1. INTRODUCTION
―Empowerment of women not just a goal in itself ,but key to all global
development goals.‘‘
Women empowerment refers to:-
 -increasing the spiritual , political, social, economic strength of women.
 -developing confidence in their capacities.
 -having decision making power of their own.
 -ability to consider a range of options from yes/no, either/or.
Empowerment is now increasingly seen as a process by which the one's
without power gain greater control over their lives. This means control
over material assets, intellectual resources and ideology. It involves power
to, power with and power within. Some define empowerment as a process
of awareness and conscientization, of capacity building leading to greater
participation, effective decision-making power and control leading to
transformative action. This involves ability to get what one wants and to
influence others on our concerns. With reference to women the power
relation that has to be involved includes their lives at multiple levels,
family, community, market and the state. Importantly it involves at the
psychological level women's ability to assert themselves and this is
constructed by the 'gender roles' assigned to her specially in a cultural
which resists change like India. The questions surrounding women's
empowerment the condition and position of women have now become
critical to the human rights based approaches to development.
The Cairo conference in 1994 organized by UN on Population and
Development called attention to women's empowerment as a central focus
and UNDP developed the Gender Empowerment measure (GEM) which
focuses on the three variables that reflect women's participation in society –

2. political power or decision-making, education and health. 1995 UNDP report
was devoted to women's empowerment and it declared that if human
development is not engendered it is endangered a declaration which almost
become a lei motif for further development measuring and policy planning.
Equality, sustainability and empowerment were emphasized and the stress
was, that women's emancipation does not depend on national income but is
an engaged political process.
Women are as capable as men of exercising will, controlling desires and
taking decisions but males enjoy support of social institutions and women are
excluded as the 'other'. Women are often not treated as "ends in themselves"
persons with dignity who deserve respect from laws and institutions instead
they are treated instrumentally as reproducers, caregivers, sexual receivers,
agents of family's general prosperity. Human development report since 1999
demonstrate that practically no country in the world treats its women as well
as men according to the measures of life expectancy wealth and education.
Developing countries present especially urgent problems where caste and
class result in acute failure of human capabilities of women.
Empowering women means control over their bodies and becoming
economically independent, controlling resources like land and property and
reduction of burden of work. A society or programme which aims at women's
empowerment needs to create and strengthen sisterhood and to promote overall
nurturing, caring and gentleness. PACS emphasis on emphasis on women
SHG's as a collective is one such efforts. Beijing conference 1995 had identified
certain quantitative and qualitative indicators of women empowerment.

3. Beijing conference 1995 indicators of women empowerment, qualitative &
quantitative:-
Qualitative:
1. increase in self-esteem, individual and collective confidence;
2. increase in articulation, knowledge and awareness on health,
nutrition reproductive rights, law and literacy;
3. increase an decrease in personal leisure time and time for child
care;

4. 4. increase on decrease of work loads in new programmes;
5. change in roles and responsibility in family & community;
6. visible increase on decrease in violence on women and girls;
7. responses to, changes in social customs like child marriage,
dowry, discrimination against widows;
8. visible changes in women's participation level attending meeting,
participating and demanding participation;
9. increase in bargaining and negotiating power at home, in
community;
10. increase access to and ability to gather information;
11. formation of women collectives;
12. positive changes in social attitudes;
13. awareness and recognition of women's economic contribution
within and outside the household;
14. women's decision-making over her work and income.
Quantitative indicators:-
A. Demographic trends:-
• maternal mortality rate
• fertility rate
• sex ratio
• life expectancy at birth
• average age of marriage
B. Number of women participating in different development
programmes
C. Greater access and control over community
resources/governments schemes- crèche, credit cooperative, non
formal education.
D. Visible change in physical health status and nutritional level
E. Change in literacy and & enrollment levels

5. F. Participation levels of women in political process Monitorable
targets for the Tenth Plan and beyond had certain key issues related
to gender.
• All children in school by 2003; all children to complete five years
of schooling by 2007.
• Reduction of gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by at least
50% by 2007.
• Reduction of IMR to 45 per 1000 live births by 2007 and 28 by
2012.
• Reduction of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to 2 per 1000 live
births by 2007 onto to by 2012.
Values Of Empowered Women:
1. Self defining-
-Create her own definition of herself rather than accepting others
definition.
-View herself as a complete human person.
-Develop her own standard and values.
2. personal knowledge-
-Explore and trust own emotions/desires experiences.
-Recognize positive/negative characterstics.
-Set goals and work towards them.
-know self through own creative work.
Types of empowerment:-

