Gender concerns in The Union budget 2016-17

By Prof. Vibhuti Patel 

Head, Economics Department, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai

The Railway Budget and the Union Budget for financial year 2016-17 were presented on 25-2-2016 and 29-2-2016 respectively. The Union Budget 2016-17 has allocated Rs. 90625 crores for gender concerns in different ministries. But it does not show any increase in the “Gender budget” i.e. financial allocation that directly benefits women and girls with budget allocation of 4.58% of the total.  The revised estimate in the Union Budget for 2015-16 is 4.55 per cent of the total allocations and the financial allocations to the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) were slashed from Rs. 21194 crores to  Rs. 10382 crores.  Due to pressure from the MWCD, the revise budget was increased to Rs. 17352 crores. The current budget has made financial allocation of Rs. 17408 crores to MWCD.  

Cooking Gas

The Union Budget allocates Rs. 2000 crores to provide the BPL families with a cooking gas connection at a subsidized rate so that poor women will not have to use Chulha for cooking resulting into inhalation of carbon monoxide, major cause of their respiratory tract infections. Gender economists have demanded that the LPG connection must be in the name of women members of poor households.  The timeline given by the FM state that during 2016-17, crore 50 lakh BPL (Below Poverty Line) households. The budget also promises to continue the Scheme for at least two more years to cover a total of 5 crore BPL households. This scheme may be boon to ‘neo-middle class’ but majority of the toiling poor women  cannot afford to buy ‘subsidized’ cooking gas @ Rs. 6000/- per cylinder.

Predicament of women Farmers

Women farmers and cultivators are the backbone of agricultural production in India. Majority of agricultural labourers are women.  In agricultural sector also the allocation at Rs 20400 crores is lower as compared to the 2014-15 in which the allocation was Rs 22309 crores. The current budget makes a non-plan allocation of Rs.15000 crores to the Ministry of Agriculture to transfer funds to compensate commercial banks for providing subsidised credit to agriculture.   

The budget permits 100 per cent FDI in rural markets. This will women small and marginal farmers hard. Entry of corporate sector into agrarian marketing has already made condition of farmers precarious as a result of their monopsonistic control where large number of poor sellers face handful of buyers. Desperate farmers will have to distress selling of their products to the multinational corporations.

Several states in our country are facing severe drought resulting into agrarian unemployment.  In this context, increase of MGNAREGA allocation by 7.7% is highly inadequate.

Stand Up India Scheme

The Union Budget has provided an outlay of Rs. 500 crores to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women. Each nationlised bank will have to facilitate at least two projects per bank branch, one for SC/ST and one for women entrepreneur. This schemes claims to benefit at least 2.5 lakh SC/ST/ women entrepreneurs. Quarterly social audit is a must for this scheme or else like ‘Nirbhaya fund’, this allocation will also remain unspent.

Railway Budget

In the Railway Budget has promised a 33% sub-quota for women under all reserved categories, was provided. Looking at increasing attacks on women commuters, the railways need to allocate more funds for security and safety of women on the railway platforms and in the trains.

National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW)

The Gender Budget Statement has increased MNEW’s allocation to 50 crores which is double as compared to previous year. The budget has not taken serous consideration with respect to violence against women that has escalated many fold. While schemes to combat trafficking and empowering adolescent girls have received increased funds, the schemes meant for implementation of PCPNDT act, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act have not received much allocation. Corpus of Rs. 3000 crores under Nirbhaya Fund has largely remained unutilized. On March 8, 2016, the Union Budget 2015-16 had allocated Rs. 653 for Scheme for Safety of Women in Public Road Transport with an objective to ensure safety of women and girl child in public transport by monitoring location of public road transport vehicles to provide immediate assistance in minimum response time to the victims in distress. The proposed scheme under the “Nirbhaya Fund” envisages setting up of a National Emergency Response System with a control room under the overall control of Ministry of Home Affairs, which will receive alerts from distressed women and take action on it. Under the scheme for giving grants to states for setting up driving schools, preference is given to proposals for driving school for women.  Similarly, ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’ scheme was announced with the goal of improving efficiency in delivery services for women.  Proposal submitted by different ministries, local self government bodies and state governments under these schemes are gathering dust and funds have remained largely unutilized. 

