The best thermometer to the progress of a nation is its treatment of its women.

World Population Data SheetWoman Focused

Prevalence of Early Marriage Around the World

Source: UNICEF, www.childinfo.org/marriage_countrydata.php, and PRB analysis.

Source: PRB, The World’s Women and Girls 2011 Data Sheet.

Women as Non-Farm Wage Earners (Percent)

7

48

41

25

49 47

Africa NorthernAmerica

Latin Americaand

Caribbean

Asia(excluding

China)

Europe Oceania

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys, various years.

Women and Men Who Agree That Wife Beating is Acceptable if a Wife Argues With Her Husband(Percent)

1

7

15

21

30

40

35

22

11

26

36

DominicanRepublic

(2007)

Indonesia(2007)

Armenia(2005)

Ghana (2008) India (2005-2006)

Uganda(2006)

Female Male

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys, various years.

Women and Men Who Agree That Wife Beating is Acceptable if a Wife Refuses Sex With Her Husband(Percent)

1

74

1214

31

3 35

7 8

19

DominicanRepublic

(2007)

Indonesia(2007)

Armenia(2005)

Ghana (2008) India (2005-2006)

Uganda(2006)

Female Male

NEED FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMNENT

Not because

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/rahul-gandhi-stuck-on-repeat/

INTRODUCTION

• Empowerment is a process whereby individual is able to organize themselves to increase their own self- reliance, to assert their independent right to make choices and to control resources which will assist in challenging their own subordination.

• Women Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, educational, gender and economic strength of individuals and communities of women.

Feminist notions of Empowerment

• Power over: Controlling power over some one and something. Response to it can be compliance, resistance or manipulation

• Power to: Generative or productive power that creates new possibilities and actions without domination

NEED FOR WOMEN

EMPOWERMNENT

WOMEN ARE DEPRIVED OF:

• Decision Making Power• Freedom of Movement• Access to Education• Access to Employment• Exposure to Media• Domestic Violence

ADVANTAGES OF WOMEN

EMPOWERMENT

• Next generation will be empowered because of her.• If woman will be empowered she will not be a

burden on anyone.• Financial burden of man can be shared with her

support.• Family can be more strong because of both working

hands.

DECISION MAKING POWER

• The number of decisions women make jointly varies positively with education and nonlinearly with wealth; and

• For women, having earnings that they control is associated with greater participation in decisions; however, having earnings without a major say in their use is negatively associated with the number of decisions made jointly and, unexpectedly, positively associated with the number of decisions made mainly alone.

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

• Women’s freedom of movement is severely curtailed:

only one in three are allowed to go alone to the

market, the health centre, and outside the community.

• Women face a large number of hurdles in accessing

health care

ACCESS TO EDUCATION

Children’s school attendance

• Only two-thirds of girls and three-fourths of boys age 6-17 years

are attending school. The sex ratio of children attending school is

889 girls per 1,000 boys.

Literacy and educational attainment among adults

• 41% of women age 15-49 have never been to school.

• Educational attainment remains very low: even among the 20-29

age group, only 27% of women have 10 or more years of

education.

• The percentage of ever-married women with 10 or more years of

education has risen very slowly from 11% in NFHS-1 to 17% in

NFHS-3.http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-women-girls-2011-data-sheet.pdf

ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT

The relationship of employment and wealth for

women suggests that, for many women, employment

is largely a result of economic necessity.

Even with controls for education, age, and wealth,

marriage is negatively associated with a woman’s

likelihood of being employed and is positively

associated with a man’s likelihood of being employed.

Only 7% women work in professional, technical, or

managerial occupations.

http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-women-girls-2011-data-sheet.pdf

EXPOSURE TO MEDIA

Women have lower access to media than men in every

age group.

About 71% of women are exposed to media as

compared to 88% in case of men.

29% of women do not have access to media regularly.

Since it is an important source of empowerment,

greater proportion of women without having access to

media reflects the relatively disadvantageous position

of women in relation to men with regards to

empowerment.http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-women-girls-2011-data-sheet.pdf

Changes in women's mobility and social interaction;

Changes in women's labour patterns;

Changes in women's access to and control over resources;

Changes in women's control over decision-making.

