Support Women Empowerment And Save Girl Child

Women’s Empowerment has been an issue of immense discussions and contemplation over the last few decades world-wide. This as an agenda has been on top of the lists of most government plans & programs as well. Efforts have been made on a regular basis across nations to address this issue and enhance the socio-economic status of women. However, it has been observed that most of the policies and programs view empowerment in the economic sense only working in the belief that economic self-reliance empowers women ignoring other variables like health, education, literacy etc.

What Is The Meaning Of Women Empowerment?

Women Empowerment refers to the creation of an environment for women where they can make decisions of their own for their personal benefits as well as for the society.

Women Empowerment refers to increasing and improving the social, economic, political and legal strength of the women, to ensure equal-right to women, and to make them confident enough to claim their rights

Why Women Empowerment is Important?

Women population constitutes around 50% of the world population. A large number of women around the world are unemployed. The world economy suffers a lot because of the unequal opportunity for women at workplaces.

Women are equally competent. Nowadays, women are even ahead of men in many socio-economic activities.

Women are as talented as men. Previously, women were not allowed higher education like men and hence their talents were wasted. But nowadays, they are also allowed to go for higher studies and it encourages women to show their talents which will not only benefit her individually but to the whole world at large.

The main advantage of Women Empowerment is that there will be an overall development of the society. The money that women earn does not only help them and or their family, but it also help develop the society.

Women Empowerment also leads to more economic benefits not to the individuals but to the society as well. Unlike earlier days when they stayed at home only and do only kitchen stuffs, nowadays, they roam outside and also earns money like the male members of the society. Women empowerment helps women to stand on their own legs, become independent and also to earn for their family which grows country’s economy.

Women Empowerment leads to decrease in domestic violence. Uneducated women are at higher risk for domestic violence than an educated women.

Women Empowerment is also advantageous in case of corruption. Women empowerment helps women to get educated and know their rights and duties and hence can stop corruption.

Women Empowerment also reduces poverty. Sometimes, the money earned by the male member of the family is not sufficient to meet the demands of the family. The added earnings of women helps the family to come out of poverty trap.

Women are increasingly participating in the national development process. They are making the nation proud by their outstanding performances almost every spheres including medical science, social service, engineering, etc.

Women are considered irreplaceable for certain jobs.

Sexism is the root oppression, the one which, until and unless we uproot it, will continue to put forth the branch of racism, class, hatred, ageism, competition, ecological disaster, and economic exploitation. No other human differentiations can be similarly powerful in reproducing oppressions, and so, women are the real left.

In our history many social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Swami Dayanand enacted several laws to improve the position of women, to bring back the dignity and glory of women. Some of these enactments were:

1. Act prohibiting the practice of sati (in 1850)

2. Cast disabilities removal act, 1850
3. The Hindu widow remarriage act, 1856
4. The special marriage act III of 1872
5. The married women’s property act, 1874
6. The child marriage act, 1929
7. The Hindu gains of earning act, 1930
8. The Hindu women’s right to property, 1937
9. The Christian marriage act, 1872
10. The Parsee marriage and divorce act, 1936
11. The dissolution of the Muslim marriage act 1939

These acts in themselves were very good but, since there was no matching enforcement, they were largely on paper and were not reflected in the actual society. But these acts gave a spark, a chance to various reformers and social workers like Ishwar Chandra, Vidya Sagar, Ranade, and Annie Besant. And the inclination of status of women starts from this period.

Challenges For Women In India

It is the most common practice for years in India in which abortion of female fetus is performed in the womb of mother after the foetal sex determination and sex selective abortion by the medical professionals. Infanticide is nowadays a criminal offence in India but it is an under-reported crime, reliable objective data is unavailable. There were around 100 male and female infanticides reported in the country in 2010, giving an official rate of less than one per million people.

Reasons :

1. Extreme poverty with an inability to afford raising a child is one of the reasons given for female infanticide in India.
2. The dowry system in India is another reason that is given for female infanticide.

It is the form of sexual exploitation of a girl child at home, streets, public places, transports, offices, etc by the family members, neighbors, friends, relatives or work place.

As defined in the Supreme Court guidelines (Vishakha vs State of Rajasthan, August 1997), sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour as:

• Physical contact
• A demand or request for sexual favours
• Sexually coloured remarks
• Showing pornography
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature, for example, leering, telling dirty jokes, making sexual remarks about a person's body, etc

It is like endemic and widespread disease affects almost 70% of Indian women according to the women and child development official. It is performed by the husband, relative or other family member.

Dowry and Bride burning

It is another problem generally faced by women of low or middle class family during or after the marriage. Parents of boys demands a lot of money from the bride’s family to be rich in one time. Groom’s family perform bride burning in case of lack of fulfilled dowry demand. In 2005, around 6787 dowry death cases was registered in India according to the Indian National Crime Bureau reports.

Most dowry deaths occur when the young woman, unable to bear the harassment and torture, commits suicide. Most of these suicides are by hanging, poisoning or by fire.

Dowry deaths in India is not limited to Hindus or any specific religion. The ratio of dowry deaths are about the same as the ratio of population in India by religions.

The level of women education is less than men still in the modern age. Female illiteracy id higher in the rural areas. where over 63% or more women remain unlettered.

Child marriage is a human rights violation. Despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread, in part because of persistent poverty and gender inequality. In developing countries, one in every three girls is married before reaching age 18. One in nine is married under age 15

Early marriage of the girls by their parents in order to be escaped from dowry. It is highly practiced in the rural India.

Inadequate nutrition in the childhood affects women in their later life especially women belonging to the lower middle class and poor families.

Widows are considered as worthless in the Indian society. They are treated poorly and forced to wear white clothes.

What We Are Doing To Help Them

National Human Rights And Women Child Development Commission (Non Governmental Organization), set up in 2012 works towards making women economically self-reliant and socially aware, and organizes them to fight atrocities committed against them.

National Human Rights And Women Child Development Commission (Non Governmental Organization) objectives include working against illiteracy. providing a platform for discussion of women’s socio-economic conditions. providing training for income generation, particularly through group activities and cooperatives. organizing research, surveys and seminars and disseminating knowledge about issues such as the role of women in agriculture, industry, health, environment and habitat, and occupational safety.

National Human Rights And Women Child Development Commission (Non Governmental Organization) aims for the democratisation of family and society, and coordinates its activities at various levels with other organisations committed to similar aims and objectives.