Social Sector

Subsidised education and health are most beneficial to women and girls. The Union Budget, 2016-17 provides Rs. 40000 crores for school education which is slightly higher than last year’s allocation of Rs. 39039 crores and higher education has received Rs 16500 crores this year as compared to from Rs. 15855 crores. Both are grossly inadequate. This will result into intensification of privatisation and commercialization of school and higher education. 

The same is happening with respect to health sector- withdrawal of the state from public health to promotion of private health sector. Except for 3000 stores for distribution of subsidized medicine, the budget subsidizes private insurance companies and pharmaceutical industries in the name of public –private partnership.

Flagship programme such as Integrated Child Development centre (ICDS), like last year, has faced cuts in allocations. In 2015-16 the budgetary allocation was merely Rs 8000 crores but the actual disbursement of funds was Rs. 15394 crores.  Nutrition of pregnant mothers and children in 0-6 age group will suffer as the Union Budget 2016-17 allocates only Rs.14000 crores. Even the Mid Day Meal Programme will also face financial crunch as the allocation is merely Rs. 9700 crores, while inflationary prices of food items have increased drastically. In spite of increase in workload, the foot soldiers of ICDS and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) don’t even get minimum wages; leave aside pension, social security benefits and health insurance.

Public distribution system

Instead of direct distribution of food grains and essential items, the budget paves way for cash transfer in PDS through provision of automation facilities for 3 lakh Fair Price Shops, ATMs and mini-ATMs in rural linked to Adhar. The budget does not promise of price control for essential commodities to ease poor women’s woes.     

Trend analysis of allocation to social sector in the pre (before 1991) and post (after 1991) structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) phase has revealed that poor women have suffered the most due to drastic budgetary cuts in Public Distribution System and public health, safe public transport & child care facilities, food security, drinking water and sanitation. There is no gender mainstreaming with respect to safety of women in the budgets of Local Self Government Bodies.

Digital India Scheme

The Union Budget promises a lot thro’ digital India scheme but there is no financial allocation for specific programmes and schemes for digital empowerment of girls and women.

Smart Cities

The Union Budget, 2016-17 has given priority to formation of 100 smart cities in terms of high allocation for physical infrastructure, IT based and cyber technology based governance. Smart cities have to be Safe cities. Town planners, policy makers and budget experts need to do gender budgeting to ensure women-friendly civic infrastructure- water, sanitation, health care, safe transport, public toilets, help lines, skill development for crisis management and, safety at work place. While making budgets for social defense services, consideration must be given to safety of girls and women in schools and colleges in terms of prevention of child sexual abuse through public education and counseling facilities, separate toilets for girls and boys in schools, legal literacy on POCSO Act, 2012 and Prevention of Sexual Harassment Workplace Act, 2013. Provision must be made to have special cells in the police department to take action against display of pornographic images, SMS messages, cybercrimes that victimize young girls at public places or in public transport- buses, local trains, rickshaws and taxis.

There is need to integrate safety of women as a major concern in flagship centrally sponsored schemes such as Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), PMSSY, NUHM are supposed to have 30% of funds as Women’s Component.

Revenue Generation

Several state governments have sent GR regarding allocation of 5% of total revenues for women and children. This should be increased to 10%. Kerala has done this. Moreover, urban local self-government (LSGs) bodies can raise revenues by heavy taxes on Tobacco, alcohol, private vehicles and entertainment industry. Some amount of fine collected for causing damage to environment (introduction of Green Tax), high speed driving, wrong parking and breaking rules can also be used for welfare of women and children. Surcharge, earmarked charge for specific purpose such as Education Cess-2 % of salary, income tax for disaster management has raised revenues for urban LSG. In Maharashtra, transport cess at the time of Bangladesh war in 1971, later on was diverted to EGS kitty.

