Ethics and Value

UNIT-I SEM-1 Ethics & Values Introduction General Introduction on Ethics and values:- Ethics refers to the guidelines for conduct that address questions about morality. Ethics is a system of moral principles. Values is defined as the principles and ideals which helps them in making the judgment of what is more important. Gender Equality as an essential precondition to social progress: Social progress is achieved when a society meets the your human needs of its citizens. Creates the conditions for all individuals to realise their full potential. But no society can develop without improving the condition of women. Evidences shows that societies with greater gender equality achieve higher levels of social and economic rights for all their members. To simply, Gender equality impacts human development. Therefore Mahatma Gandhi said "If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate an entire family   because it brings qualitative change in society, improves people's health, better educational outcomes for the next generation". Therefore to achieve social progress we should make sure that "No one is left behind". The Present Scenario:- Even now women throughout the world are still treated as unequal. But gender equality is vitally important for society. But still a major portion of the women population and girls face inequality in their homes, communities, work place and in the larger society. They fail to enjoy their human rights and are denied privileges and opportunities available to men. They do not lead a life of dignity. There are six stages through which every individual goes: the pre-natal stage, infancy, childhood, adolescence, reproductive age, and old age. In each of these stages, we find a few women enjoying some degree of equality with men. Desirable gender-related values: We will be talking about some desirable gender-related values like: * Gender Justice * Gender Equality * Dignity of women * Eradication of discrimination on the grounds of sex * Respecting and honouring the human rights of women * Recognizing and appreciating the contributions of women * Developing compassion, care, and respect for women * Social and Economic inclusion of women UNIT-II Women and Family A girl passes through her entire lifecycle within the framework of a family. She is conceived in the mother's womb, she arrives in the family as a baby girl, spends her childhood in the family, attains her adulthood after adolescence, reaches reproductive age and finally grows old. Pre-natal sex selection and Women:- Some Indian parents invariably have a son preference home mindset. Gradually, the mindset is changing with the spread of education, advocacies and affirmative action fostered by the state and non-state actors. Society believed that a son is expected to perform certain family rites which a daughter cannot, and a daughter always exits from the so-called fut (hell) and daughters are considered as Paraya Dhan (property belongs to others). This mindset led to preference for male child. The 2011 census of our country (India) shows that there are 940 females per 1000 males in our nation. In certain states Odisha, Sivakasi, Nayagarh (916) and Khurda (925) etc also have a low sex ratio. Similarly many girls are thrown on river banks, into wells or left between 10-15 years of age. This incident takes place after birth of girl, it is also a gender selective killing. Gendered Practices in the family:- Men and women together constitute a family. But today also, in many families, a woman's identity is derived from that of her father. A woman's identity is recognized as the so-called head of the family. Sons and daughters are relative's gifts to families. But often they are treated unequally. In many households, sons are regarded as more valuable than daughters. And their births are celebrated with more pomp and their needs are given priority over those of daughters. While a son is given better educational opportunities etc., a daughter's access to such facilities is severely restricted. These lay the foundation for gender-based discrimination. A daughter is taught to display some typical traits like submissiveness, shyness, and is required to be less demanding, more empathetic, and accommodating, while a boy is taught to be smart, aggressive, and demanding. No doubt today, the scenario is changing. Girls are enrolled in larger numbers in schools and colleges. In the urban-based affluent families, many girls fail to complete their school education etc. But in rural poverty-stricken families, many girls fail to complete their vocational education. Thus, family does not provide equal opportunities to boys and girls. This is a gender discriminatory practice. Gender practices of some families have unequal expectations from men and women. Men are not expected to do the household chores even when they have free time. But women are expected to do household chores. One deplorable practice in the family becomes more obvious when they become widows. They have to give up everything that beautifies life, bangles, bindis, mangalsutra, and eat only vegetarian food. Thus, instead of leading a life of their choice, they lead one full of compulsion. Gender-based division of labour in the family both men and women do household work, but they do not do the work as they like. They do the work they are allotted to do on the basis of their gender. This type of labour allotment of work is called gender division of labour. Gender division of labour is based neither on capacity nor rationality, but on age-old practices and belief system. When we claim that our society has advanced that women have occupied several public spaces like Board rooms, space missions, political leaders etc., they are visible in almost all important fields. A large number of women have joined the workforce, but it has not relieved them from domestic work. Millions of women struggle to perform their domestic chores while doing work outside home. Women's work at home is undervalued. shockingly, only paid or remunerated activities are defined as work. Women who do the bulk of the work in the family is never paid. So, her contribution to the maintenance and development of the family and its members go unrecognized. Women's work within families is variously known as domestic work, reproductive labour, care work, emotional labour. These work remain "invisible". As Per the UN Report 2020, On the average day women globally spend about three times more on unpaid domestic & care work than men. Women end up spending 11 times more time than men on such unpaid domestic & care work. When we think women says "she is a working woman", we think she is doing some paid job. The reality is that all women are working, and we Another perspective on marriage and women It is commonly perceived that my wife is doing nothing at home or my mother is a housewife; we know that no job needs a