WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA- A BRIEF DISCUSSION

                                            Created by - SUBHALAXMI SETHY

                                              UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION,UDTE

                                               Vanibihar,Bhubaneswara

                                                 E.mail- subhalaxmisethy@75gmail.com

 

CONTENT
1.   ABSTRACT
2.   INTRODUCTION
3.   WOMEN IN INDIA
4.   EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN IN INDIA
5.   RESON FOR EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN.
6.   NGOS INITIATVES FOR WOMEN EMPOERMENT
7.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES RELATED TO WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT.
8.   ASSESSING STUDENT’S UNDERSTANDING  ON WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN THE CLASS ROOM.
9.   CONCLUSION.
10.  RECOMMENDATION.
11. REFERENCE

Women Empowerment India : A brief discussion

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SUBHALAXMI SETHY

UTKAL UNIVERSITY,DEPT. OF UDTE,ODISHA,INDIA

E.-mail-Subhalaxmisethy@75gmail.com.

ABSTRACT

Women empowerment is a debatable subject. At earlier time they were getting equal status with men but they had faced some difficulties during post-vedic and epic age. Many time they are treated as a salve . From early twenty century their status have been changed slowly and gradually. After then , independence of India the constitutional makers and national leader strongly demand equal social position of women with men. Today we have seen the women occupied the  respectable position in all walk of the field. Yet they have not absolutely free some discriminated and harassment of the society .A few number of women have been able to establish their potentialities . There fore each and every should be careful to promote the women issue.

INTRODUCTION

Women  constitute almost 50% of the worlds population but India has shown disproportionate sex ratio whereby female’s population has been comparatively lower than males . As far as their social status   is concerned

They are not treated as equal  as equal to men in all place. In the western country women have equal right and opportunities. But the gender disabilities  and discrimination are found in India even today. The paradoxical situation has such that she was some times connected as goddess at other timely as slave.

WOMEN IN INDIA

Now the women  in india enjoy unidue status of equality with the men as per constitutional and legal provision. But the Indian women  have come a long way to achieve the present position. First gender ineqyality in india can be traced back to the historic day of mahabharat when draupadi was put on the dice by her husband  as a community.

History witness that womenwas made to dance both in privatesand public place  to pleasure the man.secondly in india society a female was always depends on males member of the families even lat few years ago . Thirdly a female was not allows to speak with loud  voice in the present elder member of her in-law family .in the family every fault had gone  to her and responsible. Fourth as a widow her dependence on a male member of the family still more increase. In many social activity  she is not permitted to mix with other member of the  family. Other hands,she   has very little share in political , social, and economics life of the socity.

The early twenty century, it was rise the national movement under theleadership of mahatmagandhi who was the faver of removing all the disabilities  of women. At the same time  Raja ram mohan roy, iswar Chandra bidyasagar and various other social  reformer laid stress on women educations , prevention of child marriage, withdrawal of sati practice ,removal of polygamy etc.

 

The national movement and various  reform movement paved the way for their liberation from the social evils and religious taboos  . In this content we may write about the act of sati 1829, hindu widow remarriage  act 1856, the child restriction act 1929, women property right act 1937 etc.

After independence of india, the constitution makers and the national leader recognized  the equal social position of women with men. The hindu marriage act 1955 has determined  the age for marriage.,provided for monogamy and guardianship of the mother and permitted   the dissolution of marriage under specific circumstances under the hindu adoption and maintenance act , 1956 an unmarried women,widow or divorce of sound mind can also take child in adoption .

 

Similarly , the dowery  prohibition act of 1961 says that any person who gives takes or abets the giving or taking of dowry shall be punished with imprisonment , which may extend to six month or fine up to rs 5000\ or with both.The constitution of india guarantees equality of sexes and in fact  grant special favour to women. These can be found  in three articles of the constitution. Article 14  say that government shall not deny  to any person equality before law or equal protection law. Articles 15 declaration that government 

shall not discriminate against any citizen  on the ground of sex. Article 15 (3) makes a special provision enabling  the state  to make  affirmative.

discrimination in favour of women Articles 42 direct the state to make provision for ensuring just  and human condition  of work  and maternity relief.

Above  all the constitution regards a fundamental duty on every citizens through articles 15(A) ,(E) to renounce the practices derogatory to the dignity women.