6. 1.Social Empowerment
2.Economic Empowerment
3.Political Empowerment
SOCIAL
EMPOWERMENT
Education :-
Women's education is extremely important intrinsically as it is their
human right and required for the flourishing of many of their
capacities.It is, however, noticed that most programmes for education
of girls and women in India have reinforced Gender roles specially
motherhood in curriculum as well as impact evaluation.The huge study
of nearly 94% of India's population done by Drez and others looks at
female literacy and its negative and statistically significant impact on
child mortality.The questions of power are interlinked and we
understand that what is necessary is both objective power in terms of
economic resources, laws, institutional roles and norms held by others
as well as subjective power in terms of self efficacy and entitlements.
Empowerment of women is closely related to formal and informal
sources of education. Late 19th century & 20th century reformers
advocated women's education as a principal strategy to answer the
'women's question'. Many innovative efforts are accelerated after the
NPE. In UP a renewal process of correcting gender stereotyping was
initiated in 1998 looking at textbooks and training besides

7. infrastructure and community mobilization. There is marked
improvement in girls enrollment and steady decline in dropout rates.
Empowering Women through Education
"Education is one of the most important means of empowering
women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to
participate fully in the development process."
—ICPD Programme of Action, paragraph 4.2
Education is important for everyone, but it is especially significant
for girls and women. This is true not only because education is an
entry point to other opportunities, but also because the educational
achievements of women can have ripple effects within the family
and across generations. Investing in girls' education is one of the
most effective ways to reduce poverty. Investments in secondary
school education for girls yields especially high dividends.
Girls who have been educated are likely to marry later and to have
smaller and healthier families. Educated women can recognize the
importance of health care and know how to seek it for themselves
and their children. Education helps girls and women to know their
rights and to gain confidence to claim them. However, women‘s
literacy rates are significantly lower than men‘s in most developing
countries.
Education has far-reaching effects
The education of parents is linked to their children's educational
attainment, and the mother's education is usually more influential
than the father's. An educated mother's greater influence in

8. household negotiations may allow her to secure more resources for
her children.
Educated mothers are more likely to be in the labour force, allowing
them to pay some of the costs of schooling, and may be more aware
of returns to schooling. And educated mothers, averaging fewer
children, can concentrate more attention on each child.
Besides having fewer children, mothers with schooling are less
likely to have mistimed or unintended births. This has implications
for schooling, because poor parents often must choose which of their
children to educate.
Closing the gender gap in education is a development priority. The
1994 Cairo Consensus recognized education, especially for women,
as a force for social and economic development. Universal
completion of primary education was set as a 20-year goal, as was
wider access to secondary and higher education among girls and
women. Closing the gender gap in education by 2015 is also one of
the benchmarks for the Millennium Development Goals.
Economic
Empowerment
Women’s Work and Economic
Empowerment
In nearly every country, women work longer hours than men, but are
usually paid less and are more likely to live in poverty. In
subsistence economies, women spend much of the day performing
tasks to maintain the household, such as carrying water and

9. collecting fuel wood. In many countries women are also responsible
for agricultural production and selling. Often they take on paid work
or entrepreneurial enterprises as well.
Unpaid domestic work – from food preparation to caregiving –
directly affects the health and overall well being and quality of life
of children and other household members. The need for women‘s
unpaid labour often increases with economic shocks, such as those
associated with the AIDS pandemic or economic restructuring. Yet
women's voices and lived experiences – whether as workers (paid
and unpaid), citizens, or consumers – are still largely missing from
debates on finance and development. Poor women do more unpaid
work, work longer hours and may accept degrading working
conditions during times of crisis, just to ensure that their families
survive.
Intergenerational gender gaps
The differences in the work patterns of men and women, and the
'invisibility' of work that is not included in national accounts, lead to
lower entitlements to women than to men. Women‘s lower access to
resources and the lack of attention to gender in macroeconomic
policy adds to the inequity, which, in turn, perpetuates gender gaps.
For example, when girls reach adolescence they are typically
expected to spend more time in household activities, while boys
spend more time on farming or wage work. By the time girls and
boys become adults, females generally work longer hours than
males, have less experience in the labour force, earn less income and
have less leisure, recreation or rest time.

