Women Empowerment: Women empowerment refers to the process of making women more powerful by helping them to make decisions for themselves. Women have suffered a lot over the years and did not have voting rights for long. With the evolution of time, women realized their powers and what they were capable of and began the revolution for the empowerment of women. Women were not allowed to make decisions for themselves and women’s empowerment helped in building the process and have equal rights. This article explores more on the need and importance of women’s empowerment.
Women Empowerment
Need for Women Empowerment
Women’s empowerment is not simply a trendy idea; it is essential in today’s society. Despite considerable advancements in women’s rights as well as gender equality, there are still many obstacles and problems that prevent women from contributing fully to society and reaching their full potential. The following are some strong arguments in favor of women’s empowerment:
Gender Equality: The empowerment of women is necessary to achieve gender equality. Social conventions, cultural practices, as well as discriminatory attitudes that restrict women’s prospects and undercut their rights are at the heart of gender disparity. By empowering women, we question these expectations and work to create a society where men and women are afforded the same rights, opportunities, and obligations.
Economic Development: Economic growth and the empowerment of women are intimately related. Half of the world’s population is made up of women, and economic sustainability depends on their active engagement. Whenever women have the same opportunity for education, work, and entrepreneurship, they make a substantial contribution to economic production, the eradication of poverty, and general development.
Education and Knowledge: A potent strategy for changing civilizations is educating and empowering women. Women who have received an education are more educated, more competent, and more self-assured, which empowers them to question gender norms and actively engage in social, economic, and political realms. Education increases a woman’s propensity to make investments in her family’s welfare, especially the health and education of her children, which helps future generations and breaks the cycle of poverty.
Health and Well-being: Women’s well-being and physical health are intimately related to women’s empowerment. Women’s empowerment requires having access to good healthcare, the right to an abortion, and control over one’s own body. Women who are empowered are better able to take adequate care of their health, seek medical attention when necessary, and make decisions that will improve their well-being.
Violence and Discrimination: In order to overcome violence and prejudice against women, women must be empowered. Domestic abuse, sexual harassment, as well as human trafficking are just a few of the violent crimes against women that they still have to deal with. Challenges to these harmful practices, safer settings, and the advancement of a culture of equality and respect are made possible by the empowerment of women via education, awareness, & legal protection.
Leadership and Decision-making: In order to create effective policies, strategies, as well as decision-making processes, women’s voices and views are crucial. For inclusive governance to be promoted and to fulfill the many demands and objectives of society, gender parity in leadership roles must be attained in the private as well as public sectors. Women’s empowerment ensures that they have an equal voice in decisions that impact their communities and way of life.
Social and Cultural Change: In order to challenge societal and cultural conventions that support gender inequity, women’s empowerment is crucial. By empowering women, we dispel prejudice, remove obstacles, and advance a culture that honors as well as respects women’s contributions outside of the confines of conventional gender roles. This results in cultural change and builds a more welcoming and diversified society that is beneficial to everybody.
Today both young men and young ladies go to classes. Today instruction is the right of both young men and young ladies; regardless of that, 50 % of young ladies get schooling. India has statistics like clockwork which counts the number of inhabitants in the country. This data is utilized to gauge things like education, sex proportion, and so on. Many SC and ST children leave school at an early age. The 2014 statistics even show the cost of training and the unconcerned disposition of educators and guardians are answerable for the carelessness of instruction.
How go Empower Women?
There are various ways of empowering women. Both individuals as well as government bodies have helped in bringing this to limelight. Education for girl must be made mandatory so that women can become illiterate for making a life for themselves. Women should be given equal opportunities in every field and paid equally in job. Various government programs have helped to empower women and development of certain skills to face financial crisis.
Women Empowerment in India
India is a very complicated nation. Over the course of many centuries, we have accumulated a wide variety of different practices, traditions, and customs. These rituals and practices, both the positive and negative aspects of them, are now ingrained in the collective psyche of our society. We honor female deities as deities worthy of worship, and we also place a high value on the relationships we have with our own mothers, daughters, sisters, spouses, and any other female relatives or friends. On the other hand, Indian men are notorious for their poor treatment of their wives and girlfriends, both within and outside of the house.
There are individuals in Indian culture who adhere to almost every imaginable kind of religious belief. In each and every one of the world’s religions, women are given a unique position, and we are instructed to treat them with the utmost reverence and sensitivity. However, for some reason, the development of civilization has led to it being acceptable for a variety of harmful practices, both physical and mental, to be carried out against women. This has been the case for centuries. For instance, the sati pratha, the tradition of dowry, the Parda pratha, female infanticide, wife torching, sexual misbehavior, sexual harassment at the location of work, domestic violence, as well as other sorts of discriminating practices all have both a mental and a physical component.
