Women Empowerment: Challenges and Prospects

It is disheartening to note that the phrase “empowerment of Women” is considered as a mere phase in the multistage process of giving women what they really deserve. The very mention about “empowerment” clearly indicates the upper hand men enjoy in the social structure. But India has come a long way in empowering women. According to Upanishads, the primary duty of women is to be in the service of her husband. We now talk about one third seats for women in the highest decision making body in the country (parliament). India has come a long way. The different phases India took in the women empowerment is here:
Ancient India - Primary duty of women is “Husband Service”
Medieval India- Don’t let women out. Don’t let her express. If her husband dies, she should die too.
Modern India Pre Independence- Guys, lets stop Sati. Let her stay inside the house forever after her husband dies!
1950s- Lets send women children to schools and colleges!
1960-Dowry Prohibition Act
1990s-Women should occupy responsible positions in the social structure
2001- Women's Empowerment Year
2010- 1/3rd seats should be reserved for Women in parliament.

The chart above summarizes the position of women in Indian society at various points in time. Some good Prospects

Lets talk about some of the good policy steps taken by our government in the area of women empowerment.

Firstly, the move to reserve one-third seats in the parliament for women could probably be the boldest and biggest step taken by Indian government in the area of women empowerment. The bill, if passed would result in more than 180 seats in the lower house occupied by women compared to less than 30 occupied currently. This might also produce a “Trickle down effect” where even the state governments would pass a similar bill to reserve 1/3rd seats for women in the State Legislatures.

Secondly, to provide integrated social empowerment of women, the government initiated a scheme called as “Swayamsidha” in 2001 which helps them in establishing self-reliant Women’s self help groups(SHG's) The objective is to achieve all-round empowerment of women by ensuring direct access and control over resources. It helps in creating confidence and awareness among the members of SHGs regarding health, nutrition, education, hygiene and economic upliftment. A number of rural women have already been benefited through this scheme and this project is one of the long term strategic initiatives taken by the government in the area of women’s empowerment.

Another initiative is a program called as STEP(Support to Training and Employment Program for Women). The objective of this program is to empower women by provide sustainable employment opportunities. The project helps in upgrading their skills(primarily in Agriculture, Dairy and Handlooms), forming viable groups, providing access to credit facilities and arranging for marketing linkages . This program has already made a significant impact in the lives of a number of women in the traditional sectors. Many Tough Challenges

As we see, government is taking some concrete steps in empowering women by helping women to help themselves and their families. But are these programs sufficient? Are they brining about a change in the attitude of a patriarchic society? Here are some bitter answers:

• The maternal mortality rate in India is the second highest in the world. India accounts for more than 25% of all maternal deaths in the world.
• In a survey conducted by WHO, more than 80% of pregnant Indian women are found to be anemic. This results in exceptionally high rates of child malnutrition. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle
• Only 39% of Indian women attend primary schools. Most families pull them out of out of school, either to help out at home or from fear of violence.
• While women are guaranteed equality under the constitution, legal protection has little effect in the face of prevailing patriarchal traditions. Women lack power to decide who they will marry, and are often married off before they reach the age of 18.

As we see, the challenges we face in empowering women are far away from the prospects of development programs initiated by our government. Though some of the recent steps taken by the government seem to indicate that these are the right steps to take, but what India really needs right now are sizable leaps! The move to reserve one-third seats in the parliament is definitely one such.

As we progress from a developing nation towards a developed nation, every care must be taken to compositely develop and empower women along the way to stand true to what our great Jawaharlal Nehru said “You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women”!