Need for Women Empowerment

Introduction: The topic on Women Empowerment is a burning issue all over the Indian and worlds. Now a day Women empowerment and women equality with men is a really universal or global issue. The need for women’s empowerment is felt because of the status they have in society since the beginning. There is a need to redefine the status of women in the society.

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. In short participation and representation of women in decision making process and such other policies formulation and implementation.

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, such as:

1.Freely live their life with a sense of self-worth, respect and dignity,

2.Have complete control of their life, both within and outside of their home and workplace,

3.To make their own choices and decisions,

4.Have equal rights to participate in social, religious and public activities,

5.Have equal social status in the society etc….

Need For Women Empowerment

The need for women’s empowerment is felt because of the status they have in society since the beginning. There is a need to redefine the status of women in the society.A change can be brought through the constitution and supportive legislations. The Constitution of India gives a women status equal to men. There have been attempts to reserve seats for women in political bodies. This is no doubt a step in the right direction. Women have the ability to judge for themselves and take right decisions. However merely allowing for reservation of women in Panchayat and legislative bodies without empowering women individually falls short of actual emancipation. Women have been excluded from centers of power as a result of systematic conspiracy by patriarchal thought most common in India Khap Panchayat that has relegated women to an allotted and confined space. A reorientation of our attitudes towards women has to be carefully guided for their real emancipation from the patriarchal domination.

For time immemorial women in general been forced to occupy a secondary place in relation to men. Women have been relegated to the margins in spite of the fact that they are numerically half of the world’s population. This has resulted in women being unable to take a place of human dignity as free and independent entities associated with men on an intellectual and professional equal wavelength. In the ancient period women were known to engage in many productive activities but over the time reproduction and challenges of pregnancy and childbirth gradually made her dependent on men for protection and food.

By the time mankind reached more settled existence patriarchy was fully established. The men were to write the codes of the society and governance where women were given subordinate role. The men projected the dominant viewpoint as universal truth. Yet even in the ages of strict dominance by males society has thrown up women of caliber who could match even surpass the skills of men. The visible achievements of women as teachers, doctors, pilots, politicians and explorers etc. have demolished the patriarchal notions of confining women’s role to home and hearth. But these achievements have been made mostly at individual levels at times when women faced discrimination and criticism at all levels.

It is easier to see how detrimental to progress it is to restrict women to specified roles and subordinate them to men. Even to raise children in today’s environment to make them fit to face the challenges of a competitive future a woman needs to be fully aware of her choices and decision-making.

The impoverished and illiterate status of most women in society is due to their inability to attain sufficient levels of economic power. To sustain any level of empowerment women have to be educated to be aware of their rights and privileges in a modern society. It is only when they become aware of their status in society that they will be able to take full advantage of the concessions offered to them as a corrective measure.

Women empowerment has to begin with women’s active participation. Unless women throw off the shackles that ignore their talent, skill and spirit women through education and economic self-reliance, cannot be empowered. Unless they are empowered to take a decisive part in the social, political and economic life of the country the very development of the country will be lop-sided.

Why Women Empowerment is Important?

With the source of ImportantIndia:-

1. Under-employed and unemployed: 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. (Also read: Paragraph on Women Employment)

2. Equally competent and intelligent: Women are equally competent. Nowadays, women are even ahead of men in many socio-economic activities.

3. Talented: 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.

4. Overall development of society: 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.

5. Economic Benefits: 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.

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

7. Reduction in corruption: 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.

8. Reduce Poverty: 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.

9. National Development: 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.

10. Irreplaceable in some sectors: Women are considered irreplaceable for certain jobs.

The Art of Living empowers women to face the present challenges by providing tools and techniques that help to eliminate individual stress. A sense of community spirit is created that allows for women to face these similar challenges as a team rather than individually. The Art of Living encourages women to find practical solutions to their challenges so that each one becomes self-dependent in their own right. Empower yourself with happiness as you take on life’s daily challenges. Fill in the form below to learn how to embrace life with a renewed enthusiasm every day.