Empowerment Of Women In India

 

The concept  of empowerment flows from the power. It is vesting where it does not exist inadequately. Empowerment of women would mean equipping women to be economically independent, self reliant, have positive esteem to enable them to face any difficult situation and they should be able to participate in the resources development (MHRD 1985) and the national commission for women (NCW) have been worked  to safeguard the right  and legal entitlement of the women.

The 73^rd and 74^th amendments  (1993) to the constitution of India have provided  some special power to women that for   reservation of seats (33%) where as the report HRD  as march 2022 ,show that the legislature with the highest percentage of women are sweden 42%, Denmark 38%, Finland36%. In India new  panchayata raj is the part of effort to empower women at least   at the various village level.

 

The government of India has ratified various international  conventions  and  human rights instruments committing to secure equal rights through women. These are CEDAW (1993) the mexico plan of action(1975), the Nairobi forwards looking strategies (1985), the Beijing declaration as well as the platform for action(1995) . and other such instruments

 

The year of 2001 was the observe as the year of women empowerment. During the year a land mark document has been adopted , “The national  polices for empowerment women” for the beneficiaries women the government has been adopted different scheme and programme i.e  the national credit fund for women 1993 , food and nutrition board , information and mass education IMF etc.

 

The most positive development last few years has been growing  involvement  of women in the panchayati raj institution.  There are many elected women representatives at the village council level. At the present all over India there are total 20,56.,882 laces go an panchayata member, out of this women member is 8,38 244.  And total Zila parisada member  is 11,708 out of this women member 4,923.

At the central state level too women are progressively making a difference. Today I have seen women chief minister , president , different political leader , well establishment   businessman.The most notable amongst are Mrs prativa devi singh, shila Dexit, Sonia Gandhi, binda karat,  susama swaraj, raiway minister mamata banarji, narmada bachhao’s leader Medhapatkar, indira Gandhi.etcth,  women are balso envovling  in the human development issue  of child rearing  , education ; heath, and gender party  . Many of them have gone into the making and marketing of a range of cottage products-pickles, tailoring, embroidery etc. The economic empowerment of women is being regarded these days as a sine-quo-non of progress for a country; hence, the issue of economic empowerment of women is of paramount importance to political thinker  social thinker and reform.

Reasons for the empowerment of women Today we have noticed different Acts and Schemes of the central government as well as state government to empower the women of India. But in India women are discriminated and marginalized at every level of the society whether it is social participation, political participation, economic participation, access to education, and also reproductive healthcare. Women are found to be economically very poor all over the India. A few women are engaged in services and other activities. So, they need economic power to stand on their own legs on per with men. Other hand, it has been observed that women are found to be less literate than men. According to 2001 census, rate of literacy among men in India is found to be 76% whereas it is only 54% among women. Thus, increasing education among women is of very important in empowering them. It has also noticed that some of women are too weak to work. They consume less food but work more. Therefore, from the health point of view, women folk who are to be weaker are to be made stronger. Another problems is that workplace harassment of women. There are so many cases of rape, kidnapping of girl, dowry harassment, and so on. For these reasons, they require empowerment of all kinds in order to protect themselves and to secure their purity and dignity. To sum up, women empowerment can not be possible unless women come with and help to self-empower themselves. There is a need to formulate reducing feminized poverty, promoting education of women, and prevention and elimination of violence against women.

 

 

                                      Dimensions Of Women Empowerment

The Human Development Index was introduced for the first time by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1990 to measure the socio economic progress of a nation. The 1995 report emphasised on empowering women as it was required for the overall human development. To study the statistics related to human development and the share of women, two indices were introduced namely Gender Development Index (GDI) that takes into account inequality in the achievements between women and men and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) which measures the extent to which a women has influence in decision-making in politics, in professional life and in organisations.

 

 

. Economic Empowerment

i.                 The Ministry of Women and Child development has been administering „Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) Scheme‟ since 1986-87 as a „Central Sector Scheme‟. The scheme aims to provide employability skills and competency to women in the age group of 16 years and above to enable women to become self-employed/ entrepreneurs. The grant under the Scheme is given to an institution/ organisation including ngos directly. The assistance will be available in any sector including but not limited to the Agriculture, Horticulture, Food Processing, Handlooms, Tailoring, Stitching, Embroidery, Zari etc, Handicrafts, Computer & IT enable services along with soft skills and skills for the work place such as spoken English, Gems & Jewellery, Travel & Tourism, Hospitality (STEP, 2009

                                              

ii. The Government of India being concerned about the difficulties faced by working women, introduced a scheme in 1972-73 of grant-in- aid for construction of new/ expansion of existing buildings for providing hostel facilities to working women in cities, smaller towns and also in rural areas where employment opportunities for women exist. Based on an evaluation, the existing scheme has been revised to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women who need to live away from their families due to professional commitments (Scheme for Working Women Hostel, 1972-73). Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers was recast by government of India in 2006 and the aim of the programme was to provide day-care facilities for children (6 months to 6 years) of working mothers in the community, to improve nutrition and health status of children, to promote physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of children and further to educate and empower parents /caregivers for better childcare.

