“There is no chance of the welfare of the
world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird
to fly on one wing.”
-
Swami Vivekanand
India, for long, has remained
a golden bird, flying on one wing. The missing wing that constitutes an
integral yet deprived section of the society in women and girls has costed the
nation a substantial amount of glory. For far too long, women and girls in India
have remained a neglected, deprived and vulnerable section. They have been
deprived of certain fundamental rights, an equal say and resources like
finances, property entitlements etc.
It’s bit ironical that on one
hand, we call our nation, “Bharat Mata”
which means mother to every Indian and raise slogans in her name but on other
hand we treat the mothers of our society in the most berating manner. This is
enough to bring shame to every Indian. But wait! If we see the past couple of
decades, there has been a paradigm shift towards the betterment of women. But
the reality is far from good and we will have to take some giant leaps to
achieve the goals that comprise the umbrella target of Women Empowerment.
The essay covers some
important areas that address that harsh reality of our society. It discusses
some themes that are essential to achieve Women Empowerment. It also covers in
brief some important initiatives taken by our government. Last but not the
least it discusses where our focus should lie and the road ahead.
But before we begin our
journey, let’s first take the most basic question of “What exactly is Women
Empowerment?”
Women Empowerment, in simple words, is the act of bestowing power and authority on
women. It refers to conferring of leverage to women who are otherwise deprived.
Constitution of India, guarantees to all women, equality (Article 14), no
discrimination by the State (Article 15(1)), equality of opportunity (Article
16), equal pay for equal work (Article 39(d)) and renounce practices derogatory to the dignity
of women (Article 51(a), (c)). Moreover, it also allows the States to make
special provision in favour of Women and children (Article 15(3)) and securing
just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief (Article 42). But the
ground reality is something else.
Problem Areas
But what are the things that
the women of our society exactly deprived of? Where do we, as a society, lack?
Let’s take the issues that plague the women of our society and understand the
ground reality.
Health and Nutrition requirements
On the total infant mortality
cases, 59 percent are girls. Our nation lags even some African nations on
certain health indices. This has led to the deterioration of the society as a
whole and women have been the main sufferers.
Education
After food, clothes and
house, education has emerged as the basic need of man. In terms of Literacy
rate, a whopping 56 percent of women are illiterate as against a considerably
lower figure of 24 percent in case of men. Fewer girls are enrolled into
schools as compared to boys at both primary and upper primary levels. This is a
very serious issues and calls for immediate action.
Sanitation Facilities
In terms of sanitation
facilities, India ranks way bellow other nations. This has led to several
diseases and health issues. Moreover, it has led to an increase in cases of abuse.
Hence, it is the source of multiple problems associated with women and society
as a whole and should be resolved on a priority basis.
Employment
Even though the Constitution
of India calls for equal pay for equal work, the fact is that women are paid
way lesser than men for an equal amount of work. Take for example, Agriculture.
Women take care of the livestock and spend more time in fields but they are not
paid adequately.
Adequate Representation
About 33 percent of
representation in gram panchayat and municipal elections is reserved, but when
it comes to Parliament, the wait for the passing of Women’s Reservation Bill,
2010 is not over. Until and unless, there is adequate representation of women
at the Parliament, there will always remain a lack of sensitization among
masses.
Social Mindset
This is one of the biggest
impediments to the growth of women in our society. It’s a fact that women are
physically weaker than men. But when it comes to willingness, intellectual
capability etc they are no lesser than men. But the mindset of our society
especially in rural and backward sections is not such. They perceive women as
weak in all respects and do not allow the freedom they deserve.
Inequality
It is discouraging that in
most of the rural areas and some semi urban areas, women are not allowed the
authority they should enjoy. When it comes to ownership of Property, men always
enjoy the upper hand. Moreover, women are not given equal opportunities to put
forward their say in family as well as the societal matters. These are some
apparent violations of several Constitution Guarantees.
Government Schemes
Whether it is education or
health, whether it is employment or financial opportunities, government of
India has framed a plethora of schemes. On paper, they appear to be some of the
finest in the world. There is absolutely no country in the world that has so
many schemes that directly or indirectly related to the welfare of women.
But the problem lies in
implementing the schemes. Due to rampant Corruption, Indifference, lack of
power at block level and sensitization issues, the schemes haven’t been able to
achieve their full potential.
Sensitization
Earlier this year, there was
a sting operation conducted by the magazine Tehelka
on twenty odd SPs in Delhi-NCR region. They were asked some questions regarding
rape cases in Delhi. Most of them said that it was the women’s fault. This
calls for sensitization on women related issues like handling of rape cases by
police etc. Presently, the police training doesn’t include anything on
sensitization of women related matters. On the first day of duty, they are handed
over a piece of paper to read. That’s simply not enough!