The Centrally Sponsored Schemes are meant to have national focus on poverty alleviation or welfare. Fund sharing pattern between centre and state has changed from 75:25 from 60:40 and many poor states are not able to contribute their share, as a result most of the anti-poverty progrmmes and flagship schemes are not fully implemented or are totally non-implemented. By putting the onus on state governments to provide for social sector, the Centre is washing off its hands with respect to needs of SC, ST, women and minorities.

Gender sensitive budget demands re-prioratisation of financial allocations by urban and rural

Local self government bodies in favour of

•Working women’s hostels, crèches, cheap eating facilities, public toilets

•Women friendly and SAFE public transport- local trains, Metro, buses

•Housing- Subsidized housing for single/ deserted/ divorced/ widowed women

•Nutrition- Strengthening PDS and nutritional mid-day meals

•Health- Abolition of user fees for BPL population, one stop crisis centre in public hospital for women/girls survivors of violence linked with shelter homes

•Skill training centres for women and tailor made courses

•Safe, efficient and cheap public Transport-bus, train, metro

•Water- Safe drinking water in the community centres

•Waste Management- Technological upgradation- Occupational health & safety of recycling workers/rag pickers

•Proper electrification in the communities

•Multipurpose Community centres, half way homes for elderly and mentally disturbed women.

 The Unaddressed Need- The sexual and reproductive health needs of Young People


The other day at the chemist's shop I found myself standing next to a girl not more than 14-15 years of age, nervously fidgeting with the money in her hand. She had asked for a pregnancy testing kit. The chemist handed over the kit to her with a scornful look further making the girl nervous. She sped away from the shop hanging her head in shame.

I wonder how many girls like her are dealing with the scrutiny and scornful looks, right from parents to teachers, doctors to even the chemists! How traumatic that experience could be? Why do so many girls approach the chemists looking for a means to find the reason for their missed periods? Why they are not able to practice safe sex?

It is a sad truth that teenage pregnancies are estimated to be around 6% -1 6% of total pregnancies in India by various studies. Practically it means on an average there is one teenage pregnancy for every 10 adult pregnancies!

There is a crying need, therefore, to address the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents. Unfortunately, this group is almost invisible in the health care system. While we have child health programmes and reproductive health programmes, adolescent clinics, counseling centers, sex education programmes are conspicuous by their absence in most parts of the country.

Studies have shown, again and again, that more and more teenagers are sexually active and IIPS study titled 'Pre-marital sexual relations among youth in India: Findings from the Youth in India, Situations and Needs Study' said that 15% young men and 4% young women indulge in pre-marital sex in India. It is also true that 47.4% girls are married before the age of 18 and according to a UN report, every year four million teenage girls in India have babies! Both the groups suffer from lack of access to quality SRH services.

The issue gets more complex when we speak of girls who end up with an unwanted pregnancy due to pre-marital sex. The social stigma attached to it leaves no option for them but to seek backstreet abortion services. I remember asking a health worker if she demonstrates condom use to girls and she said “No! Only to married women. Why do girls need to know about it?” Boys are equally ignorant about safe sex practices leading to most tragic consequences of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

There is a resistance to sex education to adolescents on the mistaken belief that it leads to promiscuity. However, there is a large amount of evidence that says sex education and life skill development make young adults more responsible towards their partners as well as to themselves. Use of safe sex practices and contraception, understanding of the consequences of unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions, awareness and access to quality abortion services, counseling facilities to get information and guidance in managing relationships should form an integral part of any policy that addresses adolescents. Unfortunately, in India unmarried adolescent girls continue to be left out of the legal abortion services.

The newspapers in Mumbai were recently abuzz with statistics stating 67% increase in abortions among young girls in 2014-15. The article brought to notice the fact that more & more teenage girls were accessing abortion services and that too majorly from private clinics. The increase could be attributed to some extent to better reporting from abortion clinics which are required to report any teenage pregnancy to the police under the POCSO Act. The POCSO Act views consensual sex between to underage individuals as a crime. This further creates a new dilemma for doctors as well to conduct abortions in cases of teenage pregnancies.

