Women empowerment Soumana Chakraborty Class - XI Roll No – 20 Subject – English School – Don Bosco School Kharagpur
cont ent Introduction Meaning Status of women in Indian society Dimensions of women empowerment Need for women empowerment Principles of women empowerment Stages of women empowerment Six ‘S’ for women empowerment Ways to achieve women empowerment Constraints of women empowerment Changes of empowered women Measurement of women empowerment Projects for women empowerment Acts for women empowerment
introd uction Empowerment refers to the increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. As a general definition, Empowerment is a multidimensional process that helps people gain control over their own lives. Women Empowerment is the process and the outcome of the process by which women challenge gender based discrimination in every institution and structures of the society.
mean ing Women empowerment means freedom of women from the vicious grips of social, economical, political, caste and gender-based discrimination. It means granting women the freedom to make life choices. Women Empowerment itself elaborates that Social Rights, Political Rights, Economic stability, judicial strength and all other rights should be also equal to women. Swami Vivekananda , quoted that, “There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. ” Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, said “when women move forward the family moves, the villages move, and the nation move.”
Status of women in Indian society “In order to awaken people, it is the people who have to be awakened, once she moves, the country moves and thus we build the Indian of tomorrow.” Said by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru . India is now in transition age – present century is the “Knowledge Century Era”. A knowledge driven generation will be an asset for the progress and development of the nation. To achieve and sustain the high growth rates, access in education should be open for entire population without any discrimination. As women are the dynamic promoters of social transformation. Their empowerment and education is must.
Status In ancient India During this period, women had high social and religious status. There is sufficient evidence in Vedic literature that in Vedic period women were imparted Vedic education and used to take part in religious rites. They were also authors of certain Vedic hymns. Women of that age were capable of learning and understanding philosophical doctrines. In Vedic age women remain unmarried for higher studies. The women education has been highly appreciated in Atharva Veda. Manu emphasized that it was the duty of parents to give her daughters integral education. However, there was a gradual decline in female education during later Vedic age.
Status in Buddhist age With the rise of Buddhism, there came a relief to women. Buddhism thought describe illiteracy as a crime. They allowed women to recite, hear and learn by heart religious discourses. But women had lower status to men.
Status in me dieval period The condition of women in India came to be worst during Muslim rule. The custom of Pardah extended to the whole of higher classes. Women of lower strata could not afford to confine themselves within the four walls of home as they had to work outside beside home duties. During the medieval period only system of ‘ Pardah ’ and ‘ Jauhar ’ were being introduced by Muslim and Rajput community against women.
Status in British period In that time women were considered a completely inferior, means inferior to male having no significance, no personality. They were almost uneducated. Due to efforts of social reformers the status of women was improved, which recognized them in their own rights. Hindu Dharma Shastras and customs had already paved the way for their complete subordination to male through deprivation of property rights, worship of husband as Gods, dowry and sati system. Social reformers tried to give equal importance to women with men therefore in this period only many legislative enactment has been enforced by legislators for protection of women life. Act of Sati (abolish) 1829, The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act 1856, The Child Restriction Act 1929
Status in modern India Position and starts of today’s woman in India is considerably changed in modern Indian society. A country or a community cannot be considered civilized where woman is not honored. Indian laws are being need without any discrimination against woman. As a result Indian woman enjoying high position in our society. Modern Indian woman today occupy high ranking pests live I.A.S., I.P.S., Defense services, participate in various sports. Woman of recent times like Mother Teressa , Vijay Laxmi Pandit, M.S. Subhalaxmi , Lata Mangeskar our ex-president Smt. Prathibha Patil etc. have achieved international fame. Women have also achieved high fame in the areas of literature, music and acting. More over woman are joining the field of science and technology also.
Dimensions o f women empow erment Women empowerment has multiple interrelated and independent dimensions focus the main areas as follows- Women’s political and legal empowerment. Women’s economic and social empowerment.
