THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA - PART I

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 NEW DELHI 001653 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS, DRL, PASS TO SECRETARY RICE, U/S HUGHES, U/S BURNS, U/S DOBRIANSKY, AND DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR SOCI KWMN IN SUBJECT: THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA - PART I REF: A. 06 NEW DELHI 0930 ¶B. 06 NEW DELHI 7119 ¶C. 06 NEW DELHI 7581 ¶D. NEW DELHI 0654 ¶E. NEW DELHI 1032 ¶F. NEW DELHI 1383 ¶G. NEW DELHI 1401 ¶H. NEW DELHI 1402 ¶I. NEW DELHI 1419 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: During the March 19-24 visit of Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State for Women's Empowerment Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Mission officers joined Ambassador Tahir-Kheli to survey New Delhi's leading NGOs, think tanks, pundits, government officials and activists on the changing roles of women in Indian society. Since independence six decades ago, India has enacted approximately a dozen landmark laws aimed at supporting and protecting women. However, while women are beginning to enjoy some new legal protections, they are still fighting for equality and waiting for effective enforcement and implementation of these laws. Based on Ambassador Tahir-Kheli's conversations, and our own ongoing analysis, the issues of greatest concern to both the USG and our north Indian interlocutors include female feticide, dowry deaths and traficking in persons. Part I of our report will focus on the first two issues. Part II (septel) will discuss trafficking in persons, and bread and butter concerns involving the continued inability of India's women to access education and health, and caste and class. End Summary. The Good News: Marked Progress Through the Decades -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Feminist activism in India gained momentum during the late 1970s. In 1979, the acquittal of policemen accused of raping a young girl in a police station led to wide-scale protests and effectively served as the catalyst that brought women,s groups together. The protests were covered in the national media and forced the GOI to amend the Evidence Act, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Penal Code to introduce the category of custodial rape. Civil society has also played a crucial role in raising awareness. In the 1990s, foreign donor agencies funded the formation of new women-oriented NGOs. NGOS and self-help groups continue to play a major role in women's rights in India. ¶3. (SBU) Throughout Ambassador Tahir-Kheli's visit, contacts highlighted continued progress on women's issues. The Constitution of India guarantees equality (Article 14),no discrimination by the State (Article 15),equal opportunity (Article 16),and equal pay for equal work (Article 39). In addition, it specifies unique provisions for women and children (Article 15),renounces practices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article 51) and calls on the state to ensure secure, just, and humane work conditions and for maternity relief (Article 42). In addition, since independence six decades ago, India has enacted approximately a dozen landmark laws (many described in the following paragraphs) to support and protect women. The Bad News: Laws Exist, But Only on Paper -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Civil society and the media have taken the lead in raising awareness and acceptance of the rights and roles of women. The courts are slow to keep pace and are often prodded to action by the media. In 2007, there have been daily newspaper headlines reporting on court decisions for cases filed in the early 1980s (reftel C). It is widely NEW DELHI 00001653 002 OF 005 acknowledged that the government is often unable to implement or enforce its laws, especially in rural areas where traditions are deeply rooted. Justice delayed, as one contact told us, is justice denied. Kiran Bedi, Director General, Bureau for Police Research and Development also expressed frustration over badly designed laws. She pointed out that no law stipulates how the statute will be coordinated, implemented, or monitored. She emphasized that a coordinating body needs to be identified and held responsible for the implementation of these laws, including the provision of training and levying penalties for lackluster enforcement. ¶5. (SBU) In 1992, the GOI established the National Commission for Women (NCW) to: review the Constitutional and legal safeguards for women; recommend remedial legislative measures; facilitate redressal of grievances; and advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women. The NCW coordinates with state governments to raise awareness of issues impacting women. On March 23, NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas told Ambassador Tahir-Kheli that the office monitors various issues throughout the country, including female feticide and domestic violence. It also conducts outreach and education and interact with the police, who she claimed &fear me and my organization.8 Vyas acknowledged the media,s important role as a tool for outreach and enforcement, but also noted that the NCW was becoming increasingly savvy in its outreach efforts. For