The document discusses the role and empowerment of women globally and in India. It notes that traditionally women have been subordinate to men but empowerment involves giving women rights, responsibilities, and the ability to influence decisions. It outlines issues facing women like violence, lack of access to education and jobs, and domestic abuse statistics. It also discusses women's roles in agriculture and milestones in empowering women in India through programs and legal measures, while more progress is still needed.
2. INTRODUCTION
The empowerment of women refers to providing the necessary rights and
responsibilities to women in order to make them self-reliant.
Traditionally, Indian women have been brought to become workers or servants
to serve the man – dominating world.
Empowerment is the process of building capacities of women, creating an
atmosphere which will enable people to fully utilize their creative potentials.
Empowerment gives women, the capacity to influence decision making process,
planning, implementation and evaluation.
Gender gap exists regarding access to education and employment.
Household decision-making power and freedom of movement of women vary
considerably with their age, education and employment status.
4. Atrocities on women
Male violence against women is a worldwide phenomenon.
Although not every woman has experienced it, and many expect not to, fear
of violence is an important factor in the lives of most women.
It determines what they do, when they do it, where they do it, and with
whom.
Fear of violence is a cause of women's lack of participation in activities
beyond the home, as well as inside it.
5. Brutalities- A Statistical Chronicle
Another danger in India is that, Indian law does not differentiate between
major and minor rape.
In every ten-rape case, six are of minor girls. In every seven minutes a
crime is committed against women in India.
Every 26 minutes a woman is molested.
Every 34 minutes a rape takes place. Every 42 minutes a sexual
harassment incident occurs.
Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped. And every 93 minutes a woman is
burnt to death over dowry.
One-quarter of the reported rapes involve girls under the age of 16 but the
vast majority are never reported.
Although the penalty is severe, convictions are rare.
7. Women in the filed of Agriculture
The women are the backbone of agricultural workforce
but worldwide her hard work has mostly been unpaid.
She does the most tedious and back-breaking tasks in
agriculture, animal husbandry and homes.
The research efforts at the ICAR institutes have been tried
to relieve her of the drudgery by providing time and
labour saving tools.
Her enlightenment will change the face of rural India.
Several programmes started at the National Centre for
Women in Agriculture and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, are the
right steps in this direction.
8.
9. Women Empowerment In India –
Milestones & Challenges
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.
10. The Cairo Conference-Women’s
Participation in Society
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 – 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.
11. CONCLUSION
"When women move forward the family moves, the village moves and
the nation moves".
It is essential as their thought & their value systems lead the
development of a good family, good society & ultimately a good
nation".
Indian government has taken several steps towards empowering
women.
Empowerment of women also requires participation and co-operation
of men as they benefit by having educated mothers, wives, daughters
and sisters.
The economic empowerment will allow raising women's self awareness,
skill development, creative decision making and it may also lead to
produce better citizens and a new and modern India.