Need of women empowerment “Women are worshiped as goddess in India, but not given her true position.” Women are deprived of: Decision making Power Freedom of Movement Access to Education Access to Employment Exposure to Media Domestic Violence
Principles of women empow erment Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality Treat all women and men fairly at work - respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers Promote education, training and professional development for women Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality
Stages of women empowerment
Six ‘S’ for wom en empowerment 1. Shiksha = Education 2. Swasthya = Health 3. Swavlamban = Self Reliance 4. Samajik Nyay = Justice 5. Samvedan = Sensitivity 6. Samta = Equality
Way to achi eve Women Empow erment Self Help Group Angan Badis Government Schemes Micro Finance Self Employment
Constraints in women empow erment Lack of education Traditional view limit participation Financial constraints Family responsibilities Low mobility Low ability to bear risk Low Social status Conflicts among women’s groups
Changes of an empowered women Improves personal knowledge Self- defining power Authenticity Creativity Physical strength Equality Mutuality in relationships Economic independence Freedom from oppression Having political power in society
Measurement of women empow erment Gender-Related Development Index (GDI) Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) Introduced in 1995 in human development report to measure gender equality Introduced in 1995 in human development report to measure gender equality Same measure as HDI, but centered on gender Measure the ability of women to participate in the process of improvement ECONOMIC ECONOMIC Per Capita Income Male Vs. Female Per Capita Income Male Vs. Female EDUCATION %age of women professional/technical jobs Females in school Vs. Males in school POLITICAL %age literate Females Vs. %age literate Males %age of administration jobs held by women HEALTH %age of women in National Parliament Life expectancy of Female Vs. Males
Gender Ineq uality Index The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is an index for measurement of gender disparity that was introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report 20th anniversary edition by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to the UNDP, this index is a composite measure to quantify the loss of achievement within a country due to gender inequality. It uses three dimensions to measure the loss of achievement due to gender inequality: Reproductive Health, Empowerment, and Labor Market Participation . GII does not include income level as a component level. This index was introduced as an experimental measure to remedy the shortcomings of the previous indicators, the Gender Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), both of which were introduced in the 1995 Human Development Report.
Gender par ity index The Gender Parity Index ( GPI ) is a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the relative access to education of males and females. This index is released by UNESCO. In its simplest form, it is calculated as the quotient of the number of females by the number of males enrolled in a given stage of education (primary, secondary, etc.). It is used by international organizations, particularly in measuring the progress of developing countries. The Institute for Statistics of UNESCO also uses a more general definition of GPI: for any development indicator one can define the GPI relative to this indicator by dividing its value for females by its value for males. For example, some UNESCO documents consider gender parity in literacy.
Projects for women empowerment The UN came out with a set of goals called the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, to help make the world a better place. Of the 17, the fourth goal works to allow access to education for all people alike. A large effort has been made to include women in schools to better their education. The fifth goal focuses on empowering women and girls to achieve gender equality through equal access to various types of opportunities (health care, education, work, etc.). There are also some prominent non-profits that help empower women: She Should Run Girls Not Brides The Malala Fund - Women in Defense - Women for Women International - Every Mother Counts
Founded in 2011, She Should Run is a non-partisan 501(c)3 with the mission to expand the talent pool of women running for office in the United States. This programs provide an approachable starting place and network for women leaders considering a future run by providing community, resources, and growth opportunities. This programme believe that women of all political leanings, ethnicities, and backgrounds should have an equal opportunity to lead in elected office and that our democracy will benefit from the varied perspectives and experiences that women bring to leadership. Once women are ready to take their first step towards public office, our first-of-its-kind She Should Run Incubator offers resources and a community that meets them where they are in their paths to elected leadership.