As long as we do not recognize the fact that teenagers are sexually active and should be empowered to make informed decisions regarding their sexual behavior, it would not be possible to address the unaddressed needs of the vulnerable teenagers. Time we start a dialogue on this today – the International Youth Day. Write to us with your comments and views on this article.

- Anupriya Sathe,  Population First.

Do We Really Care For Women’s Health?

Even after nearly three decades of the declaration of International Day for Women’s Health at Costa Rica, the status of women’s health across the globe does not paint a rosy picture. In fact, the global concern on safeguarding women’s health rights has been on the rise with the movement gaining momentum. On May 28th every year, women’s health issues are expected to take center stage and the day is expected to serve as an occasion to celebrate the gains in women’s health status. There are nearly 25 days of activism throughout the year observed worldwide, which call out for action on women’s reproductive and sexual rights. More and more organizations are partnering with each other to put an end to the neglect faced by women with respect to their sexual and reproductive rights. It is ironic and sad, that there should be a need to mark a special day for the health rights of half the population of the world. 

The cocktail of patriarchy and poor access to health care resulted in women’s health status still being poor. In the Indian context, the health of Indian women is intrinsically linked to their status in society.  

Taking a look at some crucial indicators of maternal health, one observes that nearly half of the ever married women in India are married off by age of 18 years and give birth by the age of 19 years. While 60% women in the country are deprived of institutional facilities for child birth, only 50% have had access to antenatal care services. Further, the country which boasts of rapid development and economic prosperity has more than half of its women anemic, which is the most telling indicator of the women’s nutritional status .  Strong patriarchal values, low levels of both education and formal labor force participation lead to little autonomy and decision making power and have a negative impact on the health status of Indian women. In India only 36% women have any decision making authority in the household decision making. 

The patriarchal set up has further implications on the decisions pertaining to fertility and desired family size by women. Son preference has not only forced women to undergo multiple pregnancies but also opt for sex selective abortions in case the fetus is a female. Data shows that only 40% women having two daughters have desired a third child, which means lot many women are forced into bearing a third child against their will, hoping  for a male child. Mis-use of advances in modern technology coupled with son preference are responsible for the declining child sex ratio. A large section of women (>60%) do not have a choice with regard to deciding the family size or contraceptive choices. 

Violence against women seems to have reached an epidemic proportion in our country where 40% of women have reported to have experienced spousal violence. These statistics are merely the tip of the iceberg with lots of cases of VAW going unreported.  Women who have been physically or sexually abused by their partners report higher rates of a number of important health problems. For example, they are 16% more likely to have low-birth-weight babies, they are more than twice as likely to have an abortion and experience depression. 

It is a fact that millions of Indian women still have to risk sneaking out in the dark for the most basic need of defecation. Absence or non- availability of clean, safe and functional toilets that women and girls can use is the cause behind many avoidable health problems as well as security issues of women.

28^th May - the day to Call For Action on Women’s Health should be used to review our priorities, our policies and programmes and ask ourselves the question: Do we really value our women?

Making Mumbai Safer

Every day, national dailies across the country have glaring statistics on how crimes against women, children are on the rise. *Delhi is reported the most unsafe city for women in country, followed by Mumbai, Jaipur and Pune. Nearly one out of three rape victims in India is under the age of 18. One in 10 is under the age of 14. Most victims are aged between 18 and 30. According to statistics, a woman is raped every 20 minutes in India.

Why can’t India’s **1,585,353 strong police force not protect its women against gender related crimes? Why can’t the culprits be rounded up and brought to justice? How many more women will be violated before the police will spring into action? Are some of the questions we ask not just ourselves, but everyone around us too. 

The brutal Delhi rape of 23-year old physiotherapy intern Nirbhaya by six men on a moving bus is an incident that will remain in our memory for a long time. We often wonder what happened post the incident, what are the officials doing, has there been any change, is it even possible to make or expect any change?

