Empowerment of Women
To empower someone is
to give them official authority or the freedom
to do something. The question of empowering women comes when it is seen that
the women in a society cannot enjoy equal rights and freedom with their male
counterparts. It is true that women are considered to be subservient to men in
many societies and countries of the world. There has always been a gender
disparity in every field of social and national life. Women are always
discriminated against men. But of late women are becoming conscious of their
rights and they have also waged a movement called 'Women's Liberation
Movement'. Against the backdrop of this situation, empowerment of women has
become a much-talked about subject in the entire world.
The position of women
in many societies is lower than that of men. Women are often called the weaker
sex in a derogatory sense. They are always treated as inferior human beings and
used by men only as a means of their sexual pleasure. They are used as commodities
and men are their consumers. In male dominated houses women have usually no say
in family matters. The families where women's opinions are considered
unnecessary even in the important
matters like the number of children they would like to have, their children's
education and marriage, and the issues Of finance and property. In many
households wives are also cruelly beaten by their husbands or maltreated by
their in-laws. In some societies brides' parents have to pay dowry to
bridegrooms' family If they fail to pay it, the miseries of the brides know no
bounds. In some cases, the situation may lead to divorce. All these things
prove the miserable and humiliating conditions of women in male. dominated
societies. Women are absolutely powerless in these
In many societies women
become victims of gender disparity. In many families boys and girls are not
treated equally. Boys are often given better food than girls and many parents
think that educating a daughter is a waste of time and money. They often marry
their daughters off at an early age and use their resources for their son's education.
In most cases, girls cannot raise any objections to their parents' decision.
Many girls accept the fact that their only responsibility in life is to get
married and bear children.
Many factors are
responsible for such degradation of women. Women's lack of literacy is one of
the major causes of their lower position in society. If women remain illiterate
or uneducated, they remain unaware of their rights and duties. As a result,
they can never assert their authority. Men in the male-dominated societies use
it as a strategy to keep their women away from education. They know that
education will empower and strengthen women. Therefore, as they do not want
women's empowerment they always deprive their women of the light of litpracy
and education. Sometimes religious teaching and beliefs also prevent women from
being powerful. Men always believe that they are superior to women and
therefore it is their religious right to dominate their women. But this is a
prejudiced view.
We should realize that
women constitute a large part of the total population in every country. Without
the participation of this bulk Of population, no overall social and national
development is possible. If women come forward and work hand in hand with their
male counterparts, the development process of a country will certainly be quickened.
If only a handful of women are educated and hold high positions,
Only mass female
literacy can change the situation and bring about empowerment of women. Women
should be empowered to take part not only in making family decisions but also
to participate in all nation building activities. They should be able to
contribute to national law and policy making.
The aim of the
empowerment of women is not to make women so powerful and authoritative that
they should enslave men and dominate them. Its purpose is rather to create a
healthy and congenial atmosphere in which men and women will enjoy equal rights
and work together according to their respective abilities in order to establish
an oppression-free egalitarian society. Women should never be made to feel that
they are inferior to men. In a family a husband
and a wife should he considered equals, if they are equal in their
abilities. Women's opinions should not be silenced and suppressed only because
they are women. The relationship between husband and wife should be based on
equal partnership. There should not be any water-tight compartment between the
duties and responsibilities of men and women. Husbands can take part in
household chores to help their wives and wives should also help their husbands
in their activities.
Some important
realistic measures should be taken to expedite the process of women's
empowerment. First, the government of every country should introduce a rule to
protect the rights of women in matters like marriage, divorce, child-bearing,
guardianship of children and so on. Secondly, women should have freedom to
educate themselves and they should be allowed freedom to express their views
and opinions on every social and national issue. Thirdly, women should be
presented everywhere in a respectable way. They should be treated as human
beings, not as commercial commodities. Women themselves should be aware of
their dignity and not allow others to use them in an insulting way. Fourthly,
men should acknowledge that women's household activities are not insignificant
and unimportant. They should also be encouraged to come out of their homes and
take part in all kinds of work. Lastly, everybody should abandon their
religious bigotry and get rid of all kinds of conservative attitude. All
barriers to the empowerment of women should be removed to establish a modern
democratic society.
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