example, to date, the government and civil society have taken a number of steps to assist female crime victims, including telephone help lines, short-stay homes, counseling, occupational training, medical aid and rehabilitation. (Comment: While the NCW,s intentions are good, NCW is repeatedly criticized for failing to speak out against reported atrocities. Further, the GOI does not have to implement NCW recommendations and has not granted the NCW the independence necessary for effective functioning. End Comment.) The Girl Child: Female Feticide, Infanticide and Neglect -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Throughout her visit, interlocutors complained to Ambassador Tahir-Kheli about the devastating practice of female feticide. The traditional cultural preference for sons has directly led to high rates of female feticide, female infanticide, maternal mortality and neglect of the girl child. Aid Agency Oxfam reported that this trend is regional; as of 2003, South Asia is reportedly missing some 50 million women due to these practices. As a result, India's sex ratio is one of the world,s lowest with an average of 933 females for every 1,000 males in the 2001 census, up from the 1991 census figure of 927. ¶7. (SBU) On March 20, Member of Parliament (MP) Prema Cariappa identified female feticide as the biggest challenge facing India today. She explained that the Prenatal Determination Test Act only penalizes expecting women and doctors who use sex determination tests to identify female fetuses for abortion. Cariappa underscored that, more often than not, women are coerced by their families and their husbands to get ultrasound tests and abort girl fetuses. In the same meeting, Cariappa's colleague, MP Nirmalal Deshpande explained that feticide is more prominent among the educated and urban sections of society (reftel A). ¶8. (SBU) There are several non-national efforts to curb female feticide. On March 23, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit outlined the Delhi government program. Every girl born in a New Delhi government hospital is given a gift deposit of Rs. 5000 ($114). This, when coupled with accumulated interest can reach up to Rs. 18,000 (409 USD),is given to NEW DELHI 00001653 003 OF 005 the girl when she turns 18 years old. The program ostensibly encourages mothers to go to government hospitals, resulting in safer births and lower maternal mortality, and encourages families not to abort female fetuses. In addition, MP Praneet Kaur and several others told Ambassador Tahir-Kheli about the local-level solution to feticide in Nawanshahr (reftel D). The District Commissioner in Nawanshahr enjoys broad support for his "Big Brother" model, which monitors every pregnant woman in a targeted village and their female children. In response to Ambassador Tahir-Kheli's concerns regarding possible violation of privacy rights, most argued that the problem has reached such a critical level that any solution that tendered results was welcomed. ¶9. (SBU) Despite government and NGO efforts, on March 21, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairperson, Planning Commission recounted seeing a poster advertising sex determination and selection, "Spend 500 rupees ($11) now, save 5 lakhs ($11,364) later." (Comment: While vested interests are promoting and profiting from female feticide, we find it encouraging that virtually every interlocutor raised female feticide as a problem India needed to address seriously. End Comment.) Domestic Violence and Dowry-Related Deaths -------------- ¶10. (SBU) According to a recent UN report, approximately two-thirds of married women in India are victims of domestic violence. The 2006 National Family Health Survey reported that every third women has dealt with spousal violence. The Indian Penal Code was amended twice during the 1980s - first in 1983 and again in 1986 - to define special categories of crimes dealing with marital violence and abuse. To deal with the problem, the GOI introduced the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2006, which took effect on October ¶27. The new law bans the harassment of new brides for dowry and gives sweeping powers to a magistrate to issue protection orders where needed. Punishment ranges from jail terms of up to one year and/or a fine of approximately 19,800 rupees ($450). Domestic violence, under the new law, is defined as actual abuse or the threat of abuse whether physical, sexual, emotional, or economic. The law also criminalizes spousal rape. ¶11. (SBU) While less common than 40 years ago, dowry related violence, often referred to as "bride burning" still occurs. In bride-burning, husbands or other family members douse the wife with kerosene, gasoline or other flammable liquid and set her alight, often leading to death by immolation. Most Indians assert that bride-burning results from the woman's inability to meet dowry demands, falling behind on dowry payments, or the husband's desire to rid himself of his wife without the dishonor of divorce. Dowry deaths are often disguised as kitchen accidents or suicides and are not reported. The exact number of victims can only be estimated. However, in 2005, almost 7,000 cases of dowry-related deaths were recorded with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). NGOs