Women Empowerment

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Gender discrimination continues to be an enormous problem within Indian society. Traditional patriarchal norms have relegated women to secondary status within the household and workplace.

But Women in India have played an important part in our social life and in our history. They have played this part in every branch of national activity from high learning to valor on the battlefield. But it is their unobtrusive work in the household, in the village or in the larger community that has moulded this nation. They are the power of our nation.

Empowerment of women involves many things - economic opportunity, social equality, and personal rights. Women are deprived of these human rights, often as a matter of tradition. In rural areas, women are generally not perceived to have any meaningful income generation capacity, and hence, they are relegated mainly to household duties and cheap labor. Without the power to work and earn a good income, their voices are silenced. Even in matters of sex and child bearing, women often do not have the ability to oppose the wishes of their men.

Education plays an important role in bringing about awareness on women's rights. When both boys and girls grow up with mutual respect and understanding of their capabilities and roles in the society, women are more likely to find their rightful place within the family and the community. But, sadly enough, rural education perpetuates the myth that boys are inherently superior to girls. This is further reinforced by the family, where even mothers tend to give more attention and opportunities to their boys.

Government-run rural development projects, as practiced today, are unlikely to significantly improve the social and economic status of women in the foreseeable future. Hence, privately funded and managed initiatives on a large scale need to be tried to bring about sustaining changes. Such undertakings should seek government involvement only as a facilitator, as opposed that of a "manager" or "partner."