Attitude Towards Women: A Study of Hill Farming Community Setteled in Plain District of Uttarakhand

Though legally, the women have equal right to man but various studies show that women even today are not considered equal in social status. Their age at marriage is low, purda(veil) system prevails, male head of the family do not like to allow them to go out side for employment. However, this gender biased discrimination of women is not universal throughout the India. This situation varies in consonance to the socio-cultural milieu of the area, community and society. To assess the impact of contacts with communities with different orientation towards women, mass media, availability of educational facilities and opportunity of greater mobility on attitude towards women a study was conducted on a farming community with hill background settled in plain district of Uttarakhand. In hilly areas of Uttarakhand there is limited opportunity for higher education, less mobility, low reach of mass media and status of women is inferior while contrast situation exists in locale of the study that is district Udham Singh Nagar of Uttarakhand. It was found that attitude of farming community from hilly background settled in plain was progressive in all the aspects studied in compare to the situation of women in hills.