10. This has implications for investments in the next generation. If
parents view daughters as less likely to take paid work or earn
market wages, they may be less inclined to invest in their education,
women's fastest route out of poverty.
Political
Empowerment
Throughout much of the world, women‘s equality is undermined by
historical imbalances in decision-making power and access to
resources, rights, and entitlements for women. Either by law or by
custom, women in many countries still lack rights to:
Own land and to inherit property
Obtain access to credit
Attend and stay in school
Earn income and move up in their work, free
from job discrimination
Moreover, women are still widely under-represented in decision-
making at all levels, in the household and in the public sphere.

11. Addressing these inequities through laws and public policy is a way
of formalizing the goal of gender equality. Legal changes, which
most countries have now implemented, are often a necessary step to
institute gender equality, but not necessarily sufficient to create
lasting changes. Addressing the gaps between what the law
proscribes and what actually occurs often requires broad, integrated
campaigns.
Women's political participation has been considered a major
measure of women's Empowerment. To measure women's
empowerment now GEM takes 3 indicators, women's participation
in economic, political and professional activities. Within political
power what is measured is mainly women in parliament, judiciary or
in local bodies. Women's empowerment or disempowerment has to
be seen in all areas physical, socio cultural religious, political legal
and economic.It is also now often pointed out that women's
empowerment must be seen as a process where in we must consider
women's awareness consciousness, choices with live alternatives,
resources at their disposal, voice, agency and participation. These
are all related to enhancement of women's capabilities and decisions
they take individually or collectively for themselves. Several
programmes in India like Mahila Samakhya have accepted the
process nature of women's empowerment. The understandings of
empowerment in PACS has also been similar but planning of
activity, time and budgets to ensure the empowering processes need
greater scrutiny. Women's education, livelihood and personal
exercise of agency have to be systematically promoted .

12. Organisations such as Mahila Samakhya working to conscientise
and organise women in groups and sanghas are able to address the
issue of women and their participation in a two fold manner. On the
one hand they organise intensive training programmes for women
PRI representatives to make them effective functionaries and on the
other hand together own programmes with their members within
there collectives serve to build a culture of questioning, critical
thinking, collective decision-making and mobilisation on public
issues. A mobilised community of women is thus able to raise issues
of significance to the local community within the meetings, demand
accountably from representatives and administrative officials
regarding financial and procedural matters and intervene with
creative suggestions.
Indian Women In Modern
Times
GENDER EQUALITY
Empowering Women
Despite many international agreements affirming their human rights,
women are still much more likely than men to be poor and illiterate.
They usually have less access than men to medical care, property
ownership, credit, training and employment. They are far less likely
than men to be politically active and far more likely to be victims of
domestic violence.
The ability of women to control their own fertility is absolutely
fundamental to women‘s empowerment and equality. When a

13. woman can plan her family, she can plan the rest of her life. When
she is healthy, she can be more productive. And when her
reproductive rights—including the right to decide the number,
timing and spacing of her children, and to make decisions regarding
reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence—are
promoted and protected, she has freedom to participate more fully
and equally in society.
Understanding gender equality and women's
empowerment
Gender equality implies a society in which women and men enjoy
the same opportunities, outcomes, rights and obligations in all
spheres of life. Equality between men and women exists when both
sexes are able to share equally in the distribution of power and
influence; have equal opportunities for financial independence
through work or through setting up businesses; enjoy equal access to
education and the opportunity to develop personal ambitions. A
critical aspect of promoting gender equality is the empowerment of
women, with a focus on identifying and redressing power
imbalances and giving women more autonomy to manage their own
lives. Women's empowerment is vital to sustainable development
and the realization of human rights for all.
Where women‘s status is low, family size tends to be large, which
makes it more difficult for families to thrive. Population and
development and reproductive health programmes are more
effective when they address the educational opportunities, status and
empowerment of women. When women are empowered, whole
families benefit, and these benefits often have ripple effects to future
generations.

