India falls in the league of developing countries, and claims greatest of technological, economical and financial achievements. India has made its mark in almost all fields, but still gender discrimination continues to be a great problem in modern India. Although modern Indian working women apart from fulfilling her career goals is managing her family as well single handedly and succeeding in both the activities, but still there exist a fairly large number of women in India who are being devoid of proper education, even proper nourishment and of her fundamental rights. Many women in India gets married at a very tender age, and even becomes mother very young, which is unhealthy for both the mother and her unborn child. Most of these young mothers are malnourished, does not get adequate medical attention also. Statistics show 54% Indian women are actually literate as compared to 76% men in India. Most of Indian women gets very less schooling, falls prey to biased patriarchal based Indian society where most Indian families want boy child only, and a girl child is made to suffer all her life. Even unfair inheritance and divorce laws also exist against women, and for a woman to build her autonomy and ensure security is utterly difficult. Especially the women in rural India are major sufferers, in areas of Rajasthan the average salary of a woman is 30% lesser than the wage of one man holding analogous position. Moreover the tendency of every family to wish for a boy child has led to high female foeticide or infanticide rates. As more and more Indian women are being neglected, they are getting engaged in prostitution, sex work and even the crimes against women are also increasing. Study by Human Rights commission suggests around 15 million female prostitutes resides in India. Bombay, India's financial capital is also synonymous as Asia's largest sex-industry, and is home to more than 100,000 prostitutes. Indian women also are victims of molestation, rapes, and dowry deaths. In 2006 32000 women murder cases, 7500 dowry casualties, 36,500 molestation records were filed, and over time this rates has only increased. New Delhi, India's capital itself registers numerous crime cases such as rapes, molestations against women every year. Many women in India has to die because their fathers cannot provide sufficient dowry for her marriage, as it is not only believed but practiced too "no dowry means no marriage" in many rather most areas of India. Though dowry prohibition laws exist with huge fines to pay and jail for the guilty but dowry custom is still prevalent in India. Most of distressed weak women in India either faces suicidal deaths or becomes victim of the harsh cruelty of her husband or in laws, failing to give enough dowries. Their lives ultimately prove to be less valuable than the entire materialistic bargain. These raises only one question, is India really developing? Or India's Development is a mere illusion, in a country where many women are being tortured this way every day, what's lie in the future?
It is true that Indian Women are still far away in getting the status they deserve. However, the present status of women in India is improving and has improved to a great extent. Many women have joined the corporate World and are successful in their work. The only problem is Indian society still follows patriarchy and women are still looked down by the male members of the society and this can only be removed through proper education and teaching the people to respect Women and make them understand the importance of Women in the society.
I don't agree with you that the present status of women in India is improving and has improved to a great extent. If it has improved, then why are women falling victims of various crimes? Women have to go a long way to get the status that they actually deserve. The present condition of women in our society can only be changed by changing the whole society of India and by uprooting the male dominance from the society.