Building on this concern and the outrage she felt, Vibha Bakshi, a filmmaker, decided to peep into Delhi, the city where the Nirbhaya incident occurred and translate it into a hard hitting documentary, ‘Daughters of Mother India.’  

The 45 minute - documentary begins with Vibha, the narrator, travelling on the streets of Delhi, while she narrates the incident of Nirbhaya rape. The film shifts focus to a 7-year survivor of an equally brutal rape –Gudiya. The heart wrenching story leaves the viewers asking questions and many more questions as to how come something like this can happen in a civilized society. The documentary then goes inside  the Indian society, the Government and looks at the swift and radical changes being made in the Police, the Judiciary and community groups, who are provoking for the first time, a national dialogue on the current sexist attitudes of Indian society and how to change them.

In Mumbai, the screening followed by a panel discussion -consisting of Rakesh Maria, Police Commissioner, Himanshu Roy, ATS Chief, Poorna Jagannathan, actor, Vibha Baksi, Director, and moderator Vir Sanghavi,- had an interactive voicing of thoughts and reactions about the movie and the steps taken to ensure higher safety for women.  

Maria said that currently for the police, women’s security and sexual offenses are priority number one. A few years ago, the priority was combating underworld and organized crime. For the last couple of decades it was terrorism. But now the focus is clearly on women’s safety.

Statics show that, ninety percent of crimes against women take place within the circle of trust. Statistics for the year 2012 revealed that in reported cases, the assailants were neighbours, lovers (178), husbands (9), fathers (10), cousins (5) and friends or relatives (12). Most sexual assault cases also occur in private spaces.

Maria listed four steps the police have taken to make Mumbai safe for women. They include:

Setting up a 24 hour helpline:  ‘103’ is a helpline number for reporting crimes against children, women and senior citizens in Mumbai. Once contacted, the police will be there immediately to take action. The survivor doesn’t need to go to the police station. A jeep with a lady police office will go the survivors place and record her statement in her familiar surroundings.

Women Beat Marshall System: A first-of-its-kind initiative in the country wherein armed female police personnel will patrol the city streets on bikes, specifically to tackle crime against women. The 205 female personnel have been handpicked and imparted rigorous training, including riding bikes, using firearms, unarmed combat, wire-less communication and so on. They will also keep an eye on areas consisting of girls schools, colleges, beach fronts, and at the places where women footfall is heavy. These special squads will patrol 672 areas which are vulnerable from the women safety point of view.

Helpdesk at Police Stations: There will be lady constables manning the desks. Children, women, senior citizen will not have to wait to lodge a complaint. They will be taken to the senior most officer present in the station and help will be provided as soon as possible. 

Additional security at vulnerable spots: The police have identified 272 pockets in the city where women are vulnerable to sexual attacks. Police are posted there and a mobile jeep keeps doing rounds of the vicinity, to keep the area crime free.

Maria’s presentation was impressive and unassuming. But a lot depends on how effectively the measures are implemented. As it is reiterated a number of times, immediate response and punishment is a good deterrent. This requires that each one us needs a more alert, proactive in reporting crimes , be more sensitive towards the survivors and ensure that the system functions efficiently.

We also need more storytellers like Vibha, to show us a balanced correct picture of both the sides a story.

Click here to see the trailer Daughters of Mother India Daughters of Mother India

References

*Statistics quoted from Times of India, dated 29 Dec, 2014

** Wikipedia

Choice or Coercion?

Once again 14 women have lost their lives after undergoing tubectomy at a sterilization camp in Chhattisgarh.  Deaths due to sterilization are not new phenomena in India, neither are incidents like the one which has taken place in the Chhattisgarh sterilization camp.  In 2013-14, more than four million sterilization operations were performed, according to a report by the government. More shocking is the fact that between  2009 and 2012, the government paid compensation for 568 deaths resulting from sterilization, the health ministry said in an answer to a parliamentary question.

