What People Says About Gender Equality In India

HEEALS STOP GENDER INEQUALITY PROJECT IN INDIA

Gender Equality Project Is In Schools ,Villages And Underprivileged and Marginalized Communities In India . Creating Workshop About Importance Of Gender Equality and Sharing What people Think About Gender Equality In India . What People Says About Gender Equality In India And How we can STOP GENDER INEQUALITY ? International Volunteer / Internship /Student Program In Water Sanitation Menstrual Hygiene ,Health, Education, Environment And Gender Equality Project In India.

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Water Supply and Gender

 Water Supply and Gender

-By Ecenur

Water is an essential substance for leading lives of individuals regardless of the gender. Forboth women and men in order to sustain their lives ,they need a water.However,In developing countries,people either suffer from water shortage or lack of enough sanitation.Therefore,it affects the quality of lives.In particular,water sanitation affects specifically women due to the fact that women take responsibility for collecting water which is often very time-consuming and difficult.In addition to this , women have specific hygiene needs during menstruation, pregnancy and bringing the child up unlike men.(UN,2021). Thus,water supply influences women's lives more than men ,facing severe challenges in their daily lives.In this essay,it will elaborate on how water supply and sanitation impacts the lives of

women. Women and girls have challenges due to accessing basic water sanitation and hygiene resources, including a lack of secure and private sanitation and of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) resources.( Pouramin&Nagabhatla&Miletto,2020). In addition to this, Women and girls are the main users, and providers of water in their houses and are the guardians of household hygiene. If a water system falls into disrepair, women are the ones forced to takes long distances over many hours to meet their families’ water needs which forces them to take all the burden when there is water shortage or facing problems with sanitation.For instance, In Kenya in Kibera, women walk around 300 meters from their homes to use water supply making access dangerous for them and their children at night (WSP, 2010). Therefore,Water and Sanitation Program Report (2010) suggests that in order to tackle the water supply issue and sanitation ,there is an in need for severe objectives to eliminate this problem.One of the objectives suggested by WSP is having partnerships between local government, local women’s groups and the private sector in order to tackle with technical and financial barriers to women accessing water sanitation.In addition to this,WSP also advices to have sustainability for the operation and maintenance of public pay and use facilities, allowing women to play a role in management.For instance,In India, the Slum Sanitation Program, part of the larger World Bank Supported Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project which benefited around 400,000 people by providing access to sustainable water sanitation facilities within Mumbai.(WSP,2010).Therefore,the government and other NGOs should take part in order to eliminate or diminish the water supply and t sanitation issue. To sum up,water supply and sanitation impacts specifically women because of making women take responsibility for collecting water which is often very time-consuming and difficult.Women are primary users and suppliers of water in their houses and taking the responsibility of household hygiene. If a water system breaks down ,women are the ones forced to take long distances to meet their families water needs.Therefore,There should be multiple policies by local government and NGOs in order to make the water easily accessible thereby facilitating the lives of women in terms of water supply and sanitation.

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Bibliography

UN (2021) “Water and Gender”UN.Available at https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/gender/

Pouramin P.,Nagabhatla N.,Miletto M.(2020). “A Systematic Review of Water and Gender

Interlinkages: Assessing the Intersection With Health” Frontiers in Water .Available at

https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frwa.2020.00006

WSP.(2010). “Gender in Water and Sanitation”Water Sanitation Program.Available at

https://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp/files/publications/WSP-gender-water-sanitation.pdf

Wishing you all a very Happy Ambedkar Jayanti.

On April 14, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s birth is commemorated as Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti, observed every year on April 14. In recognition of Ambedkar Jayanti essential contribution to the Indian legal system and constitution, the day is marked every year. In the Canadian province of British Columbia, the day is also known as ‘Ambedkar Equality Day.’

On April 14, India commemorates the birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, the country’s first law minister. The day is known as Ambedkar Jayanti. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is widely regarded as the founder of the Indian Constitution. Under his presidency, the constituent assembly drafted the world’s longest written constitution, which is now known as the Indian Constitution.

