Female Criminality in India

Till a few decades ago, crime was considered to be predominantly a male phenomenon, but as women increasingly join the mainstream of the society, their share in crime has increased considerably the world over. The rights are first demanded, then commanded and later snatched. In this struggle for rights, either to receive or protect them, conflict is inevitable which may result into the commission of crime. Despite the increasing rate of the involvement of females in crime, social scientists and social defence planners have not paid much heed to understand and unravel manifold trends and tone of the offences committed by women. Rather, they have been branded more often than not, this way or the other. It is in this backdrop, the present work is an attempt to understand the psychology and sociology of the context in which females commit crimes wilfully or negligently. The book deals with critical analysis of theories propounded so far and studies conducted. It also discusses the profile of offenders and their attitudes, beliefs, value systems and aspirations. The quantitative data have been supported by detailed case studies which help the reader to understand the female crime from a feminist perspective. The work will be of considerable interest to students of social sciences, social work, social policy and development.