The word ‘Women Empowerment’ itself implies that women are not powerful enough – they need to be empowered. This painful truth has been in existence for a long time. It is in recent years that noticeable work started beginning to lift women out of the abyss of insignificance and powerlessness.
The patriarchal society suppressed women’s freedom across the world. Women were not allowed to vote or even put forward any opinion. Women were confined to their homes. As time progressed, they realised that their life meant much more than just serving in the household. As more and more women started crossing the man-made barriers, the world began to witness the rise of women.
Unlike men, women never try to stifle the voice of their opposite gender. They hold the hands of all the downtrodden people – men and women both – and they pull them out of misfortune as they try to improve their lives.
History of Women Empowerment
The History of Women Empowerment The history of women empowerment does not start from an exact date, It is a cumulative process. However, there are certain movements, protests, revolutions that furthered the cause of women empowerment much more speedily.
In the ancient days and even in the recent past, women, in hundreds of countries, were not allowed to vote. As time passed, more and more women came together and made their voices heard.
Gaining voting rights significantly lifted the position of women in society. Many suffrage movements campaigned daily in support of women’s voting rights. In the US, individuals like Elizabeth Stanton and organisations like National American Woman Suffrage Association, National Woman’s Party played a key role in securing the voting rights for women.
Women’s Social and Political Union
In the UK, the Women’s Social and Political Union aggressively campaigned for women’s suffrage. It is a shame for society at large when we consider that many countries granted women the right to vote after a very long time.
Kuwait, Qatar, Zaire, Bahrain, Andorra, Central African Republic etc. granted women the right to vote after the second half of the 20th century. No woman can be empowered if she is not financially independent. Gone are the days when women had to depend on their fathers or husbands to get things that they wanted.
From the 20th century onwards women got more opportunities to join the workforce. However, at the same time, many women in England were forced to work both in the workplace and in the household to support the family.
After the Second World War women, on their own, chose to join the workforce. Today more and more jobs are opening up for women. Women are proving to be worthy of the designations assigned to them. In the household, too, women have gained significant decision-making powers.
The decision to have a baby or not is now decided by both men and women. The use of contraceptive pills empowered women further. Women can now enjoy unhindered work life and education. Women empowerment cannot be successful if the women in the lower rung of the society are not empowered.
After the onset of the 21st century, women belonging to the grassroots level have found many vocational works, labours that were only reserved for men. Today there are many female masons, bus drivers, petrol pump attendants, farmers etc.
And all these women are doing their job extremely well. Women Empowerment in India Women empowerment in India cannot be compared with that in other countries. Women were highly respected in the Vedic ages. The focus on women’s education was never absent.
Sahadharmini
The word ‘sahadharmini’ was known from the Vedic days. Sahadharmini means – equal partner. It is thus very clear that women in India in ancient days enjoyed respect, education and reverence. As time passed the Indian culture was contaminated with the conservative Middle Eastern and British culture.
As a result, the power and respect that women enjoyed were lost. Gradually after independence, women started regaining the lost power. Today women are everywhere. The country saw its female Prime Minister and President, the country has many eminent female sportspeople like Saina Nehwal or PT Usha, the country has been blessed with talented women scientists like A. Chatterjee or B Vijayalakshmi.
Women are joining the combat forces in India without any hesitation. However, many women in India are still finding it hard to come out of the clutches of patriarchy – particularly in the rural sector. The empowered women must urge these women to raise voices, protest and seek help from the authorities.
Inequality and the Way Forward Today, more than ever, women are enjoying freedom. They can decide on their own. However, there is a long way to go. Women must protest against the use of religion to suppress them. Not all military positions are open to females. There is a wage gap in the film industry, in sports and normal jobs. The women need to use their hard-earned power to banish all the injustices that they have been facing for time immemorial.
Summary
The term women empowerment refers to gender equality. It especially favours women rights. Women empowerment all refer to the empowerment of women to take all decisions from their choice. So that she can take all of the decisions for her social and economic development.
Empowerment of women will surely encourage all of the women to stand for their education and the life of their own choice. The women empowerment mission encourages women to be self-reliant. So that she can have positive self-esteem and generate potential in herself to compete with the world and to make the position of her choice. This is only possible if equal opportunities in society will also be available for women Empowering women would mean encouraging them for their socio-economic development.
From ancient times women have suffered a lot in society. They were not given the equal right to education and to be self-reliant. They were only restricted to household works. They were kept away from education and development.
Women constitute half of the population however her contribution to the economy of India is very low. This depicts that there are not equal opportunities available for women in society and the responsibilities which are given to them do not have any contribution to the GDP of the country.
Conclusion
To develop India as a superpower the development of women is equally important and it should be a priority to give her a chance to develop herself. To achieve it we should focus mainly on the education of girls. Moreover, they also get equal pay to the men for equal work. To empower the women our goals also should be to remove child marriage and the dowry system from the whole nation.
The Indian government is also working to make India more suitable for women so they can also get equal opportunities and can grow themselves. In this regard, the supreme court of India also made it mandatory to provide admission to the National defence academy for women. The Indian government also declared that Military schools also will be available for women from now onwards. A common approach to handle this problem can be a remarkable solution for it.
By: Mathew George
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