Voice for Change - Women Empowerment

“A society can’t walk by one leg”

 ~KOFI ANNAN

Society is a social institution of many ingredients of which men and women are valuable assets of them. Men should understand that they are incomplete without women. Both have a conjugal role in making a family in which children are small saplings that they nurture. Leaving of any one of them disbalance the society and also affects the children. So to empower them is the main objective of the society in contemporary world.

Many people have contributed for this in some way or other. It all started in Colonial Era, Raja Ram Mohan Roy fought for the status of women at that time when no one even thought about it. People like MG Ranade started schools for women. Education was the main weapon for these people to enhance the status of women in that era. Their work reflected when women like Sarojini Naidu contributed in the freedom struggle. Cornelia Sorabji was the first woman lawyer in the colonial era who studied law at the Oxford University. So people at that time have taken some initiatives for women education and they have tried to uplift the status of women.

Education can enhance the status but the most important factor which was a hurdle for these people was the Patriarchal Society where men hold the primary position in the decision making in the family and women were to kept aside from decision making. Women even don’t have the liberty to live after the death of their husband. Sati was prevailing in the Hindu religion. So it was abolished at that time and remarriage act was passed by British so that woman can have liberty to live their life on their own terms.Even today we don't have a representation of women in our parliament. A bill is still  pending for the reservation of 33% of representation of women in the parliament.

An Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekanand once said

“ If you want to develop a society, develop a family and to develop a family first develop woman of that family.”

Without proper development of woman in the family one cannot achieve a successful society. Woman should be empowered -

Politically
Economically and
Socially

means she should have the power to take decisions of their, have equal representation with the male counterpart. Today as per United Nations estimation women are half of the population of the world but it is pitiable to say that their situation is getting worse day by day. Discrimination, Sexual Assault, Underprivilege are some of the depriving factors that are diminishing the status of women in the society. Women do not have the liberty to reproduce at their own will and have to live in Purdah and were divorced easily but uttering "Talak Talak Talak." But some reform changes were brought in the system by bringing Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a women politician in United States of America. She got the title of "First lady of the world" from the President of United States because of her achievement in Human Rights. She said

“Women is like a tea bag, you never know how strong is she until she gets in hot water.”

 means until you don't let a woman to excel in any field she will not show her true colors.

Some of the famous examples of women who not only excelled in their fields but made their name in the society as well like in

Space – Kalpana Chawla
Politics – Indira Gandhi
Business – Indra Noori
Banking – Chandra Kochar
Sports – Saina Nehwal.

In the era of globalization, modernisation of 21st century where we have almost half of the population as women then also they have to fight for their presence. But in the present era, some of the people in our government have taken some initiatives for women like they are assigned to hold such positions of Defence Minister, External Affairs Minister in the government of India. Now women are representing India in Army, Navy and Air Force.

As we have gone through multiple factors above  economic development will make them self reliant and they will be in a position to take decisions of their own. Education should be taken seriously otherwise the dream we are seeing for the empowerment will not be fulfilled. Proper laws for women are there but we have to follow them religiously. Attitude towards women should be changed to make them empowered. This can one day bring a change in the society.

If you have any query, do let me know, I would love to answer them.

I regularly write for www.QwertyBlogr.blogspot.com

Deepak Sethi

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