‘There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.”

Women’s economic empowerment refers to the ability for women to enjoy their rights to control and benefit from resources, assets, income and their own time, as well as the ability to manage risk and improve their economic status and wellbeing.

Women Empowerment refers to increasing and improving the social, economic, political and legal strength of the women, to ensure equal-right to women, and to make them confident enough to claim their rights, such as:

freely live their life with a sense of self-worth, respect and dignity,
have complete control of their life, both within and outside of their home and workplace,
to make their own choices and decisions,
have equal rights to participate in social, religious and public activities,
have equal social status in the society,
have equal rights for social and economic justice,
determine financial and economic choices,
get equal opportunity for education,
get equal employment opportunity without any gender bias,
get safe and comfortable working environment,

Women have the rights to get their voices heard.

Why Women Empowerment is Important?

Under-employed and unemployed:Women population constitutes around 50% of the world population. A large number of women around the world are unemployed. The world economy suffers a lot because of the unequal opportunity for women at workplaces.
Equally competent and intelligent: Women are equally competent. Nowadays, women are even ahead of men in many socio-economic activities.
Talented:Women are as talented as men. Previously, women were not allowed higher education like men and hence their talents were wasted. But nowadays, they are also allowed to go for higher studies and it encourages women to show their talents which will not only benefit her individually but to the whole world at large.
Overall development of society:The main advantage of Women Empowerment is that there will be an overall development of the society. The money that women earn does not only help them and or their family, but it also help develop the society.
Economic Benefits:Women Empowerment also leads to more economic benefits not to the individuals but to the society as well. Unlike earlier days when they stayed at home only and do only kitchen stuffs, nowadays, they roam outside and also earn money like the male members of the society. Women empowerment helps women to stand on their own legs, become independent and also to earn for their family which grows country’s economy.
Reduction in domestic violence:Women Empowerment leads to decrease in domestic violence. Uneducated women are at higher risk for domestic violence than educated women.
Reduction in corruption:Women Empowerment is also advantageous in case of corruption. Women empowerment helps women to get educated and know their rights and duties and hence can stop corruption.
Reduce Poverty:Women Empowerment also reduces poverty. Sometimes, the money earned by the male member of the family is not sufficient to meet the demands of the family. The added earnings of women helps the family to come out ofpoverty trap.
National Development:Women are increasingly participating in the national development process. They are making the nation proud by their outstanding performances almost every sphere including medical science, social service, engineering, etc.
Irreplaceable in some sectors:Women are considered irreplaceable for certain jobs.

How to empower Women?

To “empower women” means to authorize power or increase the overall position, status and condition of women in every spheres of life.

Empowerment of Women would result in better and more developed society. When women contribute equally along with men for the benefit of society, the world would surely become a better place to live.

Today more and more females are studying in schools and colleges and also go abroad for higher studies. Women are increasing commanding better position in the society.

There are several ways to empower women; some of them are discussed below:

Create safe workplaces:Women can be empowered through the creation of safe working environment. The workplaces should be safe for the female members of the society. People will like to send their daughters and wives to work if they are assured of safe environment at workplaces.
Women education:By educating women, economy of the country increases. It has been seen from the last few decades that involvement of educated women in various activities helps the country to move towards economic and social development.

Female education also contributes towards health and well-being of the family.
By getting education, women also contribute to the national income of the country.
The can afford to offer quality nutrition to their children.
Educated women are considered active in politics as well.
They know their rights and are able to defend themselves better.

Raise voice against gender inequality:Women can be empowered by decreasing the gender inequalities or disparities in all sectors of the society especially in education sectors.
Job skills (Vocational training):Proper training should be provided to women’s for better results.
Create more part-time job opportunities:There should be greater number of part-time job opportunities. In India, mostly women are housewives so they do not get any opportunity for full-time work. Hence, more part-time and flexible jobs should be created so that more and more women get engaged into commercial activities.

Status of women in Indian society:

Women held high status and position in Ancient times. In later ages, her status deteriorated. Evidently, a majority of the women still do not enjoy equal status.

Women’s position in the family very much depends upon the level of their education. Higher the level of her education, greater equality she enjoys in the family.

