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.

In general women empowerment is a process to enhance the educational, economic, social, political, and spiritual and health status of women. Women Empowerment enables women to take their own decision and participate in every field.  Women empowerment and gender equality are fundamentals to the achievement of sustainable development of any country.

Research has found that women empowerment can aggrandize and enhance the social, economic, legal and political strength of women, and equip them with positivity to claim their rights. 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. Women have suffered a lot through the years at the hands of men. In earlier centuries, they were treated as almost non-existent. As if all the rights belonged to men even something as basic as voting. As the times evolved, women realized their power.

There on began the revolution for women empowerment. As women were not allowed to make decisions for them, women empowerment came in like a breath of fresh air. It made them aware of their rights and how they must make their own place in society rather than depending on a man. It recognized the fact that things cannot simply work in someone’s favor because of their gender.

However, we still have a long way to go when we talk about the reasons why we need it. Women empowerment is the process of giving women the ability to live a happy and respected life in society. Women are empowered when they have unrestricted access to chances in a range of domains, such as education, profession, and lifestyle, among others. It involves things like education, awareness, literacy, and training to help them improve their position. It also involves decision-making authority. A woman feels powerful when she takes a significant decision. Empowering women is the most important factor in a country’s overall growth. If a household has just one earning member, while another family has both men and women earning, who will have a better standard of living? The solution is straightforward: a household in which both men and women work. As a result, a country where men and women work together grows more quickly.

There is a wide range of approaches and methods to empower women. Individuals and the government must work together to achieve this. Girls’ education should be made obligatory so that they do not become illiterate and unable to support themselves. Women, regardless of gender, must be given equal chances in all fields. Women empowerment may also be achieved through government-sponsored programmers as well as on an individual level.

On a personal level, we should begin to appreciate women and provide them with chances equal to males. We should promote and encourage them to pursue jobs, further education, and entrepreneurial endeavors, among other things. There are various ways in how one can empower women. The individuals and government must both come together to make it happen.

Education for girls must be made compulsory so that women can become illiterate to make a life for themselves. Women must be given equal opportunities in every field, irrespective of gender. Moreover, they must also be given equal pay. We can empower women by abolishing child marriage. Various programs must be held where they can be taught skills to fend for themselves in case they face financial crisis. Most importantly, the shame of divorce and abuse must be thrown out of the window. Many women stay in abusive relationships because of the fear of society. Parents must teach their daughters it is okay to come home divorced rather than in a coffin. 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. To conclude, we can say that 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.

Published in The Daily National Courier, October, 14 2022

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