NE women dominate on empowerment map

Aizawl, Sep 24 (UNI) In a country where women in most of the states have been fighting for their rights, North Eastern women enjoy them automatically.

The reason is obvious, NE has given the women a privilege to enjoy matriarchy.

''Ours is a female dominated society and we are proud of that,'' avers a girl with immense pride.

The women here are very independent, enjoy a status at par with the men, and now boasts of having the highest number of employed women in the counry.

A national survey conducted by the Mumbai based International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), one of its kind dedicated to demographic studies, stated the percentage of employed women in the NE is higher than the nation's average of 39 per cent.

The survey said Manipur had the highest number of working women with 70 per cent and Asom the least with 40 per cent, Nagaland had 64 per cent, Arunachal Pradesh 60 and Mizoram had 40 per cent.

''Women contribute a substantial amount to their family's total earnings. One in five women in the region were reported to be the sole earners in their families,''IIPS Coordinator Sulabha Parasuraman told UNI.

The percentage of their contribution amount to 37 per cent in Nagaland, 42 per cent in Manipur and 56-64 per cent in the remanining states of the region, she added.

The survey further states that women empowerment depends upon their occupation, continuity of earning and control over income.

About 83 per cent of women are paid in cash or kind in most of the NE states, except Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, where only 29 per cent get paid in kind.

The percentage of women in Arunachal and Nagaland who work in the agricultural sector is 83 and 73 respectively.

Though agriculture is important, the occupational structure here is also very diversified, a report says.

In Manipur, 43 per cent women work in the agriculture sector followed by 23 per cent in production, 17 per cent in sales and 10 per cent are professionals.

According to an Economic Survey of Mizoram in 2004-2005, conducted by the state government the percentage of women employed in the organised sector was more than 40 per cent of the total employment.

The occupational structure in Mizoram is similar with women employed in agriculture, sales or service sectors.

Aizawl has maximum number of women employees compared to their male counterparts.

The record shows the population of female in Mizoram is 1,74,092, while the men are 1,17,069.

''We have a free society and the rise in cost of living is one of the main reasons why the women have marched forward,'' observed Mona Zote, a prominent writer in the city.

''We want to prove that we are no less then men and can lead a family more smoothly than they do,'' a woman working with a computer firm said.

UNI SNR PP/SRC SI RN1149