The North and the South of India is different in terms of language, custom and religion. In fact, language, custom and religion itself is prone to regional differences even down to the village level. However, despite these differences even in the village level, a homogenous explanation can be attempted in terms of the differences between the North and the South and in particular in this essay regarding Northern and Southern Indian women. The theme in this essay is to explore the differences between the North and the South and how these differences contribute to the increasing number of female infanticide in both regions, the problem of dowry burnings and at a smaller scale, the problem of Sati or the burning of the widow in the funeral pyre of her husband. In the context of these three problems which have sparked worldwide concern we can understand the role and position of Indian women both in the North and the South.
[...] With the above explanations in mind we now turn to the problems of the position of women within Hindu society both in the North and South as they are portrayed by the international mass media. In the most recent article written by Tim Sullivan on female infanticide titled ‘India's Lost Girls', a majority of Hindu society still has more preference over male children than they do female children. Despite modernization and globalization female children still retain a lower position than male children because it is believed that male children are able to provide for their elders. [...]
[...] HEYER, JUDITH 1992 role of dowries and daughter's marriages in the accumulation and distribution of capital in a south Indian community”. In Journal of International Development Studies 419-436. KRISHNAMURTHI, LATHA 1991 “Human Rights of the Girl Child”. In Girl Child in India, Leelama Devasia & V.V. Devasia, eds. New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House. 39-49. MALONEY, CLARENCE 1974 Peoples of South Asia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. MANDELBAUM, DAVID G Society in India. Berkeley and Los Angeles: California University Press. [...]
[...] If we are talking about Indian women it is more appropriate to begin with the position and role of the female fetus compared to the male fetus. Statistically, throughout the world there are higher ratios of females compared to males (Ganguly-Scrase 2000: cf: Ahuja 1999:371), the reverse is true for India[11]. The female fetus is already gender-biased from the moment of her conception, the sex ratio of babies born since 1901 has been declining steadily for girls, and the reason for this is because there is better technology in identifying the health of fetuses and consequently also the sex of the fetus. [...]
[...] The groom's family therefore has a huge resource of women while the bride's family has a limited amount of upper jati bachelor prospects causing problems such as dowry harassment, suicide and murder more apparent. The downgrading of female position in India through Hindu custom Since I have already explained the background of religion and regional variation of custom of Indian women in the North and South I will now explore the issues and problems which women in both Southern and Northern India are facing. [...]
[...] The Rig Veda were a collection of ritual hymns brought to India by Aryans that have settled in North India between 1500 and 1000 BCE (Brocklington 1992: 7). It was also known as Purusha Shukta or Hymns of the Primeval Man (Basham 1988:219). The Brahman caste dominated the later Vedic period from the 8th century B.C.E. onwards (Ramusack 1999:20). It was generally thought that the condition of women during the early Vedic period was fairly satisfactory compared to their situation in the later Vedic period up to today. [...]
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