14. The roles that men and women play in society are not biologically
determined -- they are socially determined, changing and
changeable. Although they may be justified as being required by
culture or religion, these roles vary widely by locality and change
over time. UNFPA has found that applying culturally sensitive
approaches can be key to advancing women‘s rights while
respecting different forms of social organization.
Addressing women‘s issues also requires recognizing that women
are a diverse group, in the roles they play as well as in
characteristics such as age, social status, urban or rural orientation
and educational attainment. Although women may have many
interests in common, the fabric of their lives and the choices
available to them may vary widely. UNFPA seeks to identify groups
of women who are most marginalized and vulnerable (women
refugees, for example, or those who are heads of households or
living in extreme poverty), so that interventions address their
specific needs and concerns. This task is related to the critical need
for sex-disaggregated data, and UNFPA helps countries build
capacity in this area.
Key issues and linkages
1.Reproductive health: Women, for both
physiological and social reasons, are more vulnerable than men to
reproductive health problems. Reproductive health problems,
including maternal mortality and morbidity, represent a major – but
preventable -- cause of death and disability for women in developing
countries. Failure to provide information, services and conditions to
help women protect their reproduction health therefore constitutes

15. gender-based discrimination and a violation of women‘s rights to
health and life.
2.Stewardship of natural resources: Women in
developing nations are usually in charge of securing water, food and
fuel and of overseeing family health and diet. Therefore, they tend to
put into immediate practice whatever they learn about nutrition and
preserving the environment and natural resources.
3.Economic empowerment: More women than
men live in poverty. Economic disparities persist partly because
much of the unpaid work within families and communities falls on
the shoulders of women and because they face discrimination in the
economic sphere.
4.Educational empowerment: About two thirds of
the illiterate adults in the world are female. Higher levels of
women's education are strongly associated with both lower infant
mortality and lower fertility, as well as with higher levels of
education and economic opportunity for their children.
5.Political empowerment: Social and legal
institutions still do not guarantee women equality in basic legal and
human rights, in access to or control of land or other resources, in
employment and earning, and social and political participation.
Laws against domestic violence are often not enforced on behalf of
women.
Empowerment throughout the life cycle:
Reproductive health is a lifetime concern for both women and men,

16. from infancy to old age. UNFPA supports programming tailored to
the different challenges they face at different times in life.
Experience has shown that addressing gender equality and women‘s
empowerment requires strategic interventions at all levels of
programming and policy-making.
LITERACY RATE:-
YEAR FEMALE MALE
1971 22% 46%
1991 39% 64%
2003 48% 70%
GENDER GAPS:-
 In education half of the students are
women.
 About 1% of the total women population
has college education.
Barriers To Female Education:-
 Inedequate school facilities.

17.  Gender bias.
 Preference to boys.
 ¼ of india‘s population is below powerty line(BPL).
Barriers To Female Employment:-
 CULTURAL RESTRICTIONS:-
-Caste system
-purdha system
 Lack of employment opportunities:-
Contribution Of Various Societies
And NGO’S

18. UNFPA………united nations population fund:-
About UNFPA- Our Mission:-
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development
agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of
health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population
data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every

19. pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV, and
every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
Society for Child and Women Empowerment:-
A NGO group which was formed and started functioning from 11 Feb. 2011
with an area of operation in seven states of India viz. Bihar, Jharkhand,
Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa, Madya Pradesh, Maharashtra and some parts
of Rajasthan. Society of Child & Women Empowerment is a non - government
development organization working on issues affecting the Women and
Children, with a special focus on rural children. It is because ‗Every child
deserves a chance‘ that the organization exists and works towards making that
possible.
S.C.W.E. aims to establish Women's and Child organizations, which help in
empowering them to work collectively with more self-confidence for their own
development.
S.C.W.E. believes in equality , which can be achieved by empowering women
and Children through organization. It facilitate the process by enabling people
to be productive and self- reliant.
This society Firmly believe and is trying hard with their community-based
efforts to improve basic health of women and children, educational rights,
increase access to fundamental rights .Right to life includes right to life with
human dignity.

20. What this society do?
• Child and Women Empowerment
• Vocational Training
• Children Education
• Health Awareness Programmes
• Promote and Establish Health Centres and
Educational Institutes
This society is Dedicated towards Child and Women Empowerment throughout
India.

21. World food programme:-
Smile foundation:- (swabhiman and parivartana)
Swabhiman, an initiative of Smile Foundation, aims to bring pride and dignity
for our girl. Swabhiman, meaning self-respect, is a programme designed to
enable women to realize their full potential in every sphere, be it home, office or
community. This programme helps in enhancing the skills and information
relevant to make them realize their self-esteem. Again, Swabhiman is not anti-
men, but it encourages women to defend themselves and escape from violence
and advocates men to be a part of bringing due dignity for our girl child.
India is a land of
paradox
A land having the
distinction of boasting
the world's largest
number of professionally
qualified women is yet to
ensure a life with dignity
for the majority of its
womenfolk!
India‘s male to female
ratio is an alarming 1000:933. Women form half of the country‘s population,
yet only about half of them are literate. Close to 1.5 lakh women become
victims of various crimes annually, as per reported cases. Further, an estimated
5 crore women face mental and physical cruelty. Although, the legal
marriageable age for a girl in India is 18 years, our girl child doesn‘t have a say
when she is going to be a woman!
Ironically enough, India has the distinction of having the world's largest number
of professionally qualified women! India prides in having more women as

