conflux journal of education issn 2320-9305 volume 1...

Conflux Journal of Education ISSN 2320-9305 Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2013 1

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COGNITIVE DISCOURSES International Multidisciplinary Journal

pISSN 2321-1075 eISSN 2347-5692 Volume 4, Issue 6, May 2017

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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: AN INVESTIGATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Pranjali Dighe1

Abstract

Empowerment is a word which is related to power. It was widely used in 1990s. For women to

gain the control of themselves, is very important to eliminate the domination of men. It is mandatory

for the women to have dignity and self-respect. The discrimination of men and women is an age old

issues. Hence, the demand for the equality and equity is an obvious phenomenon. The quest for

equality has risen various organizations and the associations of women. In the developing era, it has

become necessary that women should be empowered in every fronts like, Political, Economic,

Socially, Educationally etc. all these empowerment will lead to the process of development. The

current paper will discuss regarding the importance of the empowerment in the societies and also the

types of empowerment through which development can be achieved. Further it is also necessary to

know about the organizations which are in the journey to help women to achieve empowerment.

Review has been done in this context also.

Keywords: Empowerment, Development, Equality, Equity, Organization.

INTRODUCTION

The topic on “Women Empowerment” is a scorching issue all over the world. “Women

empowerment” and “women equality with men” is a universal issue. Gender inequality is one of the

main social issues in India. Women empowerment needs to take a high speed to equalize both the

genders. To increase the economic, political and social strength of the women is must. Women should

be able to claim their rights such as they should have equal status in the society, they should get equal

opportunities for education and employment etc. there are various dimensions of empowerment which

are necessary for the women but the economic empowerment of women is a vigorous component of

strong economic growth in any country. Empowering women enhances their ability for the

encouragement of changes and to create a better society. Traditionally, gender based divisions

persisted long back because the intra-household decision-making are taken by women. Women

basically decide on food preparation and men make the financial decision. One should not forget that

women are one of the greatest assets in our society. They are equal to men in all aspects. Women are

more perfectionists in the power to create, nurture and transform.’

In India the process of empowerment has already begun. Now a steady improvement is

important and to understand the dimensions will help in the development of the country. The policies

and the Programmes by the Government are proof that the status of the women is getting better. In the

political field, the reservation for women is a significant step forward towards their political

empowerment. When thirty-three percent reservations for women in Parliament becomes a reality,

women’s voice will be heard in the highest forum of democracy.

1 Doctoral Scholar, Calorx Teachers' University, Ahmedabad.


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IMPORTANCE OF EMPOWERMENT

Empowering women to participate fully in all the sectors is essential to build stronger

economies, achieve worldwide agreed objectives for development and sustainability, and improve the

quality of life for women, men, families and communities. The concept of empowerment flows from

the word power. Empowerment of women would mean boosting women to be self-reliant,

economically self-governing, have positive self-esteem, generate self-confidence to face any difficult

condition and incite active participation in various socio-political development endeavors. Women

empowerment in its actuality is synonymous with complete development of the society. An educated

woman, with knowledge about health, hygiene, cleanliness is capable of creating a better disease-free

environment for her family. The empowerment has been felt as an instrument to bring out changes in

their socio-economic condition. It has been felt on the part of nation as well as individual that no

society can progress till women, a major constituent of society, as women have the power to change

the society.

OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

1. The objective of this research is to know the various dimensions of empowerment and how

they are helpful in the process of development.

2. To know about the organizations which are helping the women to gain the empowerment.

GENDER EQUALITY DISCOURSE

The inequality between man and women are seen in all the fronts of life. Gender equality is

considers as a critical element in achieving the equality in the society. Women need to participate in

all the spheres of life, but because of the gender inequality, the participation and the decision making

process of women are suffering. There are certain areas of inequality in the society such as economic

participation of women, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and survival. Even

MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and SDGs (sustainable development goals) also have the

goals regarding the gender equality. Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against

the women is necessary. Achieving gender equality requires women’s empowerment to ensure that

decision-making at private and public levels and access to resources are no longer weighted in men’s

favor, so that both women and men can fully participate as equal partners in productive and

reproductive life. It is important to create an open and friendly atmosphere to address gender

discrimination issues; therefore it is critical to involve men and women rather than only women.

Because gender biases are embedded in culture, it is very difficult to eliminate them without having a

holistic view and involving men as a part of the solution.

DIMENSIONS OF EMPOWERMENT

There are various dimensions of empowerment which helps women in the process of progress.

