Women Empowerment in India 2010, Women Empowerment, Status of Women India, Indian Women Empowerment

Women Empowerment in India 2010

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT is the ability of women to exercise full control over one’s actions. In the past, women were treated as mere house-makers. They were expected to be bound to the house, while men went out and worked. This division of labour was and is still in a few parts of the country one of the major reason because of which certain evils took birth in our society child marriage, female infanticide, women trafficking.

The government has passed many laws so as to empower the women. These rules have empowered them socially, economically, legally and politically. For example recentll indian government is determined to pass 33% Women's reservation bill in Lok Sabha and State assemblies. Not only the government but various non-governmental organisations have done a lot so as to improve the status of woman in our society.

Status of women in ancient India was much better. The women enjoyed equal status with men in all fields of life. However, some others hold contrasting views. Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as Patanjali and Katyayana suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic period Rigvedic verses suggest that the women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their husband. Scriptures such as Rig Veda and Upanishads mention several women sages and seers, notably Gargi and Maitreyi.

According to studies, women enjoyed equal status and rights during the early Vedic period. However, later (approximately 500 B.C.), the status of women began to decline with the Smritis (esp. Manusmriti) and with the Islamic invasion of Babur and the Mughal empire and later Christianity curtailing women's freedom and rights. Although reformatory movements such as Jainism allowed women to be admitted to the religious order, by and large, the women in India faced confinement and restrictions. The practice of child marriages is believed to have started from around sixth century.

The questions surrounding women's empowerment the condition and position of women have now become critical to the human rights based approaches to development. The Cairo conference in 1994 organized by UN on Population and Development called attention to women's empowerment as a central focus and UNDP developed the Gender Empowerment measure (GEM) which focuses on the three variables that reflect women's participation in society – political power or decision-making, education and health. 1995 UNDP report was devoted to women's empowerment and it declared that if human development is not engendered it is endangered a declaration which almost become a lei motif for further development measuring and policy planning. Equality, sustainability and empowerment were emphasized and the stress was, that women's emancipation does not depend on national income but is an engaged political process.

There are certain functions that are particularly central to human life. The list of capabilities that are necessary element of truly human functioning include:

1. Life-being able to live to the end of human life of normal length: not dying prematurely, or before one's life is so reduced as to be not worth living.

2. Bodily health – being able to have good health including reproductive health, to be adequately nourished, to have adequate shelter.

3. Bodily integrity – Being able to move freely from place to place, to be secure against violent assault, including sexual assault and domestic violence; having opportunities for sex satisfaction and for choice in matters of reproduction.

4. Senses, imagination and thought – Being able to use the sense, to imagine, think and reason in a truly human way including but not limited to literacy. Being able to use one's mind and imagination protected by freedom of expression.

5. Emotions – being able to have attachments, to love, to grieve to experience longing gratitude and justified anger. Not having one's emotional development blighted by fear and anxiety.

6. Practical Reason – Being able to form a conception of the good and to engage in critical reflection about planning of one's life's protected by liberty of conscience.

7. Affiliation – Being able to live with and toward others to have social interactions, to have the capability of both justice and friendship. This would entail freedom of assembly and free speech. Having social bases for self-respect and non-humiliation, being protected against discrimination on the basis of race, sex sexual orientation religion caste or region.

8. Other species – Being able to concern with nature.

9. Play – being able to laugh, play and enjoy.

10. Control over one's environment.

a) Political. Being able to participate effectively in political choices that govern one's life, having the right to political participation, protection of free speech and association.

b) Material. Being able to hold property to seek employment on equal bases and having freedom from unwarranted search and seizure. In work, being able to work as a human being, exercising practical reason and entering into meaningful relationships of mutual recognition with the workers.

Hopefully the Women's Reservation Bill  of reserving 33% seats in indian parliament and state assemblies, which has long awaited to see day light will be passed this time.Now seeing both INC and BJP national parties in its favor. It would rightfully be a big and positive step in women empowerment in India where Women have waited long enough to be empowered. on 8th March 2010 the parliamentary session will have debate on this bill.

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