22. "There is a night-and-day difference women having
training like this and those not having this. In crisis, they
are the best people to come out as winners.‖
-- Dr. Kiran Bedi, IPS
doctors, surgeons, scientists and professors than the United States has. India is
also proud of the Kalpana Chawalas, Indra Nooyis, P T Ushas, Sania Mirzas,
Aishwarya Rais, Kiran Majumdar Shaws, Kiran Bedis, to name a few.
As a matter of fact gender-based discrimination and societal behavior leading to
physical and psychological harassments, emotional violence bordering on
cruelty is never scant in woman‘s basket of woes. Social evils begin at the
womb with female feticides, infanticides, sexual harassments, rape and dowry
related tortures putting an end to her misery only at the tomb!
In order to make the women realize their inner strength and importance in the
society, Swabhiman has taken a pledge to illuminate their lives with Pride and
Dignity!
Swabhiman, an initiative of Smile Foundation, aims to bring pride and dignity
for our girl. Swabhiman, meaning self-respect, is a programme designed to
enable women to realize their full potential in every sphere, be it home, office or
community. This programme helps in enhancing the skills and information
relevant to make them realize their self-esteem. Again, Swabhiman is not anti-
men, but it encourages women to defend themselves and escape from violence
and advocates men to be a part of bringing due dignity for our girl child.
1st Milestone [Achievements]
Swabhiman started getting an overwhelming response from the participants,
communities, institutions and organizations alike within a short time of its
launch in Delhi & NCR. During first year of its launch Swabhiman has reached
out to around 4000 beneficiaries through 50 communities and organizations
Women of Substance on Swabhiman
Swabhiman, in course of its short yet eventful journey, has received real value
addition as well as accolades from women of substance! These women have set
their own roads in life, and thus set examples for others to excel, have been
associated with Swabhiman during various activities and programmes.
Comments, suggestions and observations from a few of them are as mentioned
below:

23. ―Never accept being ‗allowed‘ by others to do something.
One must be aware of one‘s right and freedom.‖
-- Ms. Feroz Gujral, Model
PARIVARTAN(BY SMILE FOUNDATION)
Health and hygiene of women and
adolescent girls
No. of Beneficiaries: 400000
Women in India have always faced the discrimination in many spheres of their
lives, health being one of the prominent one. Smile Foundation in support with
Proctor & Gamble has initiated a programme that aims at ensuring improved
health seeking behavior for women with a focus on reproductive health and
menstrual hygiene through training and other information, education and
communication (IEC) tools. At present the programme is implemented in 4
districts of Rajasthan. The programme is being implemented in collaboration
with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

24. Women empowerment important for a powerful
nation: Patil
Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th and current President of the Republic of
India and first woman to hold the office.[1]The status of women in India has
been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia.[2][3] From equal
status with men in ancient times[4] through the low points of the medieval
period,[5] to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of
women in India has been eventful. In modern India, women have adorned high
offices in India including that of the President, Prime minister, Speaker of the
Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition, etc. The current President of India is a
woman.
Sep,22, President Pratibha Patil said women empowerment is very important
for developing India into a powerful nation.“Women empowerment is very
important for the development of the nation. If women become powerful, the
nation will also become powerful along with them,” Patil said while
addressing the platinum jubilee celebration of the All India Marwari
Federation here. She said just like a car cannot move without wheels, a
nation cannot also progress without its two wheels — men and
women.Talking about the business sector, the president said it plays an
important role in the prosperity of the country, but it is even more important
to maintain ethics in business.“…In an era where newer technological
innovation is the need of the hour, it is even more important to maintain
ethics at workplace,” she said. Patil said the characteristic of “unity in
diversity” in India has made it unique in the world. “In our country we have

25. people of various religions, castes, languages. This uniqueness sets India
apart from all other countries,” she said.
Four Ways To Empower Women:-
Women make up slightly more than 50 percent of the world's population, but
account for over 60 percent of the world's hungry.
Women hold the key to a future free from hunger and poverty. By supporting
women’s education, training them as business leaders, equipping them to
become better farmers and aiding those displaced by conflict, the Women’s
Empowerment Fund is giving WFP and its supporters a new way to help them
do that.
As mothers, farmers, teachers and entrepreneurs, a great deal hinges on their
success. Evidence shows that with equal access to education, training and
means, women can raise the living standards of their families and inject new life
into the local economy.
Empowering women