He was a staunch opponent of the caste system, and he worked tirelessly to get it eliminated from society.

He was constantly in sympathy with the underprivileged, and he fought tirelessly to improve women’s lives, laborers, and untouchables, among others. Dr. Ambedkar was a scholar in various subjects, including political science, law, and economics, and an erudite social reformer and prominent orator. Dr. Ambedkar was also a social reformer, economist, and influential orator.

He envisioned an India in which all people are treated equally under the law. He became a leading advocate for India’s independence from British control, leading to the formation of the Indian National Congress.

This Ambedkar Jayanti, let’s pledge to stand against discrimination and fight inequality.

He was the man who fought against discrimination and oppression. He was the epitome of confidence and dedication. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar will always inspire us to dedicate our lives to making other people’s lives better.

“Political tyranny is nothing compared to the social tyranny and a reformer who defies society is a more courageous man than a politician who defies Government.”

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WORLD HEALTH DAY 2022

Are we able to reimagine a world where clean air, water and food are available to all?Where economies are focused on health and well-being?Where cities are liveable and people have control over their health and the health of the planet?

 

In the midst of a pandemic, a polluted planet, increasing diseases like cancer, asthma, heart disease, on World Health Day 2022, WHO will focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being. WHO estimates that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes. This includes the climate crisis which is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The climate crisis is also a health crisis. 

Our political, social and commercial decisions are driving the climate and health crisis. Over 90% of people breathe unhealthy air resulting from burning of fossil fuels. A heating world is seeing mosquitos spread diseases farther and faster than ever before. Extreme weather events, land degradation and water scarcity are displacing people and affecting their health. Pollution and plastics are found at the bottom of our deepest oceans, the highest mountains, and have made their way into our food chain. Systems that produce highly processed, unhealthy foods and beverages are driving a wave of obesity, increasing cancer and heart disease while generating a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
While the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the healing power of science, it also highlighted the inequities in our world. The pandemic has revealed weaknesses in all areas of society and underlined the urgency of creating sustainable well-being societies committed to achieving equitable health now and for future generations without breaching ecological limits. The present design of the economy leads to inequitable distribution of income, wealth and power, with too many people still living in poverty and instability. A well-being economy has human well-being, equity and ecological sustainability as its goals. These goals are translated into long-term investments, well-being budgets, social protection and legal and fiscal strategies. Breaking these cycles of destruction for the planet and human health requires legislative action, corporate reform and individuals to be supported and incentivized to make healthy choices.    
April 7 is celebrated and observed as World Health Day. The day is celebrated annually in accordance with the World Health Organization’s aim to discuss health-related issues and to draw attention to specific health issues concerning people across the world. The first World Health Day was celebrated and observed in 1950, after 7 April was set aside as a designated date to celebrate the creation of the World Health Organization in 1948 in the First Health Assembly. The day thereby marks the anniversary of WHO after it was established in 1948.

World Health Day Theme 2022
The theme for this year’s World Health Day is “Our Planet, Our Health". Amid the ongoing pandemic and pollution growing on the planet, diseases like cancer, asthma, and heart diseases are increasing rapidly. World Health Organization aims to focus global attention on the urgent actions needed to “keep humans and the planet healthy."

World Health Day History

World Health Day was one of the first official acts of the World Health Organization, which came into force on 7th April 1948. The first World Health Day was celebrated on 22 July in 1949 and the date was later changed to 7 April, in order to encourage student participation.

In order to understand the history of World Health Day, it is important to look at the creation of the World Health Organization, which took place in 1945 at the United Nations Conference. A motion was passed to create a new and independent organization that is solely dedicated to discussing health topics. As many as 61 countries signed the agreement for the inception of the World Health Organization on April 7 in 1948.

