SAFETY AND WOMEN

EMPOWERMENT

PRESENTED BY

POORNIMADEVI.P PAVITRA G.S ANUJA.M ASHWINI.S ANGELICACAROLINE.D

Empowerment of

women INTRODUCTION

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

PRINCIPLES OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

EDUCATION FOR WOMEN

ACTION PLANS

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

CARE & WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

ECONIMIC PARTICIPATION

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION The empowerment of women refers to providing the necessary rights and

responsibilities to women in order to make them self-reliant. Traditionally, Indian

women have been brought to become workers or servants to serve the man –

dominating world. Even in mythology, there is no gender equity and women were

deprived of their legal rights, to get property, education privacy, social status and they

were never treated as participants in any developmental works. Empowerment is the

process of building capacities of women, creating an atmosphere which will enable

people to fully utilize their creative potentials. Empowerment gives women, the

capacity to influence decision making process, planning, implementation and

evaluation. The status of women empowerment in India using various indicators like

women’s household decision making power, financial autonomy, freedom of

movement, political participation, acceptance of unequal gender role, exposure to

media, access to education, experience of domestic violence etc based on data from

different sources. Gender gap exists regarding access to education and employment.

Household decision-making power and freedom of movement of women vary

considerably with their age, education and employment status.

EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment strategies are varied and refer to those strategies which enable women to realize

their full potentials. They consist of greater access to knowledge and resources, greater

autonomy in decision making, greater ability to plan their lives, greater control over the

circumstances that influence their lives and finally factors which would free them from the

shackles of custom beliefs and practices. Unless they themselves become conscious of the

oppression meted out to them and show initiative to push forward it would not be possible to

change their status much.

Women’s Empowerment Principles in

Brief

1. Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality.

2. Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support

human rights and nondiscrimination.

3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and

men

workers.

4. Promote education, training and professional development

for

women.

5. Implement enterprise development, supply chain and

marketing

practices that empower women.

6. Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy.

7. Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender

equality

WOMEN'S EDUCATION IN INDIA

Although in the Vedic period women had access to education in India, they had gradually

lost this right. However, in the British period there was revival of interest in women's

education in India. However women's education got a fillup after the country got

independence and the government has taken various measures to provide education to all

Indian women. As a result women's literacy rate has grown over the 3 decades and the

growth of female literacy has in fact been higher than that of male literacy rate. While in

1971 only 22% of Indian women were literate, by the end of 2001 54.16% female were

literate. The growth of female literacy rate is 14.87% as compared to 11.72 % of that of

male literacy rate. Gender discrimination still persists in India and lot more needs to be

done in the field of women's education in India. The gap in the male-female literacy rate is

just a simple indicator. While the male literary rate is more than 75% according to the 2001

census, the female literacy rate is just 54.16%.

Action Plans

All Central and State Ministries will draw up time bound Action Plans for translating the Policy into a set of concrete actions, through a participatory process of consultation with Centre/State Departments of Women and Child Development and National /State Commissions for Women. The Plans will specifically including the following: - i) Measurable goals to be achieved by 2020. ii) Identification and commitment of resources. iii) Responsibilities for implementation of action points. iv) Structures and mechanisms to ensure efficient monitoring, review and gender impact assessment of action points and policies. v) Introduction of a gender perspective in the budgeting process.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

1. Growing economic participation

2. Improvements in social

development indicators

3. Access to technology, including

information technology

Growing economic participation

Economic empowerment constitutes one of the fundamental building blocks in

efforts towards the overall empowerment of women. Participation in formal economic

activities on terms and conditions which reflect the productive capacity of women,

and their control over their own incomes, are some of the important dimensions of

economic empowerment.

Although the increasing work participation of women has been viewed as part of the

general employment boom created by the export-led economic expansion, female

labour-force participation rates have tended to increase more than those for men in the

Asian and Pacific region, suggesting that women's economic participation has been a

critical feature of the region's quest for the economic empowerment of women

Social development

Fertility rates have declined in the region, even though the total fertility rate and

the average number of children per woman remain high (over four) in several

countries in the region. The fertility rates on average remain high in those

countries of Asia where female literacy is low and opportunities for outside work

participation are limited. It is therefore increasingly accepted that, in addition to

reflecting general conditions of economic growth and the availability of both

health care and birth control facilities, fertility rates also serve as a proxy for

women's general empowerment. This is because these rates are closely linked to

the literacy and educational status of women, age at marriage, and other

important features of women's status.

Access to technology

Promoting access to productive resources and social support systems constitutes one of the fundamental building blocks in efforts to empower women in the region. Access to productive resources such as credit, technology, infrastructure, marketing links and networking facilities can significantly enlarge opportunities for women to engage in formal economic activities and improve their social status. In that regard, promoting access to new and emerging technologies, including information and communication technology, has become a powerful tool for women's empowerment.

CARE and Women’s Empowerment

CARE has always worked with women and girls alongside men and boys in our poverty-

fighting programs. But over time, we have shifted from understanding poverty as a phenomenon

of unclaimed rights as well as of unmet needs, and now have a greater appreciation of the

humanmade, structural elements that underlie the poverty of entire groups of people.

Individuals change: Poor women become actors for change, able to analyze their own lives,

make their own decisions and take their own actions. Women (and men) gain ability to act by

building awareness, skills, knowledge, confidence and experience. and

Structures change: Women and men, individually and collectively, challenge the routines, conventions, laws, family forms, kinship structures and taken-for-granted behaviors

that shape their lives – the accepted forms of power and how these are perpetuated. and

Relations change: Women and men form new relations with other social actors, form

coalitions and develop mutual support in order to negotiate,be agents of change, alter structures

and so realize rights, dignity and livelihood security.

Violence against women

All forms of violence against women, physical and mental, whether at domestic

or societal levels, including those arising from customs, traditions or accepted

practices shall be dealt with effectively with a view to eliminate its incidence.

Institutions and mechanisms/schemes for assistance will be created and

strengthened for prevention of such violence , including sexual harassment at

work place and customs like dowry; for the rehabilitation of the victims of

violence and for taking effective action against the perpetrators of such violence.

A special emphasis will also be laid on programmes and measures to deal with

trafficking in women and girls.

“

”

If we’re going to talk about women’s empowerment, we have to talk

about the problem of sexual violence. It’s great if the head of the

community development committee is a woman. But if she’s going home and getting raped every night by her brother-inlaw, is she empowered?

No.” Kassie McIlvaine, CARE’s

Director in Burundi

Exemplery punishment to juveniles(those below 18 years of age)involved in heinuos crimes,such as rape and murder,by amending the juvenile justice(care and protection of children)act 2000.The JJ act should not be understood as a piece of legislaton that protect men alone.It applies equally to women also.Before 2000,boys aged under 16 years were provided protection under the act.The age for boys was raised to 18 after deep deliberation.Therefore,in my view,there is no need to thinker with the enactment

Conclusion

“When women move forward the family moves, the village moves and the nation moves”. It is essential as their thought & their value systems lead the development of a good family, good society & ultimately a good nation”. Indian government has taken several steps towards empowering women. Empowerment of women also requires participation and co-operation of men as they benefit by having educated mothers, wives, daughters and sisters. The economic empowerment will allow raising women's self awareness, skill development, creative decision making and it may also lead to produce better citizens and a new and modern India.

Adopted from

IFAD/OE. 2000. The Republic of India: Tamil Nadu Women's

Development Project: Completion Evaluation, Report 340-IN.

Rome, April.