wife. Women are actually doing the work of managing the affairs of households; they are home-makers and managers. Marriage and Women:- Marriage plays a significant role in establishing families. In India, marriages are life-changing events for girls and women. Their lifestyles and expected to change. Girls upon marrying leave their own place, their own family and they get into a new family of marriage and expected to learn a lot of new social duties as per religious prescriptions. Hindu religious scriptures suggests that men cannot do any religious rites alone; they can take part in mahayagnas only when they are married and are accompanied by their wives. But many of them face problems after marriage. Why does this happen? Because the institution of marriage always treats a woman as subsidiary to man. Forty marriages creates problems for women. Very often she is treated as a consumable item. Heavy dowry is demanded. A woman is undervalued in marriage negotiations. Causes of the marriage problem: Marriage and Women's consent- hardly play any role in marriage negotiations and marriage. Here, consent is a form of agreeing to the tie. Consent in the between a man and a woman is a form of agreeing to the tie of marriage. Our epics suggest that Draupadi and Sita had their consent for their marriage through A system called "swayambara" or "svayamvar" is a freedom to choose a partner of their choice. Today the issue of consent is concerned in legal parlance. So far as the right to consent is concerned, families give less weightage to the consent of girls. However, today only the educated, employed urban-based girls are able to assert their right and are educated and get married in their childhood fail to exercise this right to consent. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. The opposite of marriage by consent is forced marriage or arranged marriage. A forced marriage is practiced to safeguard family honor, to retain ancestral land, property, to give daughters in marriage in return for dowry. The right to consent before marriage signifies the freedom of personhood to freely choose a marital union is established between a man and a woman when family members play a significant role in deciding the marriage. Women hardly hero-worship girls who choose to marry someone by her own will. Parents kill them, thinking that if a girl is marrying someone violating the norms of their caste, community, it brings dishonor to the family. She deserves to be killed. Child marriage: A girl before attaining the age of 18 gets married, pre-H before giving in marriage. Girls are most vulnerable to this practice. Gender inequality, Poverty, Social norms etc. In many places in India and world-wide, girls are marrying at a very tender age. Child marriage violates children's rights to education and health and exposes them to high risks of violence, exploitation, and abuse. In some countries, girls as young as 11 are forced by their families to marry due to poverty, to get their child married. Parents prefer to ensure protection of their daughter from sexual assaults but they fail to understand that child marriage itself exposes girls to sexual exploitation. 2nd Highest Number of Child Marriage: India is the 2nd highest number of child marriage. UNICEF report states that India is a home of 223 millions child brides. Over 41% girls marry before 18 & 27% before 15. The Practice of Dowry: Dowry is a practice associated with marriage of girls. It refers to the property or valuable security given or agreed to be given both to the groom or his family either directly or indirectly. Women can take money, property, or estate to her husband several times in marriage. The amount depends upon several factors like religion, skin tone, caste, the groom's education & the bride's family. With the increasing access of women to education, employment, participation in public life, young girls are today raising their voices against dowry. Groups related to women rights are raising their voices against the dowry. Dowry is a cruelty practiced by men. Dowry related exploitation and so on... The dowry system creates gender inequality, promotes corruption, places a heavy economic burden on the bride's family. Reports suggest that dowry-related violence kills over 20 women in a day in India. The practice of dowry is illegal under various laws. Maher and Dower are given anything in the form of money, goods, furniture or land to the wife, especially to support her in the event of the death of the husband and the family. Violence against women in families are murdering women and expelling members from the family. Families are nurturing places for children and adults and it is expected that members enjoy maximum safety and security within the four walls of their houses. But many a time children encounter violence within their families, which prevents the family from performing its functions for the members. Violence within the family environment has a negative impact on children. Violence against women clearly indicates that women are treated as powerless and less valuable. Some violence are given below: Dowry deaths Dowry reflects the greed of the groom's parents and the groom, who extort cash or gifts from the bride's family when they are not satisfied, the newly married woman becomes a victim of dowry torture, and may end up being murdered. Dowry deaths are deaths of married women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by their husbands and in-laws   over a dispute about dowry. The death rates are rising day by day Honour Killing It refers to the killing or murder of an individual, either by an outsider or a member of a family. Most often, it involves the murder of a woman or girl by male family members who act on the belief that the victim has brought dishonor or shame upon the family. There are various motives behind honor killing such as love marriage, inter-caste marriage, homosexuality, divorce etc. Femicide is the killing of a woman or girl just because of her gender. In particular cases of femicide are committed by partners or ex-partners. It involves ongoing abuse at home, threats, sexual violence or situations where women have less power or fewer resources than their partners to protect themselves. The reverse hardly takes place. Domestic Violence One of the most heinous crimes against women is the violence that they experience at home. In most cases, it is committed by their intimate partners. Domestic Violence is manifested in many forms such as sexual, physical or psychological. Domestic violence goes mostly unreported or underreported. Child Marriages/Forced Marriages Child Marriages have been described previously in this unit as a form of forced marriage. It is considered to be a means of forcing a girl to get married without her consent. The practice of forced marriages are illegal under Article 15 of the Indian Contract Act 1872.