The fundamental question is why do we need to organize sterilization camps where women are herded in and mass procedures conducted often under not so ideal conditions? Why have we failed to provide services to women that are easily accessible and affordable? Even today a woman cannot walk into a primary health centre and ask for a tubectomy. She is often not even provided with a regular supply of pills or condoms. The basket of choices is so limited - condoms, pills, intra- uterine devices and tubectomy. The NFHS 3 data shows that the contraceptive prevalence rate for the various methods is as follows. Total percentage of users of modern contraceptives 48% out of which 76.9% use female sterilization, 2.06% use male sterilization, 3.5% use intra uterine devices, 6.3% use pills and 10.7% use condoms. The data thus indicates an overwhelming preference for female sterilization.

Service providers as well as women find tubectomy to be a more convenient option due to issues involving hurdles in obtaining, using and monitoring of the side effects of the spacing methods. The preferred choice is to have children in quick succession and go for a permanent method. However, early  and closely spaced pregnancies have bad health consequences  for women  and also for population stabilization as generations get replaced at shorter intervals.

The fact that 20% of births in India are unwanted shows how desperate the need is to increase access to contraceptive services to men and women. A study conducted by Population First showed that even when men are willing to go for sterilization, the service is not made available to them in the PHC. A laparoscopy specialist is called only if there is sufficient case load! Thus, it is the case loads which determine the availability of service and not the requirement of the individual even if he is the lone seeker of service.  And men are not willing to be herded to camps when it is so much easier for service providers and the families to coerce cajole and lure the woman to the camp with incentives.

There are also a number of patriarchal values which discourage a man from going in for a vasectomy. It is often said that men should have the option of siring a child in case of the death of his wife and in the event of a second marriage or if he wishes to get into a relationship with another women.  Women oppose the procedure because they fear that if the Non Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) procedure fails and they get pregnant they would lose everything. NSV requires abstinence or intercourse with the use of condom for a period of three months  and a test to check the sperm count after three months to ensure that the sterilization has been successful. Yet, this follow-up is not carried out rigorously leading at times to the women getting pregnant. In such an eventuality, her fidelity is doubted and she often faces social stigma and domestic violence.

There can be no better indicator of the failure of health care system than the health camps and sterilization camps which are seen as a quick fix for our inability to provide quality contraceptive and other health services on a regular basis at an affordable price to women and men.

Add to this, the pressure of looming targets. Though in principle we have adapted a target free approach in 1995 targets continue to haunt the service providers and governments and camps are organized to achieve the targets. It is imminent that India’s promise at the July 2012 FP2020 Global Summit to increase access to 200 million couples and adolescents will reinforce the pressures of targets further more in the coming years.

Census data shows that India's population growth rate has been steadily declining over the last few decades and stands at 1.6%.  The total Fertility Rate or the average family size has come down from 2.7 to 2.5 between 2001 and 2011. More importantly, 12 out of 29 States and 5 out of 7 Union territories have achieved replacement level fertility i.e two children per family. Then, where is the population spurt taking place? In remote rural and tribal areas, in economically backward districts and states and finally where gender indices have remained stagnant.

Research had again and again shown the importance of girls' education for stopping child marriages and teen pregnancies as well as for promoting maternal and child health. More importantly, research shows that education helps women exercise their contraceptive and sexual and reproductive health choices.

Contraceptive behavior thus is not just determined by the knowledge of the contraceptive methods, but is influenced by easy access to affordable services, ability of women to take decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health and efficient follow-up care.

The inherent bias in the Family Planning programs which lays the whole burden on the women, who lack the decision making power makes them easy targets for target driven sterilization programs. There is a need to promote more male participation.

  Population programs are seen as the sole responsibility of the government, particularly the health department. There is a greater need to pursue sustainable health interventions, which look at woman's health in totality - her nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, and contraceptive needs. Yet, a woman comes under the radar of the health system only when she gets pregnant or when there is a pressure to meet sterilization targets. While overall social and economic development has tremendous impact on contraceptive behaviours, there is a lot that can be done to reach out to vulnerable women.

A 2012 report by Human Rights Watch urged the government to set up an independent grievance redress system to allow people to report coercion and poor quality services at sterilization centers. But, despite the recommendations to the government, the issue persists with woman having hardly any choice or recourse to justice.