26. ―People often ask me, what can be done to defeat
hunger? If you had all the resources in the world to end hunger, what would you
do? My answer is simple: empower women, because women are the secret
weapon to fight hunger.‖
Josette Sheeran
WFP Executive Director
WFP is working around the world to make sure women succeed—and now you
can too. Through the Women‘s Empowerment Fund, anyone can choose one of
four ways to help women lift themselves out of poverty—and their families and
communities along with them.
1. Help them become business leaders
Evidence shows that women in Africa re-invest about 90 percent of their
income back into their households compared to between 30 and 40 percent for
men. Giving women the knowledge and skills they need to run successful farms
and businesses is an efficient way to strengthen poor families.
⇒ Find out how women salt producers from Senegal are raising profits while
they stamp out iodine deficiency
2. Help them grown more and better food
Women produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing
countries, despite having less access to land and credit than men do. Providing
them with the tools and training they need to raise quality and yields is one of
the best ways to increase food production in countries prone to hunger.
⇒ Find out how an HIV-positive woman from Kenya beat back the virus while
raising her farm yields.

27. 3. Help them rebuild after conflicts
Women are particularly vulnerable in times of conflict, even as their role as
providers becomes more important than ever. Easing their return home by
giving them the tools and training they need to rebuild can kick-start the
recovery process for an entire community.
⇒ Find out how food assistance makes recovery possible
for victims of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
4. Help them and their daughters get an education
Two thirds or the approximately 75 million children denied
an education around the world are girls. Yet studies show
that educated women have healthier children, who are more
likely to live longer and attend schools themselves.
Educating women is thus an important first step towards beating poverty and
hunger.
Approaches that Empower:-
To empower women we must:-
Educate women. Give them the information they need about their
bodies and sex. Information is power and women have the right to
receive it.
Give women the skills they need to use a condom. Make them
condom literate. Provide skills training on communication about
sex and foster interpartner communication.
Improve women‘s access to economic resources. Ensure that they
have property and inheritance rights, have access to credit, receive
equal pay for equal work, have the financial, marketing and
business skills necessary to help their businesses grow, have access
to the agricultural extension services to ensure the highest yield

28. from their land, have access to formal sector employment, and are
protected in the informal sector from exploitation and abuse.
Ensure that women have access to health services and that they
have HIV and STI prevention technologies that they can control,
such as the female condom and microbicides. And support the
development of an AIDS vaccine that is safe, effective, and
accessible to women and young girls.
Increase social support for women who are struggling to change
existing gender norms by giving them opportunities to meet in
groups, visibly in communities; by strengthening local women‘s
organizations and providing them with adequate resources; and by
promoting sexual and family responsibility among boys and men.
Move the topic of violence against women from the private sphere
to the public sphere. This is not a personal issue it is a gross
violation of women‘s rights and is has significant negative
implications for the health of communities and for economic
development.
And, to give women a voice, provide them with the opportunity to
create a group identity separate from that of the family because for
many women the family is often the social institution that enforces
strict adherence to traditional gender norms; and promote women‘s
decision-making at the household, community, and national level
by promoting women‘s leadership and participation.
Conclusion
Let me conclude by urging all of us to ensure that the term empowerment of
women becomes more than just a linguistic icon whose meaning is inversely
proportional to its use! Empowering women and guaranteeing them their
economic and social rights is not an option. In the AIDS epidemic it prevents
deaths. It ensures that one of the greatest barriers to the health of populations
and to economic development is eliminated – gender inequity. Empowering
women is not a zero-sum game. Power is not a finite concept. More power to
women does not translate into less power for men. Empowering women,
strengthening their agency as actors and decision-makers in their own lives, and

29. guaranteeing their rights increases the power of women, as well that of
households, communities, and entire economies.
Concluding the topic ,I would like to say that , our so called ―SOCIETY‖ and
―FAMILY‖ are formed by the combination of both man and women, so they
should get equal consideration, after all both are HUMAN BEINGS then WHY
SO MUCH OF DIFFERENCE??????????
webliography:-
http://socyberty.com/society/women-empowerment-2/#ixzz1LMGbnrA6