The latest data from National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS- 5), National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Health Management Information System (HMIS) etc. indicate improvement in the status of women and girls in the country during recent years on various parameters. Government of India continues to attach highest priority to making women more empowered through legislative and schematic interventions, policies and programmes including schemes for assisting women facing violence and distress. Some of these are One Stop Centre (OSC), Women Helpline (WHL) and many social protection schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Anganwadi Services (erstwhile Core ICDS), Scheme for Adolescent Girls, National Health Mission (Rural and Urban), Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), PM Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural and Urban), Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), a cluster of programmes that include pensions to the elderly, disabled, and widows, etc.
Benefits of PM Ujjwala Yojana, inter-alia, include improvement in health condition, reduction in indoor air pollution, less pressure on forests and other natural resources, reduction in drudgery and time saving for women resulting in empowerment of women. The LPG coverage in the country has improved from 62 % before PMUY to near saturation now.
The impact of such social protection schemes on women in the country is multi-dimensional which includes economic empowerment, and improvement in education, self respect, morale, confidence and inner strength. Further, all these measures have resulted in reduction of crime against women. As per National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), there is an improvement in status of women on several parameters in comparison to those from NFHS-4:
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Parameters
|
NFHS-4
|
NFHS-5
|
|
Currently married women who usually participate in their household decisions (%)
|
84
|
88.7
|
|
Women owing a house and/ or land (alone or jointly with others) (%)
|
38.4
|
43.3
|
|
Women having a bank or savings account that they themselves use (%)
|
45.9
|
54.0
|
|
Ever-married women age 18-49 years who have ever experienced spousal violence
|
31.2
|
29.3
|
|
Ever-married women age 18-49 years who have experienced physical violence during any pregnancy (%)
|
3.9
|
3.1
|
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Young women age 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18 (%)
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1.5
|
1.5
|
Further, the data published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on crime against women also shows a declining trend in the crime against women which was 3,71,503 in the year 2020, as against 4,05,326 in the year 2019.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
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