Answer the following.
What is empowerment and suggest measures for the empowerment of women?
Solution
Empowerment refers to the process by which oppressed or marginalized sections of the population become stronger, especially in controlling their own life and claiming their own rights. This may happen socially, economically, politically, or nationally. The approach to women's issues has progressed from 'welfare' to 'development' to 'empowerment'.
Some of the measures for empowerment of women include -
(i)Political empowerment - giving women better representation in legislative bodies and in the decision making process.
(ii) Economic empowerment - such as strengthening women's access to property inheritance and land rights, skill training, work opportunities, micro-credit, increased right to economic resources, and power.
(iii) Social empowerment - through literacy/education, training and raising awareness, freedom from domestic violence, access to information, health services, and sanitation.
In India, schemes to empower women include Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana (2015). Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP), Mahila Shakti Kendras (2017), etc.
