Gender Inequalities in Health, Education and Economic Opportunities in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to analyze the various indicators of gender inequality in education, health and economic services in Jammu and Kashmir, one of the union territories of India. This study utilized Gender Inequality index and revealed that after taking education as a starting point, the literacy rate and education of the women of Jammu and Kashmir is far lower than their male counterparts and also lower than women at national level. The male-female gap in literacy rate has increased from 12.71 per cent in 1961 to 20.25 per cent in 2011.There is nearly 21% gap between males and females in case of literacy rate. One of the greatest concerns, as far as gender discrimination is concerned is that of male-female sex ratio. The sex ratio has declined from 892 in 2001 to 889 in 2011. The child sex ratio has also declined steeply from 941 in 2001 to 859 in 2011 losing 80 points. The Infant Mortality Rate has fallen from 51 in 2007 to 23 in 2017, however, it is higher for female child than in male child in India as well as in Jammu and Kashmir. The study also found that, only 18 percent of all women age 15-49 were employed in the 12 months preceding the survey; 75 percent of all men aged 15-49 were employed. Thirty-three percent of women and 81 percent of men age 15-49 own a house alone or jointly with someone else, and 27 percent of women and 73 percent of men own land alone or jointly with someone else.