 

iii. The Finance Minister in his budget speech (2017-18) announced setting up of Mahila Shakti Kendra at village level in 14 lakh ICDS Anganwadi Centres with an allocation of 500 crore. The purpose of this scheme is to provide “one stop convergent support services for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital literacy, health and nutrition”. Ministry of Women and Child Development has proposed a sub-scheme namely Mahila Shakti Kendra under the Umbrella Scheme of Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women, this scheme is envisaged to provide an interface for rural women to approach the government for availing their entitlements and for empowering them through training and capacity building. The scheme provides convergent support is being proposed for equal access to healthcare, quality

               iv.education, career and vocational guidance, employment, health and safety, social security and digital literacy at Gram Panchayats level in selected districts/ blocks across the co

 

Social Empowerment

 

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme was launched in January 2015 in Panipat, Haryana by our Hon‟ble Prime Minister to address the issue of decline in Child Sex ratio and related issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continuum. The scheme was initially launched in 100 districts in 2014-15, was expanded to 61 additional districts in 2015-16 and then it was expanded to all 640 districts of the country through a nation-wide mass media campaign, focused intervention and multi-sectoral action in select districts. Goal of the scheme is to celebrate the girl child and enable her education. (Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme Guidelines, 2019) The campaign aims at ensuring that girls are born, nurtured and educated without discrimination to become empowered citizens of this country with equal rights. The government introduced many innovative activities under this scheme like Digital Guddi-Gudda Board, Udaan-Sapneya Di Duniya De Rube like Digital Guddi-Gudda Board, Udaan-Sapneya Di Duniya De Rubaru, My Aim My Target Campaign, lakshya se like Digital Guddi-Gudda Board, Udaan-Sapneya Di Duniya De Rubaru, My Aim My Target Campaign, lakshya srubaru, Pahal-Ek Kadam Nari Samman ki Aur, Ghar ki Pehchan Beti ke Naam, Bal Cabinet, Introduce Pink Cards and many more.Panic Button on Mobile Phones was an initiative by The Ministry of Women and Child Development since June 2014 had taken up the issue of installation of physical panic button on mobile photos.  

ii. One stop centre (oscs) are intended to support women affected by violence, in private and public spaces, within the family, community and at the workplace. Women facing physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and economic abuse, irrespective of age, class, caste, education status, marital status, race and culture will be facilitated with support and redressal. Aggrieved women facing any kind of violence due to attempted sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, trafficking, honour related crimes, acid attacks or witch-hunting who have reached out or been referred to the osc will be provided with specialized services. Under this scheme, in the first phase, one osc envisaged to be established in each state/union territory to facilitateaccess to an integrated range of services including medical, legal, and psychological support. Further, 150 additional centres are taken up in second phase during2016-17 in addition to 36 centres in the first phase. The oscs will be integrated with 181 and other existing helplines (one stop centre scheme 2015). Women affected by violence and in need of redressal services could be referred to osc through these help lines.

 

iii.The Scheme of Universalisation of Women Helpline is intended to provide 24 hours immediate and emergency response to women affected by violence through referral (linking with appropriate authority such as police, One Stop Centre, hospital) and infoaccess to an integrated range of services including medical, legal, and psychological support. Further, 150 additional Centres are taken up in second phase during2016-17 in addition to 36 Centres in the first phase. The OSCs will be integrated with 181 and other existing helplines (One Stop Centre Scheme 2015). Women affected by violence and in need of redressal services could be referred to OSC through these 

