triumph in terms of feminism and reliev ing oppression. [19]  Gandhi  came up with the term  stree shakti  (women power) for the concept of womanhood. In the Hindu religion, Gods are not exclusively male. Hinduism sheds a positive light on femininity; females are considered to compliment and complete their male counterparts. It is important to note that the deities of both knowledge and wealth are female. [15] There has been some criticism from  Dalit  groups that Indian feminism tends to represent â€Å"upper caste† and upper class Hindu women, while ignoring and marginalizing the interests of Dalit women. Debates on caste and gender oppression have been furthered by  Other Backward Class  (OBC) members of different political parties, arguing in state assemblies that â€Å"lower caste† women’s interests are best represented by women from these castes. 7]  Working towards this end, women within Dalit castes have formed organizations such as the All India Dalit Women’s Forum and the National Federation of Dalit Women and Dalit Solidarity, which focus on the gendered implications of caste based violence and oppression, such as the ways in which Dalit women suffer from urban poverty and displacement. [7] [edit]Islamic feminism The Hindu and Muslim communities in India w ere treated differently by the government in that separate types of concessions were made for each community in order to accommodate their separate religious laws and regulations. The case of  Shah Bano  begun in 1985 was one such example of  Rajiv Gandhi  attempting to make â€Å"concessions† for the Muslim community to in turn secure support for the Congress. Shah Bano, a 73-year-old Muslim woman, was divorced by her husband after forty-three years of marriage. According to the Sharia or Muslim Law, her husband was not required to pay her alimony. Shah Bano challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in her favor and ordered her husband to pay her a monthly maintenance allowance. This caused chaos amongst the Muslim clerics who denounced the judgement and suggested that their religion, Islam was under attack in the country. In a fear of losing overall Muslim support, Rajiv succumbed to the pressures of the Muslim community and his own party and backed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Bill that overruled the Supreme Court’s decision. This caused an outcry from Hindu nationalists who found the appeasement of minorities by the Congress for political purposes wrong and opportunistic. 24] Feminism was challenged by various minority groups for not entirely addressing the needs of minority populations. It was suggested that ‘mainstream’ feminism was upper caste and Hindu in its orientation and did not address the concerns of minority women. This led to the formation of the Awaaz-e-Niswaan (The Voice of Women) in 1987 in Mumbai in largely Muslim part of the city. The Muslim community has been subjected to personal laws that often were considered harmful to the rights of Muslim women. [25] ————————————————- [edit]Impact Western-educated Indians introduced  equality  in the early nineteenth century. However, the term did not gain meaning or become an operational principle in Indian life until the country gained independence in 1947 and adopted a democratic government. [15]  The  Indian Constitution  then granted equality, freedom from discrimination based on gender or religion, and guaranteed religious freedoms. [19]  Also, seven  five-year plans  were developed to provide health, education, employment, and welfare to women. The sixth five-year plan even declared women â€Å"partners in development. [15] [edit]Employment In general in the uneducated and rural section of the Indian society, which forms a major percentage of the total population, women are seen as economic burdens. Their contributions to productivity are mostly invisible as their familial and domestic contributions are unfairly overlooked. Indian women were contributing nearly 36 percent of total employment in agricult ure and related activities, nearly 19 percent in the service sector, and nearly 12. 5 in the industry sector as of the year 2000. The unfortunate reality is that the high illiteracy rate among women confines them to lower paying, unskilled jobs with less job security than men. Even in agricultural jobs where the work of men and women are highly similar, women are still more likely to be paid less for the same amount and type of work as men. [26]  However in the urban section of Indian society, women are empowered with laws such as IPC 498a which are heavily biased against the men in the society. Educated women are sometimes accused of using such laws to unleash legal terrorism on husbands by disgruntled wives. 24] [edit]Globalization Feminists are also concerned about the impact of globalization on women in India. Some feminists argue that globalization has led to economic changes that have raised more social and economical challenges for women, particularly for working class and lower caste women. Multinational companies in India have been seen to exploit the labor of ‘young, underpaid and disadvantage d women’ in free trade zones and sweat shops, and use â€Å"Young lower middle class, educated women,† in call centers. These women have few effective labor rights, or rights to collective action. [27][28] In addition to this, multinational corporations are seen to advertise a homogenous image of ideal women across the country is argued to cause an increase in the commodification of women’s bodies. This is also manifested in the form of nationalist pride exhibited through Indian women winning international beauty pageants. According to some feminists, such developments have offered women greater sexual autonomy and more control over their bodies. However, many other feminists feel that such commodification of female bodies has only served the purpose of feeding to male fantasies. [27] [edit]Education Girls in Kalleda Rural School,  Andhra Pradesh. Some of the main reasons that girls are less likely to reach optimal levels of education include the fact that girls are needed to assist their mothers at home, have been raised to believe that a life of domestic work is their destined occupation, have illiterate mothers who cannot educate their children, have an economic dependency on men, and are sometimes subject to child-marriage. 26] In 1986, the  National Policy on Education  (NPE) was created in India, and the government launched the program called  Mahila Samakhya, whose focus was on the empowerment of women. The program’s goal is to create a learning environment for women to realize their potential, learn to demand information and find the knowledge to take charge of their own lives. In certain areas of India , progress is being made and an increase in the enrollment of girls in schools and as teachers has begun to increase. By 2001 literacy for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female population, though these statistics were still very low compared to world standards and even male literacy within India. [29]  Efforts are still being made to improve the level of education that females receive to match that of male students. [26] [edit]Modernization Modern influences are affecting the younger generations in parts of India, where girls are beginning to forgo the more traditional ways of Indian life and break gender stereotypes. In more flourishing parts of the country, the idea of â€Å"dating,† or more specifically  openly  dating, has come into play, and the terms â€Å"girlfriend† and â€Å"boyfriend† are being used. Some women have landed highly respectable careers, and can be seen across  Bollywood  billboards and advertisements. However, this is not the norm throughout the country; such modernizations and the women behind them face serious resistance from anti-liberalists. The country is still severely male-dominant and unwelcoming to such movements that go against sex and gender traditions in India. Hasselrlis, Kaj. â€Å"Making a Statement. †Ã‚  Herizons  23. 2 (2009): 33-35. How to cite Feminism in India, Essay examples