World Health Day Significance

World Health Day is celebrated every year to raise awareness about the ongoing health issues that concern people across the world. The day is also used as an opportunity to spread awareness about the overall health and well-being of people.

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Heartfelt Tribute To Bharat Ratna, Dr. B.R Ambedkar On His Birth Anniversary.

Heartfelt Tribute To Bharat Ratna, Dr. B.R Ambedkar On His Birth Anniversary.

We Pay Our Tribute To The Father Of Indian Constitution,Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar,Who fought A Long Battle For Justice And Equality. Come,Let Us Follow The Footsteps And Create The India Of His Dreams .

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What is Indian Government doing to prevent Child Marriage?

The first social reform issue which was taken up by the organized women in India was the “Child Marriage Restraint Act”, or the “Sharda Act” od 1929. Its goal was to eliminate the dangers placed on young girls who could not handle the stress of married life and avoid early deaths. This act prohibited marriage involving girls below the age of 15 years old, and boys below 18. 

Although this is a victory for the women's movement in India, the act itself was a complete failure. In the two years and five months it was an active bill, there were 473 prosecutions, of which only 167 were successful. The Act remained a dead letter during the colonial period of British rule in India, and this was largely due to the fact that the colonial British government did nothing to propagate awareness of it, especially in smaller towns and villages of India.

In 1978, the law was amended to make it more effective and raise the minimum age of marriage by three years: from 15 to 18 years in case of girls and from 18 to 21 years in case of boys.

To ensure that child marriage is eradicated from within the society, the Government of India enacted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 replacing the earlier legislation of Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA, 2006) was notified to overcome the constraints of the former legislations in effectively dealing with the problem of child marriages in India and to put in place a comprehensive mechanism, and still exists as the primary legislation dealing with child marriage today.

The PCMA applies to all citizens of India regardless of religion, with exceptions for the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Pondicherry.Under the PCMA:

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 makes it illegal for girls to marry under 18 years and for boys under 21 years. Child marriage can be made voidable by the child but within two years of becoming an adult.

• Child marriage is a punishable offence with a fine up to INR 100,000, or up to two years of imprisonment, or both. It is a non-cognizable and non-bailable offence.

• Dowry was prohibited in 1961 by the Dowry Prohibition Act, with a fine up to INR 15,000, or the dowry amount, whichever is higher, and imprisonment for between six months and five years.

Other laws that may provide protection to a child bride include the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The government has also used adolescents’ empowerment programmes (Kishori Shakti Yojana), awareness-raising to encourage behaviour change related to child marriage and cash incentives (such as theDhanLaxmi scheme and the Apnibetiapnadhun programme).

DID APNI BETI APNA DHAN HELP PREVENT CHILD MARRIAGE? In a nutshell, not really. Although the programme gave families an incentive to keep their daughters in school until the 8^th grade, ICRW found that it had no effect on girls getting married before 18.

Only a small proportion of girls (14%) were married when the programme was evaluated. Most telling, there was no significant difference between girls who took part in ApniBeti Apna Dhan and those who didn’t. The programme accompanied a shift that was already happening in the state of Haryana – girls staying in school longer and delaying marriage – but did not cause the change.

On the contrary, the programme may have encouraged families to marry off their daughters once they turned 18. Girls whose families benefited from the conditional cash transfers were 59% more likely to be married once they turned 18 than girls who hadn’t participated. In fact, many families waited to cash in the money at the end of the programme as they saw it a way to cover their daughter’s marriage and dowry expenses.

Yet just as there is a lack in government ability to transform policy into action, so is there a potential for NGOs to fill this gap with information.HEEALS(Health, Education, Environment And Livelihood Society), is an organization directly involved in girls education and child marriage in India. It is working on Water Sanitation, Menstrual Hygiene and Children Education projects in seven states. Through spreading education on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and organizing WASH and MH workshop, HEEALS is working to increase the attendance rates of girls in schools who drop out from school due to child marriage. HEEALS works in marginalized communities, slum schools, schools in unauthorized colonies, orphanages and refugee camps to increase the attendance rates of pupils in schools who leave their studies, reduce the number of diseases and deaths and improve the health of people across Indian society.