iv. UJJAWALA scheme has been effective from 2016 Ministry has formulated a Central Scheme “Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of Trafficking for Rescue, Rehabilitation and Re-Rubaru, Pahal-Ek Kadam Nari Samman ki Aur, Ghar ki Pehchan Beti ke Naam, Bal Cabinet, Introduce Pink Cards and many more.Panic Button on Mobile Phones was an initiative by The Ministry of Women and Child Development since June 2014 had taken up the issue of installation of physical panic button on mobile phones. Ii. One Stop Centres (oscs) are intended to support women affected by violence, in private and public spaces, within the family, community and at the workplace. Women facing physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and economic abuse, irrespective of age, class, caste, education status, marital status, race and culture will be facilitated with support and redressal. Aggrievedntegration of Victims of Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation-Ujjawala”. The new scheme has been conceived primarily for the purpose of preventing trafficking on the one hand and rescue and rehabilitation of victims on the other. The beneficiaries of the scheme are women and children who are vulnerable to trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation (Ujjawala, 2016).The implementing agencies can be the Social Welfare/Women and Child Welfare Department of State Government, Women‟s Development Corporations, Women‟s Development Centres, Urban Local Bodies, reputed Public/Private Trust or Voluntary Organizations. 

V. Swadhar –A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances was launched by the Department of Women and Child Development in 2001- 02. The scheme envisions a supportive institutional framework for women victims of difficult circumstances so that they could lead their life with dignity and conviction (Swadhar Greh, 2015)

 

vi. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, celebrates International Women‟s Day every year on 8th March as it is the nodal Ministry for the issues related to women. Taking this as an opportune moment to acknowledge Women‟s achievements, it has been decided by the Ministry in the year 2015, to confer Nari Shakti Puruskars to eminent women and institutions in recognition of their service towards the cause of women empowerment. In the last decade, there has been concerted effort by the Government to recognise and encourage women as reflected through a National Policy for Empowerment of Women in 2001. The issues related to women has gained utmost importance and focussed attention. “Nari Shakti Puruskars” shall showcase the Government‟s commitmenttowards women with the aim of strengthening their legitimate place in the society (http://narishaktipuraskar.wcd.gov.in/aboutus). It will also provide an opportunity to the current generation to understand the contribution of women in building of society and the nation. .

 

 

 

Political Empowerment

 

 

i.                 The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Acts passed in 1992 by the parliament of India ensures that not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by directelection in every Panchayat to be reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat [Article 243D(3)]

ii.  Not less than one-third of the total number of offices of the Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level to be reserved for women (Article 243 D(4)].

iii. Not less than one -third (including the number of seats reserved for women belong to the scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality to be reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality (Article 243T(3))

 

             NGOS INITIATIVES FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

empowerments especially in rural areas have been primary focus for Non-Government Organisations (ngos) beside the Government. The Ministry of Women and Child Development collaborates with many ngos for the implementation of its various schemes and for conducting research studies. The Government of India implements many of its schemes with the active participation and support of the ngos as they play an important role in accelerating the pace of implementation at the ground level.

ii. Since its inception in 2005, Maitri has worked with over 45,000 individuals on the issues of social and health problems and public health concerns through education, community outreach, networking and legal advocacy. The organization has been addressing the issue of violence against women, runnin

a victim support program and providing support to abandoned elderly widows in Vrindavan.

Iv. Action Aid India since 1972 shelters the poor and the excluded. Gauravi is the first crisis center set up in India with the help of the Department of Health in 2014 to fight for Indian women‟s rights and saving them from domestic violence. Currently, there are 22 Gauravi centers across the country and over 40,000 cases have been registered in the centers.

V. Ashadeep Mission was initiated to develop a better quality of life (medical treatment and therapy) for people with mental disabilities. The Navachetana home run by Ashadeep rescues women with mental health issues and provides them with shelter, food, and medical care. They also help these women reunite with their families if possible after treatment. So far, 355 women have been rescued and rehabilitated under Ashadeep mission.

 Vi. Seven Sisters Development Assistance works to create a just and equitable society in Northeast India devoid of poverty. The organization has two programs, leadership programs for the educated youth of North East India and empowering poor rural women through livelihood activities via Self HelpGroups (shgs). Since it was established in 2011, sesta has mobilized nearly 8,000 women to form 700 Self Help Groups (shgs).

 Vii. Foundation for Mother and Child Health works to bring good health and nutritional provisions to vulnerable mothers and children in poor communities. Their programs encourage preventive health, balanced nutrition, and child development practices in underprivileged communities. So far, the programs initiated by FMCH impact close to 927 pregnant and lactating mothers annually. Their services include regular growth monitoring, availability of accurate information and support from the detection of pregnancy till the child completes two years.