also claim that accused in-laws often avoid legal consequences by bribing police officials. ¶12. (SBU) The payment of dowry has been illegal for nearly forty years. Two amendments to the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 - enacted in 1984 and 1986 - further strengthened the legislation. However, women's rights groups claim the practice continues because the law is hardly enforced. Under the law, the courts must presume that the husband or the wife's in-laws are responsible for every unnatural death of a woman in the first seven years of marriage - whenever harassment is proven. In May 2005, the Supreme Court ordered the creation of a commission to end dowry. (Comment: We NEW DELHI 00001653 004 OF 005 assess the commission will remain ineffective as it will be stymied by police corruption, shoddy implementation, and the slow pace of the legal process. For example, the founders of Shakti Shalini, a domestic violence shelter for women ) and visited by Ambassador Tahir-Kheli - are still waiting for the Delhi High Court to hear the cases involving the dowry-deaths of their daughters, which occurred in 1978. End comment.) ¶13. (SBU) On March 20, Minister of Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhary provided Ambassador Tahir-Kheli with information regarding effective community responses that averted dowry related deaths, including one from Rajasthan where families are &exchanging a girl for a girl8. Under this practice, a family with a son and daughter who are near in age with another family with a son and daughter, will not accept a dowry but will exchange their daughters for their sons. NGO leaders also told Ambassador Tahir-Kheli successful stories of women collectives demanding police to enforce domestic violence laws and shaming abusers by publicizing the abuse. (Comment: Instigating social change at the community level is far more effective than wading through the cumbersome, bureaucratic and time-consuming judicial system. Community tailored responses and community activism remain vibrant in India. End Comment.) ¶14. (SBU) Rape and other violent attacks against women are a serious problem both within and outside the home. While official statistics confirm a dramatic increase in reported crimes against women, these may reflect a growing sense of security in reporting these crimes. The NCRB reported an increase in the number of rapes from 14,809 in 2004 to 15,847 in 2005. According to the NCRB, two rapes took place every hour in 2006, one in five victims was a child, and 19 out of 20 of those arrested for rape went unpunished. Only 10 percent of rape cases were adjudicated fully in the courts as police generally fail to arrest rapists. In May 2005, Parliament amended the Code of Criminal Procedures to stipulate mandatory DNA testing in all rape cases. To protect women from sexual assault by police officers, the bill also prohibits the arrest of women after sunset and before sunrise except in "exceptional circumstances." ¶15. (SBU) During a four-day visit to New Delhi, Ambassador Tahir-Kheli held high level discussions on women's empowerment with the following Mission contacts: - Sanjaya Baru, Media Advisor to the Prime Minister; - Shiv Shankar Munon, Foreign Secretary; - Renuka Chowdhary, Minister for Women and Child Development; - Praneet Kaur, Member of Parliament; - Prema Cariappa, Member of Parliament; - Nirmala Deshpande, Member of Parliament; - Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairperson, Planning Commission; - Sayeeda Hamid, Member of Planning Commission; - Manjeev Singh Puri, Joint Secretary on United Nations, Economic and Social Programs; - Sanjiv Arora, Joint Secretary, United Nations Political; - Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit; - Girija Vyas, Chairperson National Commission for Women; - Amb. Lalit Mansingh, Former Ambassador to the U.S.; - Kiran Bedi, Director General, Bureau for Police Research and Development; and - Lt. General Satish Nambiar, Director, United Services Institute of India. ¶16. (SBU) Ambassador Tahir-Kheli also met with numerous NGOs, lawyers, think tanks, and members of the press including, - Ranjana Kumari, Director, Center for Social Research; NEW DELHI 00001653 005 OF 005 - Asmita Basu, Legal Consultant and Project Coordinator, Lawyers Collective; - Aparna Bhatt, Advocate, Supreme Court of India; - Veena Nayyar, Women,s Political Watch; - Gouri Choudhary, WomenPowerConnect Governing Board; - Mohini Giri, Chairperson, Guild of Service; - Ravi Nair, South Asia Human Rights Documentation Center; - Indira Rajarama, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; - Harinder Sekhon, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation; - Radha Kumar, Delhi Policy Group; - Mythilli Bhusnurmath, Senior Editor, Economic Times; - Madhvi Puri Buch, Head Corporate Brand, ICICI Bank; - Dr. N. Hamsa, WomenPowerConnect; - Tara Apachu Sharma, Women's Legal Rights Initiative (WLRI) Program Team, IFES - Vasu Mohan, WLRI Program Team, IFES; - Dr. Suraiya Tabassum, WLRI Program Team, Muslim Women,s Program; - Benita Sharma, WLRI Program Team, Gender Budgeting; - Akhila Sivadas, Center for Advocacy and Research; and - Rekha Bezbourah, Ekatra. ¶17. (U) Part II on women's issues and Ambassador Tahir-Kheli's visit will follow septel. MULFORD