India’s 2020 gender report card

In a number-crunching Covid world— infections, cases, deaths — here are some others, less grandiose but significant all the same: Seven, eight, nine. Seven is the number of states in India where more than 25% of women are subject to violence by a spouse. Eight are the states where sex ratio has fallen and in nine states an increasing number of women told the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) that they were sexually abused as children.

The first phase of NFHS 2019-20 paints a sweeping portrait of the health, economic and gender status of 22 states and Union territories. It ties in with the 2019 crime figures released earlier by the National Crime Records Bureau — a 7% increase in rape, molestation, domestic violence, acid attacks and all the other crimes that group together under the generic head, “crimes against women”.

At the end of the year, what does India’s gender report card look like? There’s some cause for cheer — more women using hygienic protection during menstruation, over 50% increase in women who own and operate their own bank accounts and even a decline in spousal violence.

But it’s a decline that’s simply not enough. In seven states, spousal violence remains unacceptably high with an inexplicable surge in Karnataka with over 40% reporting domestic violence, up from 20.6% five years ago. Bihar’s numbers are down but at 40%, still too high to warrant celebration streamers.

Data does not account for the human stories and how the pandemic threatens to sweep away hard-won gender gains. Chief among these is the education of girls. Once the pandemic figures are counted, activists fear we are in for a roll-back. Far too many families are under economic strain and far too many girls without access to digital learning are being married off early, report NGOs like Educate Girls. We’re in the dark about the impact of the lockdown on access to contraception and safe abortion.

We do know that the pandemic’s economic impact has been higher on women. At the end of the year, 13% fewer women (2% fewer men) than the previous year were employed, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. So, what does India’s already precarious female labour force participation look like?

The end of a year is a good time to take stock — just how much we’ve achieved, how much more must be done and, this year in particular, how much is in danger of being lost. The data is only a hint. One option would be to do nothing. But, this could “negatively influence both the economic and social lives of women, as well as economic growth more broadly,” warns a McKinsey report. On the other hand, “investing in women and girls in the recovery represents a significant opportunity to improve gender equality and drive inclusive economic growth.”

We have seen the signs. The question: What are we going to do about it?

Namita Bhandare writes on gender

The views expressed are personal