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4.205 Life Expectancy at Birth of Women in Kerala at 76.9 years is the best in India. It is much SOCIAL SERVICE
higher than those for women of India as a whole, which is 67.7 years. As per the figures released by
Registrar General of India in Dec 2013, the Maternal Mortality Rate for India in the period 2010-12
was 178 per 1,00,000 live births. Corresponding figure for Kerala is much lower at 66 per 1, 00,000
live births.

4.206 At 92%, the female Literacy Rate in Kerala is the highest among Indian states. However, the
Male Literacy Rate in Kerala is still higher at 96%. Hence a small Gender gap exists. In the case
of education, enrolment is universal at the primary level and gender parity has been achieved. Girl
students constitute 49.4 % of total student enrolment in schools, showing more or less uniformity. It
is significant to note that in 2013, Girls outnumbered Boys in terms of enrolment in Higher Secondary
Education. Dropout rates are low for both boys and girls. At the tertiary level also, the enrolment
of Girls is higher than Boys. For example, Girls constitute 71 percent of total enrolment for degree
courses in various Arts & Science colleges under the four general universities in Kerala during 2012-
13. As per the provisional report “Statistics of Higher and Technical Education 2009-10” brought out
by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Girls occupy 55% of total enrolment in Kerala in
Tertiary level (which includes education beyond school level like Degree, PG Degree, PG Diploma,
Post School Diploma etc). Hence, Girls are well off in terms of education in Kerala. The high levels of
education of women do not; however, appear to translate into marketable skills.

4.207 Kerala is doing well and closing the gender gap in spheres of health and education. However
it has to do much more in areas like economic participation and political empowerment so that it can
reap the benefits of enhanced and equitable development. It is generally agreed that, the attainments
in Health and Education can be considered as the pre-conditions for the take off and the other two
can be considered as the measures of take off.

Women in Political Leadership: a must for Gender Development

4.208 Political representation is taken as an important dimension to measure Gender position in
many of the Indices currently being used. For example, Gender Inequality Index developed by UNDP
measures empowerment, by the proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females. The Global
Gender Gap Report brought out by World Economic Forum measures political empowerment in
terms of percent of women in parliament, percent of women holding ministerial positions, and number
of years with female as head of state.

4.209 Gender equality is envisaged in the Indian constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights,
Fundamental Duties and Directive principles. Even after 64 years of the enactment of the constitution,
India fails to attain a comfortable position in gender equality. Achievements in Health and Education
have empowered the women of Kerala and enabled them to take part in the practices of democracy. It
is an essential condition for Equal Democratic Citizenship but not a sufficient one. Equal Democratic
Citizenship will be complete only when the gender gets equal participation in direct decision making
too. It is in this regard that the representation of women in Legislative bodies becomes important.
Political participation must not be restricted to casting votes during elections to decision making
bodies. Rather women must occupy leadership positions in decision making bodies. Women of the
state can be empowered through their direct participation in policy making. A fitting example is the
system of Kerala Local Self Government, where 50% of the seats are reserved for women. However
the accomplishment of the state with respect to women representation in the Central and State
Legislative bodies is gloomy. The same is the case when we take women in India as a whole.
The developed nations with high HDI levels have a much higher representation of women in their
legislative bodies. A comparison with societies having similar HDI achievements is provided in the
tables below:-

Economic Review 2014