Poverty is highly found in rural areas where there is a lack of education, healthcare, limits access of choices, and numerous challenges for its habitants. A major cause of poverty among India’s rural people is the lack of access to productive assets and financial resources as well as high levels of illiteracy. According to International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) women in general are the most disadvantaged people in Indian society, though their status varies significantly according to their social and ethnic backgrounds. Rural areas in India have experiences many socio - economic changes. As incomes from agriculture decrease, rural households are forced to develop new and more complex livelihood strategies that include both agricultural and non-agricultural incomes. This essay will analyze the changes in rural areas and their impact on gender, as well as, the implications of modernization and development to the changes. This essay also addresses the implications of age, youth and gender have in regards to power in India.
The changes that are happening in rural areas are very important. This is because the countries which have high percentage of rural population tend to be the poorest due to the fact that, the majority of the population lives in rural areas. For instance, the Census 2001 in India indicates that, at all India level, the total population consists of 37.1% rural males, 35.08 % rural females, 14.64 % urban males and 13.18 % urban females.
Rural women play a key role in supporting their households and communities in achieving food and nutrition security, generating income, and improving rural livelihoods and overall well-being. Yet, every day, around the world, rural women and girls face persistent structural constraints that prevent them from enjoying their human rights and hamper their efforts to improve their lives. Rural women in India spend too much time in reproductive and household work as well as caring their children leaving them no time for their own personal growth. For instance, in the novel Nectar in a Sieve, Ruku, who is a hard-working and devoted wife of Nathan, have five boys and Ira. Not only in India but in any rural community around the world women have too many children knowingly about their limited resources to feed the whole family.
In the past it was more common to see the whole family living together in small rural areas. Some of the changes that rural areas have faced are due to the people’s desire for better quality of life. Today, it is typical to see migration of young males to the urban areas in need of a job or getting into college. This is a positive change because they are able to send money back to their families. With more money from the urban workers, school fees may be paid or livestock bought. Some of the downside of such changes is that with the absence of the young males, children may have to work on the farm, rather than going to school. In addition, the remaining family may be less physically able to carry out heavy tasks.
The total social changes will result in chances of success and the impact on gender will be favorable, according to Barnabas AP. Modernization will change the social conditions because of modernization in agriculture. If factories are built in rural areas that will take up the slack in agricultural employment, and perhaps it would become acceptable for girls to work in them. This way woman can have more economic contribution to the family. However, patriarchy has made those changes slow or impossible to occur. The belief of male power, superiority and is stronger than the desire of a better quality of life for all the family members in India. The role of patriarchy as an ideology is almost invincible ( Bond-Nash, ).
Work Cited
AP, B. Population growth and social change: a note on rural society.
Bond-Nash, J. A faith reflection of gender and power. Geneva: The Lutheran World Federation – A Communion of Churches.
(2007). Women in India: Statistical indicators. Retrieved from http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Women_in_India:_Statistical_Indicators,_2007
Cited: AP, B. Population growth and social change: a note on rural society. Bond-Nash, J. A faith reflection of gender and power. Geneva: The Lutheran World Federation – A Communion of Churches. (2007). Women in India: Statistical indicators. Retrieved from http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Women_in_India:_Statistical_Indicators,_2007
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