We need women at all levels, including the top to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded and not overlooked and ignored

The constitutional amendment bill (128th constitutional amendment) to enact Nari Shakti Vandan Abhiyan meant to provide one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was passed by Lok Sabha by an overwhelming majority and then unanimously in Rajya Sabha. The reservation will come into force soon after the first delimitation (in 2026) It was pronounced by PM Narendra Modi that the women's reservation bill will pave the way for women’s empowerment.

A very positive step indeed for an inclusive and holistic development Growth trajectory cannot move in the right direction if about ninety per cent of its population (women population) languishes in impecuniosity, proscription and forbiddance.

Rosa Luxemburg expressed “Women’s freedom is the sign of social freedom. To add it can be depicted that women’s freedom and empowerment are the initial indications for economic, social, political and intellectual advancement of the nation. Amartya Sen has delineated empowering women is the key to building the future we want. Overall inclusive growth of a nation entails the amelioration of the predicaments of women and poverty-stricken to propel the trajectory of growth in a direction of positive advancement.

Women’s empowerment can be stated as a process by which women gain power and control over their own lives and acquire the ability to make strategic choices. In short, empowerment entitles women to take charge of their personal development. It aims at raising the self-esteem and self-confidence of women by eliminating discrimination in all forms (and manifestations) of violence against women and girl child. As such this empowerment can be categorized into five main parts and those are social, educational, economic, political and psychological. And the five pillars on which empowerment is based are education health, security, finance and emotion.

The steps to be followed in women’s empowerment are clarity and support. While Clarity signifies clarifying goals and expeditions, support is meant to support those steps by providing resources they need to succeed and remove obstacles, trying to restrict and hinder progress. The four stages of empowerment are self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-belief and self-realization and the four methods of empowerment are communication, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity.

The meaning of empowerment in lexiconic semantics is depicted as the granting of political, social, and economic power to an individual or a group. As opposed to interdiction and emaciation, empowerment rests, and authorizes to inculcate confidence and strength in the individual or the group to accomplish the vested task. Kofi Anan said there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. It is said that women’s empowerment is intertwined with respect for human rights.

Various enactments have been taken up by the government in the past for protection and vindication of women’s causes. Those are the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the Sexual Harassment of Women in Workplaces Act, 2013 etc.

The need of the hour is to redefine the status of women in society and to eradicate the exclusion process of women from citadels of socio-economic and political power. The challenges faced by women (spatial and temporal factors) emanates from various factors like hegemonistic patriarchy, perpetration of discrimination and exploitation, lack of education, the prevalence of poverty (exploited as domestic help, sex-slavery), health and safety (maternal mortality rate in India as 301 per 1000 and about many women are dying in India due to childbirth complication every year), gender discrimination and child abuse (no role in decision making in the family or outside and female feticides) crime against women (murder, rape, dowry deaths etc) girls and women trafficking and domestic violence.

The most important task at hand is for a paradigm shift in approach and empowerment in all spheres of life. Mahatma Gandhi wrote ‘The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world’.

Empowering women in education (by giving them support to take the lead) and in business (economic independence is very much linked and associated with women empowerment) is also important. Other issues like the problem of working women, gender bias, technological advancement sexual harassment should also be addressed for effective assimilation of women in the decision-making process in the country, coming out of age-old discrimination and exploitation exacerbating their predicaments – Empowerment of women in fact should start with economic empowerment of women (poverty eradication and micro credit etc) and women’s perspectives should be included in designing and implementing macro and micro economic and social policies by institutionalising their participation in the process.

Empowering women would also be a key to control population growth. Because the spread of illiteracy, poverty and hegemonistic patriarchy have relegated their position to a cypher level both in the family and in the social circle. Early marriage, frequent childbirth to add to work workforce to house to tackle poverty, no voice in the family, patriarchy, lack of education and family control, role as a sex-commodity, urge for a male child etc. have remained a poignant causes for population explosion/growth. The answer with specificity points towards women's empowerment which would cause a wane on this burgeoning problem.

Various movements in India have been taken by the protagonists to enhance the position of women in India. These movements have voiced against injustice in socio-economic issues like equal pay for equal work, recognition of work, sexual harassment in workplaces domestic violence etc. The achievements of these feminist movements are immense and their relevance has remained vibrant. But some fault lines there need to be analyzed. It is pointed out that these movements reflect the privileges and power dynamics that exist in larger society.

Some people accuse that these feminist movements have been hijacked by urban English-speaking middle/upper-class and upper-caste women. It is viewed that the benefits have not percolated down to poor and lower-caste women. This paradoxical situation has led to caste-specific feminist organizations and movements. Low levels of political awareness, ignorance, the patriarch mindset of Indian society, and low levels of political efficacy have also inhibited poor and rural women without providing any fillip for advancement. Even the steps and enactments of government as the dowry prohibition act, child marriage (prohibition) Act, special marriage act, domestic violence etc. and various measures and enactments, have not percolated deep into poor women’s lifestyles. Empowerment with education, skill development and inclusion-oriented welfare schemes would enhance the position of lower-strata women in society.

To conclude Sheryl Sandberg opined ‘We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamics, reshape the conversion, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded and not overlooked and ignored’. Even J L Nehru told ‘India to awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, the family moves, the village moves and the nation moves.

Let us not only aim at empowerment, but total emancipation socially and from other bondages empowered women should take charge of social engineering erelong.

(The author is a superannuated senior IAS officer)