"Is India's Pursuit of Gender Equality Meeting Sustainable Development Goals?

Achieving gender equality in India without the full participation of women is not possible. The government is actively advancing the Sustainable Development Goal of human development, particularly focusing on gender development. Several schemes have been implemented to empower women in education and employment. However, entrenched stereotypes portraying women as burdens on families have led to neglect of their physical and mental well-being, resulting in higher female mortality rates compared to males. To address this, the Department of Women & Child Development offers financial and material assistance to pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality. Initiatives like the Sukanya Yojana allow parents to utilize funds from their daughter's account for her education or marriage after she turns 18, positively impacting societal attitudes and improving the sex ratio. Programs such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana provide subsidized Liquified Petroleum Gas to women, reducing health risks associated with burning coal and biomass. Despite progress in sex ratio, health, and education for females, there remains a substantial journey ahead. India, categorized as a middle-income country, still witnesses low female political participation. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated this issue, with many women opting to either work from home or prioritize childcare over employment, resulting in decreased participation in the labor force. Addressing the barriers preventing women from engaging independently in jobs and politics is imperative. Feeling of equality should begin from the family itself. Moreover, active engagement from men is crucial in supporting women's advancement. While strides are being made towards gender equality, societal stereotypes and biases must be eradicated. Introducing gender sensitization education in schools and colleges from an early age is essential for fostering a more inclusive and equitable society. Then we can be ranked under gender equality index proudly. The Indian government is trying to follow sustainable development goals, which achieve welfare and well being of each and everyone of the society. One of the sustainable development goals is gender equality because we believe that without women’s development from all aspects such as physical, mental, financial, societal and so forth, the country cannot be called to be developed. This paper shows that governmental schemes are showing phenomenal results over sex ratio, due to stringent laws such as PC-PNDT act, 1994, the government implemented interesting schemes in order to increase the rate of female literacy. Today the females are on the verge of equaling males in case of population and literacy. This paper also indicates that there is gradual improvement in maternal health. Although women's position in political participation is still unsatisfactory. Compared to males, females choose to engage in household chores instead of working outside and its aftermath is that their participation rate in the workforce is not satisfactory. Researchers are trying to indicate that women’s empowerment should be done from all the parameters and she should not lag behind in any aspect. Because once “Women Achieve power, all the barriers will fall”