They are as follows:

Social empowerment: social empowerment comes from gender equality. Women and men in the

society should enjoy the same position for the opportunities they are getting. The ill practices in the

society should be eliminated in the society so that women should feel safe and united. It could be

understood as the development of the self-confidence and autonomy to change the social relationships

in the society in an affirmative manner. The position of the women in the society should change and

the prospects towards development should open up.




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Educational empowerment: To grab the knowledge from the society and to show the conscience in

taking various decisions. Education also brings a reduction in inequalities and functions as a means of

improving their status within the family. Education exposes women to new thoughts and ideas and

provides necessary skills hence, to think harmonies development without educating women is

impossible. Moreover it is rightly said that to educate the women is to educate the whole family. The

educational empowerment will help in gaining the legal knowledge and spread awareness among

women which will be extremely beneficial for the society.

Economic empowerment: Economic empowerment encloses financial empowerment or financial

literacy. Economic empowerment is about reducing the financial dependence of the women on the

man. It gives women a freedom of understanding the money cycle and gaining knowledge about it.

When a women is able to participate and contribute in the decision of choices of resources of life. The

economic power lies with any individual also helps in the increase of the social status. A self-

employed woman is capable of contributing not only to her family’s finances, but also contributes

towards increment of the country’s overall GDP. A shared source of income is much more likely to

raise the quality of life than a single income household and more often than not helps the family come

out of poverty trap.

Political Empowerment: To being the political empowerment, education is necessary to understand

the political affairs. The existence political system should be such that it should encourage the

participation of women into it. The articles which are provide by the Constitution should be known by

the women so that it will help in bringing gender equality. Some of them are article 14, article 16,

article 39 etc. Even the National Policy for Empowerment of Women (2001) is aimed at addressing all

forms of violence against women including physical, mental and that arising from customs and

traditions.

OVERALL DEVELOPMENT

The main benefit of women empowerment is the overall development of the society.

Through all the dimensions of empowerment women will be able to gain awareness and knowledge

due to that they will not only help their family but also the society. It is the need of the hour to ensure

her participation in the decision-making at home, in community and at the national level. The benefits

of education for women are inevitable. The personal development of the women can be seen

effectively. Women Empowerment leads to decrease in domestic violence because of their education

and conscience.

Every married woman has the obligation to fulfill the needs of her family. She is expected

to use all her knowledge into the household chores and in taking care of the children. Women who

are able to read about the health care and the nutrition will defiantly perform well and willingly try to

improve her knowledge. An educated woman is more nicely able to understand the needs of her

children and her husband and also help in the school and office related tasks, which should be

appreciable.

Generally the uneducated women are at higher risk for domestic violence than educated

women. Women empowerment helps women to get educated and know their rights and duties and

hence can stop corruption. 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



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earnings of women help the family to come out of poverty trap. Women are increasingly participating

in the national and sustainable development process.

ORGANIZATIONS WORKING FOR WOMEN

There are many Governmental and Non-governmental organizations which are working for

the welfare of the women. Some of them are as follows:

SEWA: SEWA is a trade union registered in 1972. It is an organization of poor, self-employed

women workers. These are women who earn a living through their own labor or small businesses.

They do not obtain regular salaried employment with welfare benefits like workers in the organized

sector. They are the unprotected labor force of our country. Constituting 93% of the labor force, these

are workers of the unorganized sector. Basically, SEWA is moving with two goals, Full Employment

and Self Reliance. Organization is also helping in the capacity building process of the women

employees. The female labor force in India, more than 94% are in the unorganized sector. However

their work is not counted and hence remains invisible.. SEWA provides full employment to the

women and make them independent. The aim of SEWA is to make the women’s work visible in the

society through strengthening their leadership, their confidence, their bargaining power within and

outside their homes and their representation in policy-making and decision-making fora. The

organization is still working hard to help the poor women who are struggling in the various fronts of

life.

MUKHTAR MAI: It is an organization which helps in eliminating violence against women. It is

aspiring to bring about positive and lasting change by provisions of services that promote economic,

social and cultural empowerment. It carries various projects like Girls Model School, shelter home,

women resource center, community volunteers and advocacy. It envisions an equal opportunity

society where men and women are treated equally and are able to exercise their civil, political, social,

economic and cultural rights.

CARE: In India, CARE focuses on the empowerment of women and girls because they are

disproportionately affected by poverty and discriminations; and suffers abuse and violations in the

realization of their rights, entitlements and access and control over resources. Also, experience shows

that, when equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and

entire communities overcome poverty, marginalization and social injustice. The organization works on

different dimensions like Education, health, livelihood and disaster.

