A Place for All Refugees under India’s Welfare Umbrella : Daily Current Affairs

Date: 22/11/2022

Relevance: GS-1: Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Key Phrases: Gender-based violence, 16 Days of Activism, Gender neutrality, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), and 1951 Refugee Convention.

Context:

  • Annual “16 Days of Activism” against gender-based violence begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs through International Human Rights Day on 10 December.
  • The global theme for 2022’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is “UNITE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”.

Background:

  • The world is marred with many challenges such as domestic violence, child marriage, trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse.
  • The recent events- coup in Myanmar, a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underscored the fact that women bear a disproportionate burden in conflict, especially those forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in other countries.
  • Economic stressors resulting from COVID-19 exacerbate the situation which has led to reversal of gender equality and the protection of civilians.
  • In such circumstances the event aims to ensure that gender and protection deficits are reversed.
  • It is important to unite to end violence against women and girls and empower them. Moreover, men should also be supported to become agents of change.

Violence against Women

  • The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
  • Violence against women is a social, economic, developmental, legal, educational, human right, and health (physical and mental) issue.
  • Violence against women occurs throughout the life cycle from prebirth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood to old age.
  • As per World Health Organization (WHO) findings about 1 in 3 (35%) women worldwide have experienced any form of gender based violence in their lifetime.

How India has fared in ensuring gender neutrality?

  • India has championed programmes based on the rights and the development of women and girls and has progressed in protecting her daughters since Independence 75 years ago.
  • Indian women received universal suffrage during India’s independence in 1947.
  • India played a crucial role in ensuring gender-sensitive norms while drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For instance, the language of ‘all men are created equal’ was changed to ‘all human beings are created equal ’.
  • India has also ratified key international conventions to end discrimination against women which include the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

‘Nari Shakti for New India’ is a reality

  • Women in India continue to make progress in all areas of human endeavours, including politics, science, business, medicine, sports and agriculture.
  • Since 2020 women are serving in the armed forces and as of today India has the largest number of women in the United Nations peacekeeping forces, thus showcasing the equal role that women can play in conflict-emerging countries and territories.
  • The central and state governments have launched new schemes, policies and programmes ranging from the welfare of the girl child to supporting aspiring female entrepreneurs, to empower both urban and rural women and promote gender equality.
  • Women’s protection has also been enhanced with far-reaching access to comprehensive services, regardless of legal status.
  • Marginalized populations, such as refugees, have access to all the protection and assistance services.
  • The ‘Nari Shakti for New India’ campaign represents the aspirations of millions of women in India- a clear display that women are leading from the front.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR)

  • The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a UN Refugee Agency.
  • It is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting the rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
  • It was created in 1950 to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes.
    • It is headquartered at Geneva, Switzerland.

1951 Refugee Convention

  • The 1951 Refugee Convention is a UN treaty that defines who a refugee is and establishes the rights of such persons and also of those who are granted asylum.
  • It is the main legal document that governs the working of the UNHCR.
  • It is also called the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951.
  • The Convention is both a status and rights-based instrument and is underpinned by a number of fundamental principles, most notably non-discrimination, non-penalization and non-refoulement.
    • Non-refoulement is a fundamental principle of international law that forbids a country receiving asylum seekers from returning them to a country in which they would be in likely danger of persecution based on “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”.
  • India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The case of refugee women in India

  • There are over 2,12,000 refugees in India including those supported by the Government of India, more than half of whom are women and girls.
  • India ensures that refugees can access protection services that are on a par with their fellow Indian hosts.
  • Refugees registered directly by the Government such as those from Sri Lanka, are entitled to Aadhaar cards and PAN cards to enable their economic and financial inclusion.
    • They can have access to national welfare schemes and contribute effectively to the Indian economy.
  • The refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) such as refugees from Afghanistan, Myanmar and other countries have access to protection and limited assistance services.
    • They do not possess government-issued documentation and thus are unable to open bank accounts, benefit from all government welfare schemes, and are thus inadvertently left behind.

Way forward

  • Including all refugees in existing national welfare and economic schemes would ensure their effective inclusion in social protection systems.
    • It is aligned to India’s commitment to all women, their protection and empowerment, regardless of their legal status, and will ensure that no one is left behind.
  • Empower and educate refugee women who face these barriers attributed to patriarchal and patrilineal traditions that are deeply entrenched in many societies

Conclusion

  • The commitment to prioritize gender equal programming by the Government of India is commendable and its resulting economic and social potential for women will build societal resilience to handle future shocks.
  • As the Prime Minister of India Recently observed, “The progress of humanity is incomplete without the empowerment of women” shows India’s commitment towards the refugee women and the government machinery should work in tandem to address issues of such refugees.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity, critically evaluate the statement in light of India’s policy decisions and welfare schemes towards refugees’ rehabilitation with a special focus on women refugees. (250 words)