What does the 5th National Family Health Survey tell about women?

Social Media is flooded with people cherishing the spirit of motherhood and celebrating Mother’s Day. In contrast to it, there has also been a parallel development where the government has released 5th National Family Health Survey 2019–21 which speaks volumes about the condition of women in the country.

Even as Domestic violence and sexual abuse mostly at the hands of partners remain a serious concern, women continue to suffer in silence. This worrisome reality is reinforced by the National Family Health Survey 5, as it highlights that of all the women surveyed who had experienced any type of physical or sexual violence from anyone only 14%, came out to seek help. As many as 77% women never sought any help or told anyone about the violence inflicted on them. The survey also found that 30% of women aged between 18 to 49 years had experienced physical violence since they were 15 and 6% had suffered sexual violence in their lifetime at least once. According to the survey, 3% of women aged between 18 to 49 years have experienced physical violence during pregnancy.

1/4rd of ever married women between the age group of 18 to 49 years who have experienced spousal physical or sexual violence reported having physical injuries, including 7% who have had eye injuries, sprains, dislocations or burns, and 6% who have had deep wounds, broken bones, broken teeth, or any other serious injury. NFHS 5 shows that sexual violence is often committed by individuals, with whom women have an intimate relationship. Among ever married women of age 18 to 49 years who have ever experienced sexual violence 83% reported that their current husband and 13% reported that a former husband. as perpetrator.

For never married women who have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, the most common perpetuators are mothers or stepmothers, 59% fathers or stepfathers 37% sisters and brothers 27% and teachers 9%.

India is a country of 60.47 crore women, which is equal to the entire population of Italy and yet the workforce participation of women has hovered at around 20% for several decades and stood at 22.8% in FY20. The NFHS reflects as to why women lag behind men as there are several structural barriers to women’s growth and there are more pull factors than push factors.

However, all it is not gloomy in the latest NFHS report, the report shows a sharp decline in the fertility rate of women in all communities particularly the Muslim community. The Muslim community of India has always had a high fertility rate ever since the beginning of this NFHS survey in 1990s. The all-India average is now 2. This indicates towards a very important latent aspect of the health survey and that is the autonomy of reproductive choices which women are increasingly exercising in both rural and urban India. It is considered that literacy and fertility rate have a close nexus and literate women often opt for lesser number of kids in a society where child rearing is largely a responsibility of a mother rather than a father. In addition to this the institutional support given to a man to rear a child is often way less than that of a woman. Very few companies give paternity relief or child care leave to men.

There is a general public outcry that a lot is being done to empower women however most leverages never really take off well beyond the ‘Sakari daftars’ to seep in the minuscules of the society where is a girl child is still seen as an unwanted burden of responsibility.