AZAD FOUNDATION: The mission of the foundation is to equip resource-poor women with

knowledge and skills so that they excel as professionals and entrepreneurs, and earn a “livelihood with

dignity” in jobs and markets that had traditionally been closed to them. They believe that social and

economic empowerment for women is must. Women should get opportunity for work in the safe

environment. The organization basically helps women from the backward class as they are

underprivileged and do not get equal opportunities.

TARSI: This organization on sexual and reproductive health and rights, without restricting it to a

disease-prevention, violence against women or sexual minorities framework, but rather approaching

issues of sexuality from a broader and an affirmative, rights-based perspective. We strongly believe in

each individual's right to make their own choices in freedom and in dignity. TARSI conducts training

and the workshops to generate awareness among the women regarding the sexual and reproductive




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issues and to help them. They believes that among the young generation, the education regarding the

sensitive issues of sexual health is very important. They provide various e- learning courses and

publication through which the youth can get awareness.

PROGRAMMES AND POLICIES FOR WOMEN

To empower women economically, politically and socially government is paying prime

attention for the various sachems which can be beneficial for the empowerment. There are certain

schemes through which women can be helped some of them are as follows:

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme

One Stop Centre Scheme

Women Helpline Scheme

UJJAWALA : A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and Rescue,

Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual

Exploitation

Working Women Hostel

Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme For the Children of Working Mothers

Ministry approves new projects under Ujjawala Scheme and continues existing projects

SWADHAR Greh (A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances)

Revision under IGMSY in Accordance with National Food Security Act, 2013 in XIIth Plan

Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP)

NARI SHAKTI PURASKAR

Maternity Benefit Programme

Mahila police Volunteers

Mahila E-Haat

SUGGESTIONS

Women’s participation should be appreciated in every decision making process.

The attitude of men towards women needs to be changed in a positive manner.

Educational preferences should be given to both man and women.

Mass communication and awareness should be given to women regarding various issues like

health and reproduction.

More policies and Programmes should be designed for women and her participation in it

should be made mandatory.

The organizations which are working should be promoted and funds should be allocated to

them.

The case studies of the successful women should be published so that other women who are

struggling get inspiration from them.

The restrictions especially in the rural areas need to be abolished.



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The evaluation of every implemented project must be taken on regular basis so that the loop

holes can be identified easily.

New initiatives for education and empowerment needs to be thought.

CONCLUSION

It is known fact that the empowerment of women in the society will bring a positive change.

Women empowerment generally has three components. Firstly, women’s sense of self-worth.

Secondly, their rights to have a power of control their own lives, both within and outside home.

Lastly, their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a just social and economic

order nationally, internationally and universally. The transformation of unequal society is more

crucial and important. The role of women outside and inside the home is important. Therefore,

education and training both should be mandatory for the women. Promoting this type of social

transformation is a challenging task but one needs to stick to the goals to bring the development in the

society. There should be an attitudinal change in the society towards women. Their each and every

participation should be appreciated. The constitutional rights are also helping women to

Empowerment helps the society to make a better place to live, which will also increase the

inclusive participation from women. It means increase in happiness for family and ultimately the

nation.

To sum up, women empowerment cannot be possible unless and until women come help to

self-empower themselves. There is a need to formulate feminized poverty in such a way that the

poverty should be reduced, promoting education of women, and prevention and elimination of

violence against women should be a prime target to bring equality.

REFERENCES

Amtul, Waris.,& Viraktamath, B. C. (2013). Gender gaps and womens empowerment in India- Isuues

and stratergies. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 1-9.

Azad foundation. (2017, April 6). Azad foundation. Retrieved from Azad Foundation:

http://azadfoundation.com/about-us/our-vision-mission/

CARE. (2017, May 30). CARE. Retrieved from CARE: https://www.careindia.org/about

Keshab, C.M. (2013). Concept and Types of Women Empowerment. West Bengal: International

Forum of Teaching and Studies.

Lincoln.,,Nicola, Denham., et.al. (2002). The Meaning of Empowerment: the interdisciplinary

etymology of a new management concept. International Journal of Management Reviews, 1-34.

Ministry of Education and Social welfare. (1947). Towards Equality. New Delhi: Government of

India.

Sahay, S. (1998). Women and Empowerment. New Delhi: Sage Publications.

SEWA. (2016, May 30). Self employeed womens association. Retrieved from SEWA:

http://www.sewa.org/

TARSI. (2017, May 5). Talking about reproductive and sexual health issues. Retrieved from TARSI:

http://www.tarshi.net/index.asp?pid=13




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