Women Empowerment- The Need Of The Hour

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Shivam Dheeran talks about the need for Women Empwerment in the country.

There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.

Swami Vivekananda

Performing multiple roles easily every single day, women are without any doubt the backbone of every society. Daughters, Mothers, Colleagues and a wide range of many other jobs are being performed by women impeccably and flawlessly. They work tirelessly 24 hours 7 days for the fulfillment of the needs of their families. Their job is one without vacation, one without rest.

However, they’re also one of the most ignored fraction of the society in many parts of the world. They face inequality, oppression, violence and many other social evils every now and then. For centuries now, they have been living under the captivity that restricts them from achieving their personal as well as professional dreams and goals. It is kind of ironical that a country, which has acclaimed the status of first Asian country to land on mars on its maiden attempt, has a rank of 127 out of 142 on gender inequality index, as of 2015[1].

Why is empowerment of women debated round the globe? Is empowerment really the answer? Is India really developing without the development of its females?

 

Why Empowerment is required?

(Even after 7 decades of India’s Independence)

India is a male dominated country. Males dominate in every sphere of professional work and females are forced to be responsible for house hold activities i.e to take care of their families. They’re not allowed to pursue their carrier either by their parents or by their husbands. They’re caught in a web of cultural norms andresponsibilities.

They constitute around 50 % of the India’s population. They’re the other half, which is as competent and talented, as men.But females are not educated, not allowed to choose their carriers. Their dreams are no dreams. Their goals are no goals. They’re not permitted to take an interest in employment. Some, who fight these norms and land jobs, are discriminated, harassed in their work places. They’re not provided with equal pay as men. They’re not even treated with equal respect.

Even after 69 years of independence, women are not independent.

Women Empowerment refers to the invigorating of women and giving them the power to emancipate from the vicious circle of social, economical, political and gender-based discrimination. It refers to the creation of an environment in which women are free to pursue what they want. It means giving women the status, respect and opportunities same as that of men.

Empowerment is giving women the choices, they want to make. It is the dreams they want to fulfill. It is the carriers choices that they want to make. Empowerment can/cannot be the answer to the upliftment of women but it is what the current requires.

Current Situation in India

The condition of women in India has not improved significantly. Today also women are discriminated, exploited, victimized like in earlier days due to the deep rooted patriarchal mentality in Indian society. But the condition of women today is far better in comparison to that in 60s. Women in India now participate in various fields such as sports, politics, science and technology etc. Women’s are now being educated, are given the chance to fulfill their dreams, are given the permission to do their dream job. They’re now far more independent than they were in past.

Reason – There is no single reason for the improvement in the situation of women in India. Education, Mass Awareness and Government measures are some of them.

Provisions are made in the constitution of India such as Right to Equality under Article 14, Equal pay for Equal work under Article 39(d) and Maternity Relief under Article 42.

Apart from constitutional provisions various acts are also constituted for the empowerment of Women. Acts like Dowry Prohibition Act 1961,Protection of Women from Domestic violence 2005,Sexual Harassment of Women at Work places Act 2013 etc.

 Conclusion

Even after so many acts, constitutional provisions, women are not treated equal to men. Their situation has improved but not significantly. These acts have failed to perform the task they were formed for, in the first place. This is because through all these years, the attention is only on developing and devising new schemes and no attention has been paid on proper monitoring of these schemes.

New acts and laws are made daily but the real change will come when these acts will be properly monitored.

Empowerment of Women is indispensible for this society. We are a generation raised and nurtured by women and the time has come when we realize their true value.

Women should also consider their strengths and move forward to unfold their true potential. They need to achieve their goals through self development. Because empowerment cannot be brought and given, it needs to originate.

 

[1] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-ranks-127th-on-gender-inequality-index-out-of-142-countries-Report/articleshow/49758677.cms

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