Women and Trade (the Indian Context)

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Description
A small incident that took place while working on this book will clarify the position and rights of Indian women and society's expectations of them. I was sitting with family and friends, listening to Bhagvat Purana. In between, the person reciting the puranic story, looking at me, asked some two-three times who inherits a father's property. Then, he answered himself that the 'son' inherits the father's property. After some time, he again looked at me and stated that the path to salvation is to give generously. I smiled. The person only voiced the general approach toward women's rights and obligations. A woman in the Indian tradition is a 'devi' who should not be bothered about worldly rights but should carry superhuman obligations and be ready to make sacrifices at all times. It is a sin if she thinks about her advancement and her happiness. The story has not been much different in other parts of the world. The scenario makes us wonder whether the current talk of women and trade is a genuine effort to utilize the trading system to advance women's cause or is just pink-washing the international trade insti- tution to distract attention from the crisis engulfing it. Anuradha's article 'Trade and Gender: Pink Washing or Meaningful Discourse' rightly points out that the steps for meaningful involvement and advancement of women in trade have to be taken at the domestic level. Although at the WTO level appointment of a woman Director General is undoubtedly encouraging, Kapil Sharma and Eluckiaa A., in their article 'Breaking the Glass Ceiling at WTO, find that not many women have reached the top level in the organization. Actually, regular assessment of the impact of trade on gender has to be done at the domestic level.
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Table of Contents
1. Trade and Gender: Pink-Washing or Meaningful Discourse?
2. Breaking the Glass Ceiling at WTO: Appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the First Woman Director General
3. Discussing Women as Unpaid Caregivers - A Feminist Economic Perspective
4. Historical Searchlight on the Work and Economic Contributions of Humanity Thrown in Darkness: A Glance at Indian History
5. Education for Women: Weapon for Empowerment and Social Transformation
6. Women's Participation in Indian Agriculture: Navigating the Invisibilities
7. From 'Collectors' to 'Vendors': Assimilating Indian Tribal Women in Trade and Value Chains through 'E-Haat Bazaars
8. Tribal Women as Entrepreneurs and Traders in Chhattisgarh
9. Rights of Working Women and the Legal Framework: A Human Rights Perspective
10. Gender Mainstreaming of Trade in Services in India - Women's Participation in Trade in Health Services
11. Role of Cultural Barriers and Gender Stereotypes in Shaping the Career Trajectories of Women in Corporate Law Firms
12. Patents and Women Scientists: A Look into the Indian Situation
13. Issues and Perspectives of Female Entrepreneurship in India: A Legal Speculation
14. Women in Trade
15. Pink Collar Crime - A Critical Study
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Author Details
SHEELA RAI is a Professor of Law at the National Law University Odisha and Director of the NLUO Centre for International Trade Law(CITL). She has published many books including An Introduction to WTO Jurisprudence and two volumes of Guide to WTO Appellate Body Reports. She has also published articles in Indian and international journals. She has more than twenty years of teaching and research experience in International Trade Law