In addition to this, there is a significant issue with domestic violence in India. Because the males believe that women are their property, they treat their wives abusively and beat them. Even more so since most women are too timid to express their minds. In a similar vein, women who do work are paid less than their male colleagues who do the same tasks. When someone gets paid less for the same amount of labor because of their gender, this behavior can only be described as sexist and completely unjust. As a result, it is clear that empowering women is a must in this day and age. We have a responsibility to provide these women with the tools they need to advocate for themselves and ensure that they are never the victims of injustice.
List of Major Women Empowerment Schemes in India
Some important women empowerment schemes in India are:
| Women Empowerment scheme |
Launch Year |
Objectives |
| Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme |
2015 |
- To prevent gender-biased sex selective elimination
- To ensure survival & protection of the girl child
- To ensure education and participation of the girl child
|
| One-Stop Centre Scheme |
2015 |
- To provide support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces.
- To Facilitate/Assist in filing First Information Report (FIR/NCR)
- To provide psycho-social support and counselling to women/girl
|
| Women Helpline Scheme |
2016 |
- To provide toll-free 24-hours telecom service to women affected by violence.
- To facilitate crisis and non-crisis intervention through referral to the appropriate agencies such as police/Hospitals/Ambulance services/District Legal Service Authority (DLSA)/Protection Officer (PO)/OSC.
- To provide information about the appropriate support services, government schemes, and programs available to the woman affected by violence, in her particular situation within the local area in which she resides or is employed.
|
| UJJAWALA |
2016 |
- To prevent the trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation.
- To facilitate the rescue of victims from the place of their exploitation and place them in safe custody.
- To provide rehabilitation services with both immediate and long-term to the victims by providing basic amenities/needs such as shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment including counseling, legal aid and guidance, and vocational training.
|
| Working Women Hostel |
1972-73 |
- To promote the availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women.
- To provide accommodation to children of working women, up to the age of 18 years for girls and up to the age of 5 years for boys.
|
| SWADHAR Greh |
2018 |
- To cater to the primary need for shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment, and care of women in distress.
- To provide women with legal aid and guidance.
|
| Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) |
1986-87 |
- To provide skills that give employability to women.
- To benefit women in the age group of 16 and above in the country.
|
| Nari Shakti Puraskar |
2016 |
- To strengthen the place of women in society.
- To facilitate institutions that work towards the progress and development of women in society.
|
| Mahila Shakti Kendras (MSK) |
2017 |
- To create an environment for women where they have access to healthcare, quality, education, guidance, employment, etc.
- To facilitate these opportunities at the block and district level in the country.
|
| NIRBHAYA |
2012 |
- To facilitate safety and security for women at various levels.
- To ensure strict privacy and confidentiality of women’s identity and information.
- Provision for real-time intervention as far as possible
|
| Mahila E-Haat |
2016 |
- To facilitate entrepreneurship opportunities online for women.
- To educate women on various aspects of online selling and helping them establish their venture.
|
| Mahila Police Volunteers |
2016 |
- An MPV will serve as a public-police interface in order to fight crime against women.
- The broad mandate of MPVs is to report incidences of violence against women such as domestic violence, child marriage, dowry harassment and violence faced by women in public spaces.
|
Related Links
- Women Work and Equality
- Women Empowerment Schemes in India
- National Commission for Women
FAQs on Women Empowerment
1. What is the meaning of Women’s Empowerment?
Accepting women’s opinions, encouraging women to take on new ventures, educating girl children, and creating awareness of self-worth and confidence.
2. What is the importance of women’s empowerment?
The empowerment of women contributes to the creation of a society that is more fair and equal for everyone. Empowerment of women is a key factor in fostering health and well-being, which is another reason why it is crucial. Women are better able to take care of themselves as well as their children when they have access to education and healthcare.
3. What are the essential factors for empowerment?
Learning, labor, and leadership are essential factors for empowerment.
4. How do backward communities’ girls suffer in schooling?
Girls from backward classes in India are not capable of proper schooling. The reasons for this are poverty, insufficient schooling facilities, discrimination, non-availability of teachers and schools in small areas, lack of proper conveyance for a girl child, cost of education, and most preference given to boys.
5. What is the main role of a woman in our society?
In every nation on earth, women are the major individuals responsible for providing care to youngsters as well as the elderly. Studies conducted in other countries have shown that women take the initiative to assist their families in adjusting to new circumstances and pressures whenever there is a shift in either a society’s economic or political organization.