WAYS TO EMPOWER WOMEN

• Power with: power generating a feeling that the whole is greater than the sum of individuals and action as a group is more effective

• Power from within: a sense that there is strength that is in each and every individual. The recognition of one's own self-acceptance and self-respect enables the acceptance of others as equals.

GOVERNMENT POLICY

• Creating an environment through positive economic and social policies for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential

• Enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedom by women on equal basis with men in all spheres – political, economic, social, cultural and civil

• Equal access to participation and decision making of women in social, political and economic life of the nation.

GOVERNMENT POLICY

(Continue)

• Equal access to women to health care, quality education at all levels, career and vocational guidance, employment, equal remuneration, occupational health and safety, social security and public office etc.

• Strengthening legal systems aimed at elimination of all forms of discrimination against women

• Changing societal attitudes and community practices by active participation and involvement of both men and women

GOVERNMENT POLICY

(Continue)

• Mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development process

• Elimination of discrimination and all forms of violence against women and the girl child; and

• Building and strengthening partnerships with civil society, particularly women’s organizations.

Economic empowerment

• Poverty eradication

• Micro-credit-easy access to credit

• Women’s perspective in macro-economic policies

• Enhance productivity and skills in agriculture-

• Women & industry-entrepreneurship development,

labour legislations support

Social Empowerment

• To create an enabling environment through various

affirmative developmental policies and programmes for

development of women besides providing them easy and

equal access to all the basic minimum services so as to

enable them to realize their full potentials.

Education- equal access, universalization of education, reduce gender gaps, gender sensitive educational system

Health- holistic approach to women’s health reduction in IMR & MMR

Nutrition – meeting nutritional needs of women at all stages of life cycle

Housing and shelter – adequate and safe housing

Science and technology – appropriate technology to reduce drudgery

Women in difficult circumstances – capacity building of women in difficult circumstances

Violence against women- eliminate all forms of violence against women

Right of the girl child – elimination of gender discrimination

Mass media – remove gender stereotypes and promote positive image of women

PROGRAMMES AND SCHEMES

- Support for Training cum Employment Programmes (STEP)- Setting up of Training cum Production Centres for Women (NORAD)- Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)- Swarnajanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)- Swa – shakti - Swayamsidha- Swadhar- Swalamban

Employment and Income – generation

• National Commission for Women• National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child

Development• Department of Women and Child Development• Rashtriya Mahila Kosh• Central Social Welfare Board• Women Development Corporations• National Vocational Training Institute• Crimes Against Women Cell/ Women police station

ADMINISTRATITIVE MACHNERY

Flagship Initiatives since June

2014

• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao• National Mission to address mal-

nutrition

33

• Freedom from discrimination- e.g. Gender, race, ethnicity, national origin and religion.

• Freedom from fear of threats to personal security, from torture, arbitrary arrest and other violent acts.

• Freedom of thoughts and speech and to participate in decision making and forming associations.

• Freedom from wants – to enjoy decent standard of living.• Freedom to realize one’s human potential.• Freedom from injustice and violation of the rule of laws.• Freedom for decent work – without exploitation.

HUMAN RIGHTS – SEVEN FREEDOM

• Short- stay homes for women and girls

• Working women hostel

• Awareness generation and gender sensitisation

• Socio economic programmes

LEGISLATIVE ACTS IN INDIA FOR EMPOWERMENT OF WOMENConstitution of India, 1950 :

• Article 14 -equality .

• Article 15- prohibits discrimination of sex.

• Article 16- equality of opportunity for employment.

• The 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution

of India provided for reservation of seats

Indian Penal Code, 1860

• Section 304(b) - Murder of women in connection with demand of dowry. • Sections 312 to 318 - Miscarriage. • Section 366-A deals - Procuration of minor girls for sexual purpose.• Section 376 - Punishment for rape.• Section 498-A - Women to cruelty by her husband or relatives.• Section 509- Punishment for uttering words and gesture or act intended to

insult the modesty of a woman.

• The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 • The Factories Act, 1948 • The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 • The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 :• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 • The Chid Marriage Restraint Act, 1976 • The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 • The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 • The National Commission for Women Act, 1992 :• The Prenatal Diagnostic Technique Act, 1994

• The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 • Women's Reservation Bill or the The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill.• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and

Redressal) Act, 2013 • The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013

Thank You