Women empowerment is often misunderstood by people of this era. There are certain arguments that women have progressed when talking of empowerment. However, there is still a road ahead and there is still much scope for improvement. The true meaning of women empowerment is portrayed by some amazing women who make their life an example and make their parents proud of themselves. Women’s empowerment and promoting women’s rights have emerged as a part of a major global movement and are continuing to break new ground in recent years.
When women are living safe, fulfilled, and productive lives, they can reach their full potential. Contributing their skills to the workforce and can raise happier and healthier children. They are also able to help fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large.
Women in India are emerging in all sectors, including politics, business, medicine, sports, and agriculture. History was made when two female scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation led the country’s second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 from its inception to completion in 2019. Female leadership for a huge space mission challenged the meta-narrative that rocket science is a profession reserved for men.
India’s story on women empowerment is not complete without focusing on grassroots initiatives adopted by the government and civil society organizations. The federal and state governments have launched new schemes, policies, and programs to empower both urban and rural women. The Narendra Modi government has launched flagship schemes to promote gender equality, including Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter), Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (a scheme to provide gas connections to women from below the poverty line households), and Mahila-E-Haat. The Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana scheme was launched in January 2015 to address the issue of a gender skewed ratio and generate greater welfare for the girl child. The focus is centered mostly on Northern India, including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, and Uttarakhand where the gender ratio is wider. The Mahila-E-Haat project, an online marketing campaign, was launched in 2016.
India has managed to close two-thirds of its overall gender gap, especially in areas of political empowerment. It was ranked 18th on the Political Empowerment sub-index, given that a woman headed the government for 20 years. However, female legislators constitute only 14.4 percent of the Indian parliament and 23 percent of the cabinet, making overall political representation relatively low. Unfortunately, its performance on economic empowerment for women has widened since 2006.
A more concerted effort is needed to close the urban-rural divide and ensure that women in rural areas enjoy the same access to education, employment, healthcare, and decision-making as their urban counterparts. The hardest challenge will be to change attitudes, given that many barriers to women empowerment are attributed to patriarchal and patrilineal traditions that are deeply entrenched in many South Asian societies.
The Indian legal system is also confronted with gaps between policy and practice. Despite existing legislation to protect women and girls, the enforcement of these laws and the conviction of alleged perpetrators are weak. The gaps in these processes are widened by systemic bureaucracy and corruption. It took seven years to hang the perpetrators implicated in the notorious “Nirbhaya” gang-rape case. There is also the issue of women empowerment being less visible in rural India than in urban settings. This should be a big concern in India, given that the rural population is around 65.97 percent despite increasing urbanization and the growth of cities.
Empowering women is essential to the health and social development of families, communities, and countries. For sustainable development, nations must take note of critical problems that run deep in our society such as women’s economic empowerment and gender equality. Create high-level corporate leadership for gender equality. Promote education, training, and professional development for women. There is a need to empower and encourage women for a better tomorrow.
