A place for all refugees under India’s welfare umbrella

21 Nov 2022 A place for all refugees under India’s welfare umbrella

Significance for Prelims: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence; Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW; ‘Nari Shakti for New India’ campaign

Significance for Mains: India’s contribution in ensuring gender-sensitive norms. 

News: Myanmar coup, Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, and Ukrainian invasion of Russia forced people to flee their homes and seek refuge in other countries. Women bear a disproportionate burden of these conflicts.

India’s response to ensuring gender-sensitive norms:

• India is among the largest economy in the world and since independence, it regularly championed rights and the development of women and girls.
• After India’s independence in 1947 Indian women received universal adult suffrage.
• India was instrumental in ensuring that gender-sensitive norms were included in the draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The language of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights changed from ‘all men are created equal to ‘all human beings are…. ’ in India’s instance. 
• India has also ratified key international conventions like the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to end discrimination against women.
• Indian women are making progress in all spheres of human endeavours, including politics, science, business, medicine, sports and agriculture. 
• Women have overcome “the glass ceiling” in the armed forces and since 2020 they are also serving as commanders in defence forces.
• Indian women are playing an equal role in conflict-emerging countries and territories: India has the largest number of women in the United Nations peacekeeping forces.  
• Central and State governments are promoting gender equality through schemes, policies and programmes.
• Regardless of the legal status of women government is providing them access to welfare services ranging from the welfare of the girl child to supporting aspiring female entrepreneurs, to empower both urban and rural women and promote gender equality. 
• Now, women are leading from the front: The ‘Nari Shakti for New India’ campaign was launched so that women should not only participate but lead development initiatives. 

Indian initiatives for women refugees:

• India ensures that 2,12,000 refugees in which more than half of whom are women and girls can access protection services on par with their fellow Indian hosts.
• Refugees from some countries like Srilanka are contributing effectively to the Indian economy as they are entitled to Aadhaar cards and PAN cards so they have access to national welfare schemes. 
• Refugees from Afghanistan, Myanmar and other countries do not possess government-issued documentation. So they have access to protection and limited assistance services. 

Conclusion and Way Forward: For effective inclusion in the social protection system the government should include all refugees in existing national welfare and economic schemes. The government of India is prioritising gender-equal programs to unleash the economic and social potential of women. So, that they have societal resilience to handle future shocks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said: “The progress of humanity is incomplete without the empowerment of women”.

Source: The Hindu; UN -WOMEN

Article: A place for all refugees under India’s welfare umbrella; UN Women 

Article Link: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-place-for-all-refugees-under-indias-welfare-umbrella/article66161378.ece 

https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/take-action/16-days-of-activism

Yojna IAS Daily Current Affairs eng med 21st November 

sharad