INDIA: PUSHING FOR CHANGE

The Five Year Plans (2007-2012) reflect the evolution of India as a nation; they capture the emergence from the under-development stigma to a country that has donned the mantle of a progressive developing economic power. Development that is not just sustainable but also humanistic. Development which reaches out to young girls working in dingy looms for paltry wages, to women rendered homeless due to unavailability of credit and land, to Dalit families abused and burnt by upper caste oppressors for demanding rights and young women killed and victimised in the name of honour, writes Syeda Hameed, member of India's Planning Commission and former member of the National Commission for Women. While India aims for double digit growth in the next Plan period, we are trying to ensure that economic growth encompasses women, especially poor and marginalised women. There is a growing concern that women's contribution to the economy is increasing but their share of the economic pie is only getting smaller and smaller. There is a compelling need to take steps to ensure a fair allocation of government budget resources to women otherwise we will only be providing lip service to women's empowerment. Removing gender inequity and influencing the budget making process go hand-in-hand.