Women are agents of change
Indian women are no longer “passive recipients” of the state’s welfare schemes, but active agents of change. Real development is only possible with their economic empowerment, the Supreme Court has observed in a judgment. They had become “dynamic promoters of social transformation that can alter the lives of both women and men.”
The judgment came in a case of a woman police officer, Richa Mishra, who was denied selection as Deputy Superintendent of Police on the ground that she was overage.
As India promotes Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Education for girls) scheme, “empowerment of women is the need of the hour,” the Supreme Court said. Women in this world, and particularly in India, faced various kinds of constraints and discrimination. This was notwithstanding the fact that under the Constitution, women enjoyed a status of equality with men. “In reality, however, they have a long way to go to achieve this constitutional status,” Justice Sikri.
The apex court said the focus was slowly shifting from mere “better treatment” or “well-being” of women to empowering them to be economically independent and self-reliant, with a positive esteem, to enable them to face any situation and participate in development activities. Economic development and women’s empowerment had a symbiotic relationship. One cannot do without the other. The court said
The term “women’s empowerment” meant women’s ability to access the constituents of development, in particular health, education, earning opportunities, rights, and political participation.
Poverty and lack of opportunity had bred inequality between men and women. “Policy action is still necessary to achieve equality between genders. Such policy action would be unambiguously justified if empowerment of women also stimulates further development, starting a virtual cycle,”
Women Empowerment
Types of women empowerment
1. Social Women Empowerment: Deals with gender equality
2. Educational Women Empowerment: Deals with educating women to let them be independent and building confidence in them
3. Economical and Occupational Empowerment: It means making them less dependent economically and creating an atmosphere of employment for them
4. Legal Women Empowerment
5. Political Women Empowerment: Deals with empowering women with a considerable say in political matters
Historical Perspective
1. The position enjoyed by women in the Rig- Vedic period deteriorated in the later Vedic civilization. Women were denied the right to education and widow remarriage. They were denied the right of inheritance and ownership of property. Many social evils like child marriage and dowry system surfaced and started to engulf women. During Gupta period, the status of women immensely deteriorated. Dowry became an institution and Sati Pratha became prominent.
2. Social reformers such as Raja Rammohun Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Jyotirao Phule started agitations for the empowerment of women.
Statistics
1. Women make up 49% of our country's population
2. According to a global poll conducted by Reuters, India is the “fourth-most dangerous country in the world for women”
3. India Ranks 29/146 on Gender Inequality Index(GII)
4. Women constitute only 26-29% of the workforce
Laws for the empowerment of women
1. Under the constitution's Right to Equality, Women enjoys a status of equality with men
2. Equal pay for equal work under article 39(d)
3. Maternity relief under article 42
4. Dowry prohibition act 1961
5. Protection of women from domestic violence act 2005
6. Sexual harassment of women at workplace act 2013
7. Panchayati Raj Institutions 73rd and 74th amendment act, 1/3rd of the seats reserved for women
Pending: 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and all state legislative Assemblies
Schemes for the empowerment of women
1. Swadhar (1995)
2. Swayam Siddha (2001)
3. Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP-2003)
4. Sabla Scheme (2010)
5. National Mission for Empowerment of Women (2010)
Problems with this component:
Implementation Gaps: Through all these years, the attention is only on developing and devising new schemes, policies and programs and have paid less attention to the proper monitoring system and implementation short sightedness, for e.g. despite the presence of The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technologies Act and various health programs like Janani Suraksha Yojana and National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), our country has a skewed sex ratio and a high maternal mortality rate (MMR)
Initiatives
1. Inclusion of “Women Empowerment’ as one of the prime goals in the 8 Millennium Development Goals underscores the relevance of this fact.
2. The idea of fast- track courts, devised to impart speedy justice to the victims of rapes and other crimes against women, is a good initiative taken by the judiciary and the Government of India.
Philosophical
1. Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, "Economic development and women empowerment had a symbiotic(Advantage to both) relationship "
2. Swami Vivekananda," It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing"
Committee
1. Smt. Margaret Alva headed committee recommendations on women empowerment's to be scrutinised which was left un-noticed