It is time we ask the government to undertake an impartial inquiry into the tragedy and ensure that those responsible for it are punished as per the law.

Please sign the petition demanding an impartial inquiry into the incidence and strongest action against all those responsible for it. CLICK HERE

It all started with a kiss.....

The ‘Kiss of Love Campaign’ sabotaged by the police, has in a way worked in favour of the protesters. The whole campaign began on social media after a coffee shop in north Kerala’s Kozhikode, city was vandalised last week by a group of people who criticized the public display of affection (PDA) by some couples there. The campaign fizzled out even before students could use a public place to mark their protest against moral policing in Kochi, Kerala. The Kerala high court refused to intervene and police had denied permission for the event, and had said they would only intervene if it created a law and order problem.
However, the police rounded up the 50-odd activists who were planning to march towards Marine Drive, the venue of the event, to protest against moral policing.

Expressing her views, Seema Sood, Director, Events and PR, Leo Burnett, added, “This was an amazing campaign. Moral policing should not be done for people expressing their love. We are a democratic nation, where freedom of action, speech should be allowed and accepted. PDA should be allowed in society. We are a land of the Kamasutra, and no one should be stopped from expressing love and warmth.”

India is growing at a rapid pace. Exposure to the outside world is changing mindsets. Along with that, behavioral changes are also taking place. Today’s GEN X is more open, more aware and a lot more vocal about their likes and dislikes. The have access to social media to protest.

“The youth of today is very different. Their exposure is different. The way they express affection is different. We cannot put a ban on PDA. The youth is exposed to different forms of media. In today’s changing world scenario, we cannot have gender roles and expect a particular behaviour from one gender group. We cannot tell girls not to go to pubs, not to go out late in the night. As gender roles are blending, the more conservative groups see this as a threat. The campaign is a defiance from the youth, as a way of saying that we also have a voice and want to be heard,” adds Dr. A . L. Sharada, Director, Population First.

However, there is always a flip side to every story. When there are winds of change blowing, there will always be different schools of thoughts that will be against the change. The open display of affection, the protests against moral policing is being viewed as a threat by groups people and government officials averse to change.


On one hand, we want to call ourselves modern and open minded, but don’t want to give up on our so called India culture. Says Tina Mehta, Brand Consultant, Lightbox, “Culture is living, breathing thing. People blame things on our Indian culture, saying this is not identified with our Indian culture and values. However, culture is very dynamic. The fact that a group of youth is expressing themselves is a big indication of change.”


She further adds, ” However, we need to realize that mindsets and perceptions will not change overnight. India as a country is opening up, but it will take a while for overall acceptance. With reference to the campaign , I’d say, well, good, well done.The right community of people have been touched by reaching out to , that is the youth, via a Facebook campaign. The main thing is not how long it will take to change things, but the fact that the campaign created awareness is a big step.”


Protesting against moral policing is not new or unheard thing in India. Earlier campaigns like Pink Chaddi, protested against moral policing and the Slut Walk, called for an end to rape culture.


Trying to bury an issue under the guise of law, will not end the problem. The issues that mater to the youth have to be given a platform to be expressed. Says Sharada, “The government officials should have handled the protesters with more maturity.Things do not bode well for a country that tries to quieten the voice of the youth". Adds Mehta, “ The good thing about the campaign was that media was able to pick it up. Had it not received media attention, it would have been one of the many incidents that happened in some part of India. The objective of the campaign, which was to protest against moral policing, was achieved.”
Parallel to the police’s reaction to the campaign, Sood adds, “On the same note, archaic laws which are anti-women should be banned. The police should invest all their energies in catching criminals in India and not people who spread love and happiness. “

So are things looking bleak for the youth of today, who are being exposed to the world via social, electronic and web media. Well ,as of now it looks like the more liberal they want to get, the bigger is the backlash from people who want to cling on to more conservative mindsets.

Twitter tweets
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23KissOfLove&src=tyah