Caterina

WASH & Children Health Education

Coordinator

REFERENCES:

·         Goswami, Ruchira (2010). "Child Marriage in India: Mapping the Trajectory of Legal Reforms".

·         Wikipedia – Child Marriage in India, Child Marriage Restrain Act of 1929

·         http://childlineindia.org.in/pdf/Child-Marriage-handbook.pdf

·         https://www.unicef.org/rosa/sites/unicef.org.rosa/files/2018-03/EndingChildMarriage-India.pdf

·         https://govinfo.me/apni-beti-apna-dhan-yojana-haryana/

·         https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/economic-incentives-enough-prevent-child-marriage-findings-haryana-india/

Why Child Marriage is happening in India?

Child marriage in India, according to the Indian law, is a marriage where either the woman is below age 18 or the man is below age 21. Most child marriages involve underage women, many of whom are in poor socio-economic conditions.

Yet, recent data indicates that in the last decade there has been a significant decline in the prevalence of child marriage from 47 per cent to 27 per cent of the proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married before age 18 from 2005/2006 to 2015/2016. National and state averages, however, mask realities at the district level, and despite the overall decline, a few districts continue to have very high rates of child marriage. Indeed, India has the largest number of brides in the world – one-third of the global total. (Child marriage rates among women in a few districts of Rajasthan and Bihar, continue to be in the range of 47 per cent to 51 per cent).

There are many causes of child marriage in India and multiple barriers to its elimination. Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that girls are somehow inferior to boys. In India, child marriage is also driven by:

·       Poverty: Child marriage is more common among poorer households, with many families marrying off their daughters to reduce their perceived economic burden. Girls are often married off at a younger age because less dowry is expected for younger brides.

·      Betrothal: Some girls are promised in marriage before they are born in order to “secure” their future. Once they reach puberty, ceremonies take place and they are sent to their husband’s home to commence married life.

·       Level of education: Many families consider girls to be parayadhan – someone else’s wealth. This means that a girl’s productive capacities benefit her marital family, and educating daughters is therefore seen as less of a priority than educating sons, who are responsible for taking care of biological parents in old age.

·      Household labour: Girls are often married off at puberty when they are deemed most ‘productive’ and can take care of children and conduct housework. The labour of young brides is central to some rural economies. The practice of attasatta sees two extended families exchange girls through marriage so neither family is worse off in terms of household labour.

·     Traditional customs: Customary laws based on religion are a major barrier in ending child marriage in India. Social pressure to marry at puberty can be enormous within certain castes.

·     Gender norms: There is generally a lower value attached to daughters, and girls are expected to be adaptable, docile, hardworking and talented wives. Child marriages are sometimes used to control female sexuality, sanctify sex and ensure reproduction.

·     Pre-marital sex: Marriage is used to preserve the purity of girls as soon as they reach puberty and, sometimes, to ensure that they are not “corrupted” by men of lower castes. There is a high premium placed on virginity, and as such it is sometimes considered more punya (holy) to marry off younger girls. Fathers sometimes lose credibility within communities if their daughters have sex or get married without their consent. Differentiation is made between jaangdaan (when a girl is so young she can sit on her father’s lap during a marriage ceremony) and pattaldaan (when she has attained puberty and can sit on a pedestal beside her father).

   Violence against girls: Some girls are married off due to fear of kharabmahaul – the corrupted external environment – and reports of the rape of women in public spaces. However, a 2014 study found that child brides in India are at greater risk of sexual and physical violence within their marital home.

HEEALS (Health, Education, Environment And Livelihood Society), is an organization directly involved in girls education and health in India. It is working on Water Sanitation, Menstrual Hygiene and Children Education projects in seven states. Through spreading education on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and organizing WASH and MH workshop, HEEALS is working to increase the attendance rates of girls in schools who drop out from school due to child marriage. HEEALS works in marginalized communities, slum schools, schools in unauthorised colonies, orphanages and refugee camps to increase the attendance rates of pupils in schools who leave their studies, reduce the number of diseases and deaths and improve the health of people across Indian society.

