Empowering Women in India

Abstract

Women studies have vast scope in this twenty first century. This pragmatic science has the task of empowering women to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Most of the time, village women sit around, doing practically nothing, still now they are far away from the urban women in terms of education, financial capabilities, social status, employment etc. so , first of all, let us know the methods and methodologies to the adopted for study on women. It is intended to go through these processes in order to better capture the social processes that produce 'gender' that generates discrimination which affects women. When it is said, "Women do this and that", it falls on deaf ears. But when we show, how much time men and women spend on each task, how much value each task generates, we have a basis for asking for reform, a basis for seeking how we should measure these contributions and take necessary actions for further betterment. By actually measuring the time and energy spent on each task by men and women, it shows that women ate less than they really needed and worked harder than men. The principles of knowledge initiated by women's question are not an abstraction. It grows out of concrete social and historical facts of lives of women and that they are striving for liberation. In the case of women's history, it has a dual purpose to restore women to history and history to women. Feminism always is engaged with history. Like other subordinate groups in the society, women are also voices in history. The most exciting developments in historical investigation have been the realization after the declaration of 'International Women Decade'. The main motto of the Women's Study is to make women visible in history, in society and in polity. Why we are to depend on history? We need to know our past to understand our present. Oral history is an essential component of research related to women's lives. We are to collect oral history of women, because being invisible to others, they are invisible to themselves. The main objectives of women's studies are to make women visible in various disciplines. "Women's studies begin in the places where women are absent". Through women's studies, women become visible by revealing their experiences, stresses and tensions. It requires tremendous efforts to break the silence to women. At one time, this was summed up in the slogans that feminist research was women. But women in rural areas are socially, culturally and economically suffering from a negative self-image and lack of self-confidence. In such situations, it is necessary for women to come together around issues that affect their lives through a process self-worth through participatory research. This also promotes concretization and collective action on the part of women. Illiteracy and poverty are the main causes and drawbacks which make women invisible in the society. Till today poor and ignorant women are in total darkness, which means they are voiceless, still suppressed and deprived from their legal rights and duties. It is only through the women's studies, the mental, social, cultural, economic, educational and technological development can be achieved by knowing their deficiencies and taking necessary corrective actions. The importance of women's studies, thus, carries high weightage and great significance in bringing women to the path of all-round development with the ultimate objective of matching the frequency of international development. Earlier women's life was confined within four walls of her house as a domestic slave whose only duty was child bearing, rearing and looking after the family, but now things are changing. Thanks to the role of media and education, women have now made a foray into various fields as never before. From a farm girl has working in the field to a pilot scaling the vast horizon. Now women have found a foothold in organized sector, private sector as well as public sector, small-scale and large-scale industries. Entrepreneur opportunities have been provide for literate as well as illiterate women. Out government also think for the women as for this 'Rozgar Yojana' scheme was provided where women too should be equally paid. Good education and job opportunities would boost the morale of women, scholarship and financial aid should be providing to brilliant girls hailing from economically poor background. Women empowerment would materialize and assume a concrete shape if two key solutions is put to use wholeheartedly. Women should establish their own identity and respect their own individuality. Secondly, the democratic notion of gender equality should be implemented and actualized. The very issue of women's empowerment crops up because of men's refusal to view a woman as his other half without which his individual identity is incomplete. Considering the above, it can be said that the present measures of empowering women are only palliatives. Only symptoms are being treated so far, not the disease. Only a radical change in the value system, re-establishing the principles of gender equality and gender justice, will be able to achieve women's equality and ensure honorable co-existence of women with men in the society. A new movement in the direction is the political level. The media has also a vital role to play here, as their responsibility lies in projecting the issue of 'Women's Employment' in the right perspective. Activists groups, women's bodies should pressurize political parties to incorporate this value clearly and categorically in their ideology and action programmes. Anything less than efforts at value-change will be only exercises in futility.