The National Family Health Survey (NFHS 5), which provides a perspective of the nation’s health, has produced positive results on multiple fronts, including population growth stabilisation, increased family planning services, and improved health-care delivery. It does, however, underscore the need for more progress in addressing gender-based violence and harmful practises against women and girls, such as child marriage and gender-biased sex selection. These have been worsened by discriminatory societal attitudes and behaviours that are impeding the attainment of the SDG 2030 Agenda and India’s development goals. 

Where improvements are found

• Progress in Technology and Banking: Over the same time period, the proportion of women with their own bank accounts increased by 25.6 percentage points to 78.6 percent. Around 54% of women own mobile phones, and one in every three women has used the Internet.
• Developments in Female Literacy: Significant improvements in female literacy have been observed, with 41% of women having completed 10 years of schooling or more (compared to 36 percent in 2015-16). Girls who study longer have fewer children and are more likely to postpone marriage and find work.
• TFR A Little under Replacement Level: India’s population growth looks to be levelling off. At the national level, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which is the average number of children born per woman, has dropped from 2.2 to 2.0. A total of 31 states and union territories (representing 69.7% of the country’s population) have fertility rates lower than the replacement level of 2.1.
• Maternal Health Delivery is Improving: Maternal health services are gradually improving. Antenatal care in the first trimester has grown by 11.4 percentage points (from 2015-16 to 2019-21) to 70%. The recommended four prenatal care check-ups have increased by 7% to 58.1 percent. Postnatal care visits have increased by 15.6 percentage points to 78 percent. In 2019-21, 88.6 percent of women had access to institutional births, a 9.8 percent point increase from 2015-16. At addition, institutional births in public health institutions have increased (52.1 percent to 61.9 percent ).
• Better Family Planning: The primary causes for the fall in fertility are an increase in the adoption of contemporary family planning methods (from 47.8 percent in 2015-16 to 56.5 percent in 2019-21) and a 4 percent point reduction in unmet need for family planning over the same time.
• Better Menstrual Health and Bodily Autonomy: Evidence demonstrates substantial development in areas where women have the right to bodily autonomy and integrity, as well as the freedom to make life decisions. Between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the proportion of women (aged 15-24 years) who use menstrual hygiene products climbed by over 20% points, reaching 77.3 percent. 

Where improvements are still required 

• Women’s Economic Contribution Remains Low: Women’s economic involvement remains low (only 25.6 percent women engaged in paid work, a meagre increase of 0.8 percent point). Women continue to endure a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic and care duties, limiting their access to meaningful employment.
• Child Marriage Has Dropped Just Little: The prevalence of child marriage has dropped only slightly, from 26.8 percent in 2015-16 to 23.3 percent in 2019-21. One in every three women is still subjected to domestic abuse from their partner.
• Low Access to Reproductive Health Services: Only a tiny percentage of the population now has access to the complete spectrum of sexual and reproductive health services, such as cervical cancer screening tests (1.9 percent) and breast exams (0.9 percent ).
• Lower Institutional Delivery in Some States: The study found that 11 percent of pregnant women were either unreachable by a trained birth attendant or did not have access to institutional facilities. Further investigation finds an institutional delivery rate of less than 70% in 49 districts in India, with more than two-thirds (69%) coming from five states (Nagaland, Bihar, Meghalaya, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh).
• Teenage Pregnancy: Teenage pregnancy has decreased by just one percentage point, and 7.9 percent of women aged 15 to 19 were already moms or pregnant at the time of the poll.

Way forward

• Identifying and Addressing Discriminatory Social Norms: To empower women and achieve gender justice, detrimental practises such as child marriage and gender-biased sex selection must be addressed. Women and girls must be valued more through trying to alter uneven power relations, structural disparities, and discriminatory conventions, attitudes, and behaviours. It is also critical to connect with men and boys, especially during their early years, in order to promote good masculinity and gender-equal beliefs.
• Integrated Efforts for Better Health Services: The NFHS findings highlight the critical need to eliminate disparities in girls’ education and address women’s poor health. Today’s times necessitate integrated and coordinated efforts from all health institutions, academics, and other partners directly or indirectly involved with health care services to make these services accessible, affordable, and acceptable, particularly for those who cannot easily afford it.
• Promoting Women’s Access to Technology-Based Services: The combination of mobile technology, banking, education, and women’s economic empowerment will be important drivers in addressing informal discriminatory practises in the coming years. Although the ratio of women utilising mobile phones, the internet, and financial services has grown, it is still lower than that of males. There should be a strong emphasis on marketing and training women how to utilise such facilities, as their availability and usage is also a measure of women’s empowerment.
• Encouraging Comprehensive Sexuality Education: The issues raised above highlight the importance of investing in comprehensive sexuality education as a key component of life-skills education for both in-school and out-of-school adolescents, as well as ensuring their access to quality sexual and reproductive health services. Screening tests and breast exams should be offered as part of the expansion of the basket of reproductive health care.

Convergence across many stakeholders is essential for achieving the desired change. Gender-based violence and harmful behaviours must be tackled firmly and collaboratively, and women must be encouraged to exercise agency and autonomy in all aspects of life.

How to structure

1. Give an intro about the report
2. Mention the major findings
3. Critically analyse- mention the areas where women empowerment has been achieved and where it’s not
4. Suggest way forward and link to schemes
5. Conclude

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/in-nfhs-report-card-the-good-the-sober-the-future/article38074257.ece