-Caterina

WASH & Children Health Education

Coordinator

REFERENCES:

·         UNICEF India Final report 2018

·         International Institute for Population Sciences and Macro International, National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16: State Fact Sheet for Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya, Maharashtra, Odisha, Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal, IIPS, Mumbai, 2016.

·         https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/india/#stats-references

·         UNICEF-UNFPA, Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage, 2017, (accessed February 2018)

AN EQUITABLE AND QUALITY EDUCATION FOR A BETTER WORLD.

A ‘Quality Education’ is the fourth goal of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030.  In order to respect the UN’s SDG, every Member is committed in developing and implementing development policies suited to achieving the established targets.One of this is “ by 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes.”

Education: the basis of society.

Education is what constitutes and gives form to the culture of society. Education is the development of all of human personality aspects, affective and behavioral, including natural attitudes. The knowledge about the surrounding world depends on the relation between the environmental stimuli and education. By improving education -aiming to have an equitable and quality education- the population can acquirethe ability to develop consciousness when it is stimulated by the surrounding world. Through the education, a conscious society can understand the way to behave, and obtain benefits from their experiences.Consequently to the comprehension of the good way of managing the external information, occurs the realization of the basic civil rights which lead to a better standard of life. In short, the society’s development is a result of an improvement of the society knowledge, that allows to better managing available resources. Therefore, education plays an important role for the society orientation. If it was accessible and equal to everyone without gender, race, religious or any economic status distinctions, it would generate a civilized society, able to live healthy and in peace, encouraging integration.Integration means “without any type of discrimination” and the education has to support the idea of equality with equal rights to maintain an integrated society. Consequently, an equal education is able to eliminate the barriers that separate categories: when people cross the door of the classroom, they leave behind not only the backpack, but alsoeverything that makes differences between classmates. In that moment, people are equal and sit near other classmates with the same purpose to learn.

A Quality Education.

Education from young age is very important, because children learn to develop and use their mental, moral and physical powers, which they acquire through various types of education. However, education requires perseverance not only in school environment, but also at home where a child receive knowledge from parents, family members and even also from acquaintances. For many families, receiving a good and quality education is the key of success, so it is very important reach a great level of knowledge that means to literally invest on prestigious schools career. However, unfortunately, there are places in the world where people can’t afford it, and the opportunity to increase their standard of living is very low. In India, even if significant progress has been made in education sector, there are still a lot of children who don’t have access to higher education.According to UN data the net enrolment ratio in primary education was at 100%, however, there are many children who cannotpursue their studies due to the necessity to work or to marriage. Since the 21,2% of the population living on less than $1,90, they cannot afford to send their children to good schools.A quality education lead to be surrounded by a lot of opportunities in a prosperity conditions, making it possible for each of us to contribute to a progressive, healthy society .

If a country doesn’t have participating, educated and informed citizens, it doesn’t grow. A quality education has an important role for the country’s development.

Equitable education.

Equitable means that everybody has the right to education without differences of economic status, gender, religion and race. In India, the society subdivision in caste is well known. Thus the Kshatriyas learnt the art of warfare, the Brahmins learnt the art and are responsible for teaching and maintaining sacred knowledge, the Vaishya caste learned commerce and other specific vocational courses. However, the Shudras, considered the lowest caste in the society, were deprived of education. Despite the still current subdivision in caste, in recent years, the country is committed to make universal at least primary education respecting the 2000, UN Millennium Declaration focusing on the country’s and international development.