Viii. Majlis Manch‟s legal center through its program „Rahat‟, provides socio-legal support to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. The all-women team of lawyers and social workers meet with victims and explain the process and procedures involved in a court case.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES RELATED TO WOMEN EMPOWERMENT:

COGNITIVES OBJECTIVES:

1.   Understanding the concept of women’s empowerment: Defines women’s empowerment and its importance in society.

2.   Identifying barriers to women’s empowerment: Recognize the social ,cultural, economics, and political barriers that hinder women’s empowerment

3.   Knowledge of women’s rights: Familiarize oneself with national and international laws and policies that promotes women’s rights and empowerment .

AFFECTIVE OBJECTIVES:

1.   Empathy and understanding : Develop empathy and undetrstanding towards women’s experience and challenges.

2.Self - awareness and reflection: Recognize one’s own biases and privileges and reflection on how they impact women’s empowerment.

SKILL-BASED OBJECTIVES:

1.   Challenging discriminate attitude and behaviors : challenge discrimination attitude and behaviors that perpetuate women’s dissemination.

2.   Effectives communication: Develop effectives communication skill to advocate for women’s empowerment  and challenge discriminatory attitude and behaviors .

3.   Leadership and advocacy: Build leadership and advocacy skills to promote women’s empowerment and support women’s rights.

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES:

1.    CRITICAL THINKING AND ANALYSIS: Analyze the root causes of women’s disempowerment and develop critical thinking skill to address these issues.

2.    Supporting women’s empowerment initiatives; Participate  in and support initiatives that promotes women’s empowerment and challenge discriminatory attitudes  and behaviors .

ASSESSING  STUDENTS UNDERSTANDING AND PERSPECTIVES ON WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN THE CLASSROOM:

 

Formatives assessments

1.    Class discussion: observe students’ participation and engagement  in discussion on women’s empowerment.

2.    Reflectives journals: Review students journals for their thoughts, feeling, and reflection on women’s empowerment.

3.     Group debates: Assess students ability to articulate their perspectives and engage in respectful deba

                                            RECOMMENDETIONS

Women Empowerment is not merely a slogan but a prerequisite for an optimal capacity for overall development of a family, society, nation and a sustainable world. The paper has covered about affirmative legislation, plans and programmes initiated by the Government, NGOs and Corporate sector through their Corporate Social Responsibility over a very large spectrum starting from the Indian constitution to development in the recent years. It has been reflected by improvement in achieving gender parity in the category of educational attainment, showing improvement in political participation but showing a declining trend in economic participation and opportunity as well as in health and survival segment. In terms of Health and Survival, it is worse even among SAARC countries. As we have a decade towards achieving the SDG Goals, the Government needs to focus on these two segments more to achieve gender parity. There is urgent need of reassessing India‟s affirmative actions, giving fresh impetus on empowering girls and women not only through conventional education but also hand holding for skill acquisitionmedical and healthcare. The findings open up several avenues for policy discussion and intervention towards women empowerment.

 

                                                                            CONCLUSION

Women Empowerment is not merely a slogan but a prerequisite for an optimal capacity for overall development of a family, society, nation and a sustainable world. The paper has covered about affirmative legislation, plans and programmes initiated by the Government, ngos and Corporate sector through their Corporate Social Responsibility over a very large spectrum starting from the Indian constitution to development in the recent years. It has been reflected by improvement in achieving gender parity in the category of educational attainment, showing improvement in political participation but showing a declining trend in economic participation and opportunity as well as in health and survival segment. In terms of Health and Survival, it is worse even among SAARC countries.

 

REFERENCE

 

[1] Bright, Pritom Singh (edt)----Competition Refresher, August, 2010, New Delhi. [2] Hasnain, Nadeem---Indian Society and Culture, Jawahar Publishers and Distributors, 2004.New Delhi. [3] Kar, P. K---Indian Society, Kalyani Publishers, 2000, Cuttack. [4] Kidwai, A. R----(edt)Higher Education, issues and challenges, Viva Books, 2010, New Delhi), [5] Rao Shankar, C. N.----Indian Society, S.Chand & Company Ltd, 2005, NewUpadhyay, U., Gipson, J., Withers, M., Lewis, S., Ciaraldi, E., Fraser, A., Huchko. M. and Prata, N (2014) Women‟s empowerment and fertility: A review of Literature, Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 115, pg. 111-120 Wieringa, S. (1994) Women‟s Interests and Empowerment: Gender Planning Reconsidered, Development and Change, 25(4), pg 829-848 Yount, K., Cheong, Y., Maxwell, L., Heckert, J., Martinez, E. And Seymour, G (2019) Measurement properties of the project level Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index, World Development, Vol. 124, pg. 1-19