World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development

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The lives of women around the world have improved dramatically, at a pace and scope difficult to imagine even 25 years ago. Women have made unprecedented gains in rights, education, health, and access to jobs and livelihoods. More countries than ever guarantee equal rights in property, marriage, and other domains. Gendergaps in primary schooling have closed in many countries, while in a third of all countries girls now outnumber boys in secondary school. And more young women than men attend universities in 60 countries. Women are using their education to participate more in the labor force: they now make up for 40 percent of the global labor force and 43 percent of its farmers. Moreover, women now live longer than men in every region of the world.

Despite the progress, gaps remain in many areas. Women are more likely to die—relative to males—in many low- and middle-income countries than their counterparts in rich countries,especially in childhood and during their reproductive years. Primary and secondary school enrollments for girls remain much lower than for boys in many Sub-Saharan African countries and some parts of South Asia, as well as among disadvantaged populations. Women are more likely than men to work as unpaid family laborers or in the informal sector, to farm smaller plots and grow less profitable crops, operate in smaller firms and less profi table sectors, and generally earn less. Women—especially poor women—have less say over decisions and less control over household resources. And in most countries, fewer women participate in formal politics than men and are underrepresented in the upper echelons.

The World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development argues that closing these persistent gender gaps matters. It matters because gender equality is a core development objective in its own right. But it is also smart economics. Greater gender equality can enhance productivity, improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions more representative. Building on a growing body of knowledge on the economics of gender equality and development, the Report identifies the areas where gender gaps are most significant—both intrinsically and in terms of their potential development payoff—and where growth alone cannot solve the issues. It then sets forth four priorities for public action:

•Reducing excess female mortality and closing education gaps where they remain

•Improving access to economic opportunities for women

•Increasing women’s voice and agency in the household and in society

•Limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations.

MORE STUDENTS IN SCHOOL-HINDUTSAN TIMES REPORT

SOURCE- HINDUSTAN TIMES has published a report on January 15 2012, saying that the number of children joining the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) nursery and primary schools has gone up. Dr. Mahinder Nagpal, chairman, MCD's education committee, said that the number of students in nursery classes has witnessed an increase of over 4000 while primary schools have witnessed increase by 14000 students.

At the outset, this information is a good indicator of the growing infrastructure and the development that is happening in the literacy and educational levels in the country. Although, the enrollment is taken care of by various schemes and facilities launched by the Govt. such as mid-day meals, upgradation of school infrastructure, free books, copies, school bags, dresses, shoes and water bottles, which are given to the students, the actual problem is the huge number of dropouts who drop out of school without completing their education to support their families and find work and for numerous other reasons as well. The number of schools have increased from 1629 to 1740 and the number of students have increased from 9,28,406 to 9,42,135 but how many of them actually remain in schools uptil the basic age of 14 years according to the Right To Education Act is an altogether different matter and the reasons are to find work to support families, baby sit the siblings and such help at home or the mere lack of funds to go to school even if the basic education uptil the age of 14 years is free and in some cases, the unavailability of good quality teachers who can motivate the students to remain in schools.

My opinion in this matter would be that the Govt. Departments or the Govt. as a whole needs to look at the issue on a broader basis so as not to focus narrowly on the enrollment levels only. This is all the more important because there are two sides of a coin and looking only at the input process and not at the failing output defeats the entire purpose of the plan itself. There has to be a more sustained effort to keep the students in school.

Some Suggestions-

The age of 14 years is the lower limit and thus the students have to be engaged and encouraged to remain in school despite their family problems and in this the teachers have a bigger role to play.

Also, their have to be some infrastructure in place to help the students look after their siblings or arrangements made in order to help them.

The very obvious has to be the availability of good and learned teachers who are able to impart knowledge, though the present circumstances present a grim picture at many places throughout the country.

Thus, its important that we focus not only on the enrollment levels but also on the students who remain in school and complete their education.

DELHI GOVT'S inefficiency in water bodies development work

Source- HINDUSTAN TIMES SPECIAL article on the lack of action by the Delhi Govt on the protection and conservation of water bodies despite promises made in the Delhi High Court.
The article carried on 8 January 2012, sunday by Nivedita Khandekar has been taken up by RTI activists and attempts to bring the issue to the limelight.

As a resident of the city, reading the article made me realise the red tapism that still exists in the working of the Govt deptartments, be it the entire Parliament or only a part of the system. Each of them survives on putting off the issue until and unless, an alarm rings and in this case, the RTI activist Gopal Prasad was the whistle blower. Moreover, the proposed 'water body authority'- announced in May 2010- as a coordinator for all agencies involved in the preservation of such entities has not yet materialised. The status report has not been satisfactory where in, although the work has been shown as completed, in reality, it has not been. The  concerned authorities have been unavailable for comments and the laxity shows how our city is progressing and thus, its necessary that the Judiciary checks these kinds of carelessness shown by the Govt. officials. The issue is still running and there ought to be more disclosures in the coming days.