It appears that Indian woman is still not treated at par with man in social and family life. The educated women even today though earning, are in acquiescence with the doctrine of the male domination. The education may have made them economically independent, but they still lack the needed self-confidence.

The reason seems to be that they have been brought up under the old cultural atmosphere and they have not been able to shake off its influence even after the acquisition of modern education.

However, in our times, her role has changed. Society has started recognizing her contribution. There is need for complete equality among men and women. She has all the rights to command equal status with men.

Challenges for Women Empowerment:

Perspective: The most widespread and dehumanizing discriminations against women are on the basis of the biased perspective. The discrimination against the girl child begins from the birth itself. Boys are preferred over girls; hence, female infanticide is a common practice in India. The ordeal that an Indian girl faces at birth is only the beginning of a lifelong struggle to be seen and heard.

Patriarchate Bottlenecks The traditional Indian society is a patriarchal society ruled by the diktats of self-proclaimed caste lords who are the guardians of archaic and unjust traditions. They put the burden of traditions, culture, and honor on the shoulders of women and mark their growth. The incidences of “honor killing” reveal the distorted social fiber in the male-dominated society.

Economic Backwardness: Women constitute only 29% of the workforce but forms majority of the destitute in the country. There has been a failure in transforming the available women base into human resource. This, in turn, has hampered not only the economic development of women but also of the country’ as a whole.

Implementation Gaps Through all these years, the attention is only on developing and devising new schemes, policies and programs and have paid less attention to the proper monitoring system and implementation short-sightedness, for e.g. despite the presence of The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technologies Act and various health programs like Janani Suraksha Yojana and National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), our country has a skewed sex ratio and a high maternal mortality Rate (MMR).

Loopholes in the legal structure Although there are a number of laws to protect women against all sorts of violence yet there has been the significant increase in the episodes of rapes, extortions, acid, attacks etc. This is due to delay in legal procedures and the presence of several loopholes in the functioning of a judicial system.

Lack of Political Will: The still- pending Women’s Reservation Bill underscores the lack of political will to empower women politically. The male dominance prevails in the politics of India and women are forced to remain mute spectators.

Way ahead starts with bridging the deep-rooted biases through sustained reconditioning. It is only possible by promoting the idea of gender equality and uprooting social ideology of male child prefers ability. This concept of equality should be first developed in each and every household and from there; it should be taken to the society. This can be achieved by running sustained awareness programs with the help of Nukkad Natak or dramas, radio, television, Internet, etc. across the country.

Replacing ‘Patriarchy’ with Parity: A strong patriarchate society with deep- rooted socio-cultural values continues to affect women’s empowerment. The need of the hour is an egalitarian society, where there is no place for superiority. The Government should identify and eliminate such forces that work to keep alive the tradition of male dominance over its female counterpart by issuing inhumane and unlawful diktats.

Education is the most important and indispensable tool for women empowerment. It makes women aware of their rights and responsibilities. Educational achievements of a woman can have ripple effects for the family and across generations. Most of the girls drop out of schools due to the unavailability of separate toilets for them. The recently launched ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ focusing on improving sanitation facilities in schools and every rural household by 2019, can prove to be very significant in bringing down the rate of girls dropping out of school.

Political Will: Women should have access to resources, rights, and entitlements. They should be given decision-making powers and due position in governance. Thus, the Women Reservation Bill should be passed as soon as possible to increase the effective participation of women in the politics of India.

Bridging implementation gaps: Government or community-based bodies must be set up to monitor the programs devised for the welfare of the society. Due importance should be given for their proper implementation and their monitoring and evaluation through social audits.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Efforts should be made to restructure the legal process to deliver fair and in- time justice to the victims of heinous crimes like rapes, acid attacks, sexual harassment, trafficking and domestic violence. The idea of fast-track courts, devised to impart speedy justice to the victims of rapes and other crimes against women, is a good initiative taken by the judiciary and the Government of India.

Women Empowerment Schemes

References:

https://www.iaspaper.net/women-empowerment-in-india/amp

http://www.importantindia.com/20809/paragraph-on-status-of-women-in-indian-society/

How to Empower Women in India?

Essay on Women Empowerment: Meaning, Importance, Ways

Why Women Empowerment is Important?

How to empower Women?

Challenges for Women Empowerment:

Women Empowerment Schemes

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