Violence against women: Madhya Pradesh cuts sorry figure (March 8 is International Women\’s Day)

BHOPAL - Domestic violence has increased by five times in the last nine years, a shocking 1,217 gang rapes were reported in 1,300 days and maternal mortality is one of the highest in India - women in Madhya Pradesh don\’t have much to cheer about this International Women\’s Day Monday.

From 7,283 cases of domestic violence against women in 2001, the number went up by five times to 36,215 in 2009, according to police records.

But the most alarming are the number of gang rapes in Madhya Pradesh. In a period of 1,300 days - from Dec 7, 2003 to June 30, 2007 - 1,217 gang rapes were reported, as per the state assembly records.

The latest figures are yet to be computed. Also, the victims of these rapes were largely from the disadvantaged sections of society. In the records, 362 victims were from the Scheduled Castes while 310 belonged to the Scheduled Tribes category.

Rights activists say one of the reasons for the increasing crime against women from the backward classes is that the upper castes are not comfortable with their gradual development through government schemes.

\”Gang rape is one of the easiest means for men to attack a woman in villages,\” said Sachin Jain, state convenor of the Right to Food Campaign.

\”Women belonging to Scheduled Castes and tribes are also coming forward through the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and the panchayats (village councils) in the state. The upper classes take revenge by committing gang rape. These people, once referred to as \’untouchables\’, have attained positions in local governance but they are still among the poorest and most victimised people,\” he said.

The state\’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) - the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births - is 379, considered to be one of the worst in India. Around 27-30 women die every day in the state within 42 days of delivery, according to last year\’s National Family Health Survey-III data.

Pregnancy complications and unsafe abortions are cited as the main reasons for the rising MMR.

According to the survey, the state contributes 7,000 maternal mortality cases every year to the figure of 70,000 for the country as a whole. Lack of transport and access to proper medical facilities as well as the absence of planning for delivery are major impediments to safe motherhood coupled with shortage of medicines.

\”Though the state has launched schemes like promoting institutional deliveries to arrest maternal mortality, specially among those below the poverty line and those belonging to scheduled castes and tribes, much still needs to be done,\” said Prashant Kumar Dubey, who\’s also part of the Right to Food Campaign.

However, institutional deliveries have risen from 27 percent in 2004-2005 to 72 percent in 2008-2009. The Janani Suraksha Yojna for expecting women was implemented in the state in August 2005 and a total of 264,656 women have benefited under the scheme so far.

Low awareness about various schemes for pregnant women and lack of planning for delivery are impediments in the scheme, the study says.

Also, over 40 percent of women are undernourished, the survey says.

\”About 57.9 percent pregnant women between 15-49 years of age are anaemic while only 46.7 percent women participate in household decisions and 45.8 percent have experienced spousal violence.\”

They also continue to be under male dominance even with regard to their participation in governance though the Constitutional 73rd Amendment has reserved one-third seats for them and enabled their presence in panchayat (village council) bodies.

\”Women panchayat members continue to suffer from gender bias,\” said a worker of the Mahila Chetna Manch, an NGO working towards women\’s empowerment.

Despite the seats reserved for women, it is men who dominate the proceedings in the panchayat through women members who happen to be wives, mothers or daughters, the worker