Women Empowerment

I recently read an article on Women Empowerment on the website of Azad India Foundation – a Foundation committed to development of rural India.


In India, it is believed that women resemble Goddesses. If ever a girl child gets a chance to be born in this world, she is worshipped as a child Goddess and her whole life is ‘devoted’ in giving blessings to her so-called devotees or worshippers.

Such is the status of women in India. Yes, those women who are equivalent to Goddesses. These features may seem to be applicable to an India that we have left behind and moved on, but there are many cases which still involve the same stereotypes for women.

However, there has been, no doubt, considerable work done in the field of women empowerment. The phrase itself has evolved over the years. Policy approaches have shifted from the concept of ‘welfare’ in the 70s to ‘development’ in the 80s and now to ‘empowerment’ for and of women. Women Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of Women. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their capacities. This would essentially involve :

* Having decision-making powers of their own

* Having access to information and resources for taking proper decisions

* Having a range of options from which they can make choices

* Ability to exercise assertiveness in collective decision making

* Having positive thinking on the ability to make change

* Ability to learn skills for improving one's personal or group power.

* Ability to change others’ perceptions by democratic means.

Over the last few decades, there have been basic changes in the status and role of women in our society. A new millennium – 2001 – was ushered by the Government of India by declaring it as ‘Women’s Empowerment Year’ to bring the nation’s women to the forefront of national development. More than anything or anyone, the women themselves seem to have taken the charge and are becoming increasingly self-conscious of their discrimination in several family and public matters. They are now able to mobilize popular opinion on issues that affect them as a whole.

This is a picture that would lead us to believe that India is on the road to a wholesome development. However, such is the case only if we look at the periphery of this picture. One would not have to go deep down to find the contrasts that can shatter these myths in seconds. Women have been struggling since ages to make a space for themselves which they can call their own. This is prevalent despite the constitution giving them equal opportunities and rights. They are still considered as a child producing machine that’s only here on the earth to produce children and feed them and the family. The deep-rooted patriarchal society has prevented her from realizing her true worth and potential.

Females are considered as a secluded section of society right from birth. No wonder it is so difficult for a girl child to come out alive in this world. There is still very high preference for male child in state like UP, Punjab, MP, etc. The male-to-female ratio is very high in these states. As mentioned above, even if a girl child is born, she’s either made into a Goddess or married at a very early age on the pretext that she is here to serve her family. As if that was not enough, her marriage is also not guaranteed to be a happy and satisfying one. Producing children and looking after them is considered as her sole task. Her health is severely compromised with. She is also required to keep the family happy even though the family may never bother to understand her and take care of her. Domestic violence is another factor that totally breaks a woman. Even though she’s assured of immediate help in case of domestic violence, the section to which this law has reached consists mainly of the urban women population.

The Government has started various programs for women empowerment such as Swashakti, Swayasidha, Streeshakti, Balika Samridhi Yojna. But these, as other policies, have only been drafted on paper and reached out to a very meager number of the women population in India.

Women make 52% of our country’s population. Thus, it is evident that India cannot progress leaving 52% of the population behind and completely neglecting it. A wholesome progress of our society depends on needs and interest of women who determine the direction in which the society is moving. Not much is needed to be done. Education is one solution that would automatically create a ripple effect and ensure that this much neglected section is able to come out of its fears and carve a niche for itself.