It is said,“Educate a man, you educate one person, educate a woman you educate a complete family”. Traditionally, in many societies is the father who supports the family, but this kind of support is strictly economic, while the real milestone in a family is the mother figure. Usually, she has to care about the family and the children growth, handing down the family knowledge and education. For this reason, the girls education has to be an inalienable right. Unfortunately, the responsibility to take care of the family and the house lead girls to dropout, so their right to education is denied. However, it is know that gender equality in education sector is strictly correlated to the economic growth. If all women and girls, in India, were able to complete the cycle of primary education the maternal death rate would be drastically reduced. Every extra year of education, women’s earning increases and the number of child marriage would reduce, as well as the risk of contracting diseases. Not only the girls education is important for carrying on an healthy life with more opportunities, but also for the whole population’s well-being and country’s economic growth.

As an Ngo HEEALS, firmly believe in education as a resource for the development of the country. Its projects are orientated into the education sector with the purpose to show children that there are a lot of good opportunities, as they can cross their constraints of society and have a better standard of living. As an example, through the international WASH project -followed by many NGOs- kids can prevent many water related disease only understanding some rules to lead an healthy life.

Children are the future of the nation. We have to rise them with good education, so that they become responsible individuals in future with the possibility to live in a dignified and healthy way. They need to understand what is right and what is wrong for their personal development and the realization of their potential can be found through education. Education traces the path to make the most of what the little we have and turn into something better for us and for the community.Denying one access to education means to deny the basic right to be a human being, free to make own choice. Every child, male or female, poor or rich, black or white, Muslim or Hindu, must go to school as everyone has equal rights to education. The growth and development of any country depend on the quality of education its citizens receive from their childhood. Give literacy and education to population and it obtains the discrete power to judge and rationalize the events on natural surroundings as well as in the social context.

Elisa Stucchi-

WASH & MH coordinator 

Income Inequality in India

Income inequality is an issue that is found all over the world, in some places more than in others. In India, the top one percent of earners has been seeing exponential growth since the 1990’s, so much so that they currently hold 73% of the entire country’s wealth. India is a country where it’s easy to see inequality- because of the caste system it’s literally in her historical and cultural roots. However, the fact that these numbers that say 1% of earners hold 73% of the wealth is shocking. This is partially because people tend to compare themselves to their past ELEPHANT and their future goals; or if they’re comparing themselves to others, to those who have similar levels of income.

We don’t usually think about the mega-rich because for most people, we will never work with them (although we’re very likely to work for them), we will never speak with them, and we will never be them. This distancing creates what is called the empathy gulf, a separation of rich and poor because of giant social differences. This often leads to complacency for the very poor- an expectation that nothing will ever change and they have been dealt their lasting sad lot in life. The rich often become detached from the struggles of people living in poverty, partially because they never need to see or interact with these people, and partially because of negative framing. Negative framing can go both ways: it’s the words that we use to describe a certain group of people which end up warping our perception of them. Poverty is often associated with dirtiness, laziness, and lack of intelligence, while being wealthy is typically associated with dedication, high intelligence, and cleanliness. Neither of these stereotypes captures the reality of life on either side of the spectrum, and that can be very dangerous.

When India had a socialist government in the 1960s and ’70s the bottom half of India’s earners saw a faster economic growth than what has been happening since then.  By the 1990s, however, this growth had nearly slowed to a stop and the top 10% of earners saw huge growth while the bottom 90% nearly stayed stagnant. In 2005, the bottom 50% and the top 10% had the same amount of income, but since then the top 10% have been gaining more while the bottom 50% have become worse off.

Now, you might be wondering how these numbers make sense since at the beginning of this post I told you that the top 1% own 73% of the wealth. In the 1990s, the top 0.1% alone grew more than the entire bottom half of the country. Not only that, but we need to remember to make a distinction between wealth and income. Most of the wealthiest people are not CEOs. In fact, it’s incredibly difficult to become break into the top 1% with just a regular job. The majority of these people are making their money off of investments and assets, which coincidentally, are taxed differently than regular income. While an annual income above 10 lakhs is taxed at a rate of 30%, according to BusinessToday assets are only taxed if they have a net worth of greater than 30 lakhs, and even then they are only taxed at one percent! Even with this ridiculously small gap, it’s up to every citizen to be honest and file their taxes correctly. If nobody evaded their taxes – neither the super-rich nor the everyday worker – India would have enough money to give every village a good health clinic, a school, and electricity for every household.