Women empowerment: Pakistan working for gender equality

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan is determined to work towards achieving the targets set for gender equality and empowerment of women by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi has said. In her opening remarks at a side event organised by the Pakistan Mission to the UN during the 60th session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW), she said that Pakistan believes that there was an urgent need to see how far we have come to fully achieving targets set by SDGs. “Physical violence has been described as the most shameful of all rights violations and one of the most intractable to eliminate fully”, she asserted. “And we agree”, she added. The panellists included Raheela Durani, speaker of the Balochistan Assembly and Aman Imam, secretary of the Women Development, Punjab. Source:- Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st,  2016.

Women empowerment: A solution

Human rights are women rights and women rights are human rights, with around 52% of woman population, a country like Pakistan cannot progress when half of it is held back. As per reported facts 60 women are subjected to violence in Punjab alone. Just think of plight of women in a suffocated and closed society like ours where many of the cases of violence, rape , torture , abuse , beating, acid attack, honor killing, goes unreported because families cover up to avoid social stigma.

Since its inception Pakistani women has shared the burden of men from political activities to earning livelihood and working in the fields in spite of been neglected and treated as a commodity and liability. Present era of globalization calls for equal participation of men and women in all fields of life to ensure sustainable growth and economic prosperity. A nation cannot progress without bringing women into main stream, we have examples of Muslim world like Malaysia and Turkey, where women are working shoulder to shoulder with men for the development of their countries yet in our country resistance against participation of women would not serve any purpose for the forward march of the country.

In spite of efforts of enlightened segments of society and government’s resolute to improve woman’s status still women is subjugated to draconian norms of man dominated society. Women’s role in the country’s progress is as crucial as that of men; present government’s vision is to transform Pakistan into a modern and developed state, as envisioned by the founding father of this nation. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once said: “No Nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against women humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.”

PML-N Government as per its manifesto considers it a national duty to protect the interests of women and provide them equal opportunities without any discrimination. It is committed to ensure empowerment of women as their participation in all walks of life be it in political or practical fields. The PML-N government had taken historic steps during the last three years for the social and economic empowerment of women along with effective legislation to address women’s issues with a view to safeguard their rights.

Moreover, for the promotion and protection of women rights, to restore the personal security and dignity of women and to give them protection at workplace, the Government has taken deliberate and conscious steps like reservations of 10 percent quota for females, on the political side, reservation of thirty three percent seats for women in all local bodies more than 36,000 women councilors, 17 percent seats have been reserved for women in the constituent Assembly, Senate, Provincial Assembly and in national assembly.

To tackle the issues of harassment and to eliminate the gender based violence, government has taken many measures to enhance the participation of women in economic sphere. In line with federal Government efforts to empower women, the Punjab Assembly unanimously approved the Protection of Women against Violence Bill, calling for an end to all criminalities against women, such as, domestic violence, acid attack, rape, psychological and economic abuse, stalking, and cyber-crimes. The 31 clauses of the new bill provide an efficient system for complaint registration and penalties for offenders.

According to the clauses, a toll-free helpline (UAN number) will be launched to receive direct complaints. It also calls for the creation of protection centers and shelters homes, where conflicts and misunderstandings can be settled and help partners reach reconciliation. The bill has magnificently covered all the critical matters dealing with violence and crafted the complaint system easier than ever. It’s certainly a milestone towards women rights, empowerment and gender equality.

There is now no justification to continue the smear campaign against this important act, which is a right step towards protecting the dignity and self-respect of women. Islam does not allow any form of violence rather it has given an elevated status to women. Therefore any step taken towards their empowerment and protection should not be politicized as they constitute half of the population and their participation in all walks of life is critical for socio-economic uplift of the country.

More over when it comes to oppression, it is stated clearly at many places in quran that God is not with the oppressors, the propaganda that bill is anti-men is extremely unreasonable. This act is not anti men, no where the word father, husband or son is used even once; “aggressor” and “defendant” is used to include both men and women. Mediation through district women protection committee has been made a priority. And it will not break the home or increase divorce ratio, rather help to fix up the troubling matters and acts of violence. GSP tracked ankle bracelets are not insulting for men. It is clear in the act that this would be used only in cases of grave violence.

This step is not less than a silent revolution that will help us rise up the quagmire of immorality; we have been slaves of societal norms and interpreted Islam our own way. Before Allah one of the heinous act is injustice and oppression. Allah says in quran “Indeed the wrongdoers (zalimoon ) shall never be successful.