Girls Not Brides, The Global Partner to End Child Marriage is an international non-governmental organization with the mission to end child marriage throughout the world. The organization was created by The Elders to enable small groups from around the world to address the common issue of early marriage. More than 700 organizations from over 85 countries are partnership member of girls not brides. Girls Not Bride worked to include ending child marriage in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
The Mal ala fund Malala fund is an international, non-profit organization that fights for girls’ education. It was founded by Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education in 2013. GOAL:- To ensure 12 years of free, safe and quality education for every girl. MOTTO:- Working for a world where every girl can learn and lead. Recently Apple Inc. partnered with Malala Fund to fund expansion to India and Latin America and provide technology, curriculum assistance and policy research with a goal of educating more than 100,000 girls.
Incorporated in 1985, this empowerment organization provides women a business environment for professional growth through strategic networking, education, and career development. In 2004, Women In Defense became a proud affiliate of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). Women In Defense provides a dynamic, forward-thinking community for developing leadership skills, cultivating relationships, as well as mentoring, and education through a variety of national and regional events addressing some of the most pressing national defense issues.
Women for wo men international WfWI is a nonprofit organization that provides practical and moral support to women survivors of war. WfWI helps such women rebuild their lives after war’s devastation through a year long tiered programme that begins with direct financial aid and emotional counseling and includes if necessary rights awareness, education, health education, job skills training and small business development. WfWI have distributed $103M to some 317,000 women participants; (2011). The programme is paid through a mix of individual “sister to sister” direct sponsorship and grants from governmental, multilateral, foundation, corporate and individual donors.
Every mot her counts Every mother counts’ mission is to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere. It was founded by Christy Turlington Burns in 2010. They have invested $5.6M into community based programmes working to improve access to quality, respect and equitable maternity care.
Acts for wom en empowerment Hindu Widows Remarriage Act, 1856 Indian Penal Code,1860 Indian Evidence Act, 1872 Hindu marriage act 1955 Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act,1952 Hindu Succession Act, 1956 Hindu wives and children under Hindu adoption and maintenance act 1956 Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956. Dowry Prohibition Act Maternity benefit act 1961 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act National Commission for woman Act,1990 Pre-conception, Prenatal diagnostic techniques Act, 1994 and Rule 1996 Domestic Violence Act, (2005)
PROGRAMMES/ schemes FOR WOMEN EM POWERMENT Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme (22 Jan, 2015) One Stop Centre Scheme (1 April, 2015) Women Helpline Scheme (1 April, 2015) UJJAWALA (Dec, 2007) Working Women Hostel (Introduced in 1972-73 and after amendment re-launched on 6 April 2017) Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche scheme for the children of Working Mothers (2010-11) SWADHAR Scheme (A scheme for women in difficult circumstances), (2001-02) Support to Training & Employment Programme for women (STEP), (Launched in 2003-04 and revised in Dec 2014)
Co nt . Nari Shakti Puruskar (1999) Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (1993) Central Social Welfare Board (1953) Development of Women and children in rural areas (1982-83) Mahila E- Haat (7 March 2016) Women Empowerment & Livelihood programme in Mid- Gangatic plains- Priyadarshani
concl usion Women represent half of the world’s population and gender inequality exists in every nation on the planet. Until women are given the same opportunities that men are, entire societies will be destined to perform below their true potentials. The greatest need of the hour is change of social attitude to women. The dream of women empowerment shall not be fulfill unless they are empowered to play equal decisive and appropriate role in the family, which is the basic unit of empowerment.
refe rence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_empowerment ESSENCE - International Journal for Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Volume VIII: No. 1 2017 [160 – 167] [ISSN 0975 - 6272] Women Empowerment in India: Rationale and Present Status http://weprinciples.unglobalcompact.org/Site/Principle5/ www.slideshare.net https://www.google.co.in/search?q=difference+between+gender+empowerment+measure+and+gender+development+index&biw=1350&bih=635&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5x5_0v5reAhVTfCsKHe6AB8EQ_AUICygC#imgrc=_ https://www.google.co.in/search?q=she+should+run&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=Inyv6dnVZEIxAM%253A%252C3khMbPbRRHAhhM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kRRSZlJa1KhNN6-47ir6Y47GIPguw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikqvSHtpreAhUJQo8KHerqBNUQ9QEwEnoECAIQDA