So where does HEEALS fit into this? We work to provide capacity-building workshops for the impoverished, and while there is lots of work to be done today, we aim to see a day where the need is not as great. Maybe there would be less of a need for workshops about things as basic as hand-washing if there was a more equal distribution of resources. If families could afford to keep their kids in schools and live in clean neighbourhoods, there would be a smaller need for the work HEEALS is doing. As it stands now, we are doing our work and raising awareness about the reasons this work is necessary. Income inequality, wealth inequality, and tax evasion are all contributing factors to the terrible state that impoverished communities find themselves in. As anyone can see and can tell you, the government is not doing its job in taking care of its people. Perhaps this is because of the empathy gulf. Perhaps it’s because they don’t have the resources. Perhaps it’s because people are self-absorbed or greedy. Perhaps it’s a mix of many factors, but as individuals we need to do what we can to make a difference. Those of us who are better off in society need to work hard to avoid the pitfalls that allow us to begin to look down upon and care less about people who are not as well off.

So, let’s review. Income inequality is pervasive, wealth inequality is even more so. This hurts poorer people because even though the majority of them are just as capable as the super-rich, if they were given the same resources, upbringing, and inheritance they are perceived as lazier and less intelligent. It also makes wealthier people more and more disconnected from the rest of the population, and the government should be doing more to fight this problem. Individuals also should be doing more to fight this problem in the way that they treat their employees and by avoiding tax fraud for the sake of personal benefit over societal good.

How can you make a difference in such a big issue? Firstly, avoid doing the negative actions discussed in the previous paragraph. If you’re an employee, even if that means you hire a maid, make sure you’re paying your employees a living wage, not just a minimum wage. Finally, be sure to write to your political representatives and encourage them to make good decisions on behalf of your city, province, and country. If you hear of a large company that is not paying their employees properly you can try to start a boycott of the store and if you have any type of influence over companies, use it for good rather than harm. Don’t invest in companies who are participating in immoral practices concerning their taxes or who they employ. Think before you do, and act out of love for others rather than for your wallet.

-Rachel 

Wash & Intern Coordinator 

Sources:

Clear Tax. Retrieved from: https://cleartax.in/s/income-tax

Ghosh, J. (2016, 03, 9). Tax dodging is a crime against developing countries. OxfamIndia. Retrieved from https://www.oxfamindia.org/blog/1515/tax-dodging-crime-against-developing-countries

Hasking, D., Ghose, T. (2013, 12). Taxing your riches. Business Today. Retrieved from https://www.businesstoday.in/moneytoday/expert-view/tapati-ghose-on-wealth-tax-investment-are-you-eligible/story/200940.html

Hassan, R. (2017, 12, 23). India’s rising inequality is taking the shine off its growth story even in the world’s eyes. Scroll.in. Retrieved from https://scroll.in/article/862368/indias-rising-inequality-is-taking-the-shine-off-its-growth-story-even-in-the-worlds-eyes

Shapiro, I. (2002). Why the poor don’t soak the rich. Daedalus, 131(1), pp. 118-128

Staff, Business Today. (2018, 01, 23). Income inequality gets worse; India’s top 1% bag 73% of the country’s wealth, says Oxfam. Business Today. Retrieved from https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/oxfam-india-wealth-report-income-inequality-richests-poor/story/268541.html

Staff, The Wire (2017,12,14). Income Inequality Highest in India Since 1980s, Finds New Report. The Wire. Retrieved from https://thewire.in/economy/income-inequality-highest-india-since-1980s-finds-new-report

World Inequality Database. Retrieved from https://wid.world/country/india/