Justice
If a rape victim decides to
get justice then she has to think atleast a hundred times. But why? Well there
are hundred reasons. Firstly, when she visits a police station to file an FIR then
she is handed over a caveat that if she takes the matter to court then she will
face some of the most shameless questions. Even then if she goes ahead with the
proceedings, the horror continues. From medical check up to court hearings, at
every step the victim is made to feel as if she is the culprit. How can we
empower the women in such times?
Moreover, we don’t have laws
that can be considered good enough when it comes to crimes like acid attacks.
Our nation needs to learn from her neighbour, Bangladesh, where an acid
attacker, if convicted, gets death penalty.
Another grey area is that of the
actions of “Khap panchayat”. They
take the law in their hands and punish women, particularly those belonging to
backward castes in the most horrifying manners. This has to stop.
Social Menaces
No one can deny that our
country has one of the worst track records in terms of social menaces. From
Child Labour to Child Marriage, from Wife sharing to Witch hunting incidents,
from female foeticide to domestic violence, our nation tops the charts. In such
an environment, women empowerment seems to be an impossible target.
There is also a need to
ensure social security covers to the vulnerable sections.
Solutions
But Wait! Before coming to
any conclusion regarding the future of our mission of achieving Women’s
Empowerment, we need to think about the loopholes in our system and find out
ways to eradicate them. There is no one-stop solution because of the diverse
basket of issues in hands. The approach has to be a multi-pronged one with area
specific approaches. At the same time we need to take a macro-view of the
situation and follow a convergence route to ensure better implementation. Some
measures are discussed to ensure that the target of Women Empowerment is
achieved in the most efficient and effective manner.
Basic Facilities
Sanitation, adequate supply
of Water, proper infrastructure, schools, medical camps etc are some of the
basic facilities that should be made available in the immediate future. Until
these issues are resolved, women empowerment will remain just a dream. There
are some programmes launched by the government but coverage still remains a
challenge.
Employment, Equality and Safety
Apart from ensuring equality
in terms of pay, government needs to take initiative in ensuring safe working
conditions as well. Factory Act, 1948 does just that, taking in account timings
of employment. Special focus is also required towards women working in the
informal sector. Hence, institutions such as Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) need a
push.
Some acts such as Hindu
Succession Act, 1995 ensure that women get their due rights in terms of
ownership of properties.
Robust Laws
Our nation does lack when it
comes to having a robust legal system in place that could bring justice to
women. The track record is dismal to say the least. We need to learn some
lessons from our past and take steps to ensure safety and justice to the women
of our society. There is a need to take exemplary actions to develop a fear in
the minds of criminals and in turn bring down the crime rate.
There is also a need to
improve on the speed with which judgments are being delivered (Disposal of
Cases).
Sensitization of Budgets
The Budget outlays for
various schemes need to be gender sensitive i.e. a separate budget for both men
and women. This trend has already started and we do have separate budgets. But
the level of sensitization could be improved for example at block level.
Devolution of Authority
Whenever funds are allocated,
they are allocated at state level. This leads to unnecessary delays and
corruption at lower levels (like village level). Hence, it is important that
the authority of budget allocation is devolved to have better planning at the
lower levels of administration.
Representation of Women
Women Representation Bill,
2010 is the need of the hour. To have better laws and regulations for women, it
is important that they have adequate representation at the legislative
assembly.
Other acts such as the
Cantonment Act, 2006 are some steps in the right direction.
Awareness
It’s commonsense that if I
don’t know about a scheme then I wouldn’t be able to take the benefits that are
there for me. Hence, it is important to spread the word about various
government schemes in order to enable the beneficiaries to take advantage of
the schemes.
Focus on Education
This is the most basic step towards
welfare of women. It is an imperative that we need to improve the literacy
level of our society particularly women that lags men by a big margin. For
this, schemes like Mid-day meal etc can prove to be very effective. Moreover,
Scholarships to girl child can encourage others to follow suit.
Girl Child Ratio
The Girl Child Ratio figure
for the age group 0-6 years, took a hit in the recently released 2011 census
figures. It shows there is a bias against girl child. Government needs to
promote schemes like Girls Child Protection Scheme, Apni Beti Apna Dhan Yojana
to improve the situation.
Special focus to Rural Areas
There is a huge gap between
the condition of women in urban and rural areas. Special focus needs to be
given the needs of women in rural areas. The real problems lie there.
Emphasis on Agriculture
There are more numbers of
women than men when it comes to agricultural labours. In order to pursue the
objective of Inclusive growth, agriculture growth is very essential. We were
fortunate to host the Global Conference
on Women in Agriculture in New Delhi this year. The conference rightly put
the emphasis on empowerment of women in agriculture sector.
We can achieve the objectives
through initiatives like Mahila Kisan
Mandal, Upgraded Technology, Research and Development and many more.
Complaint Redressal System
There is an acute need of a
robust Complaint Redressal System for Women. The National Commission for Women
(NCW) already has one cell for this concern.
UID-Aadhar scheme
We can associate the UID
schemes with others to improve the delivery of benefits to the beneficiaries.
This will remove the intermediaries and reduce corruption.
Financial Aids
Financial Aid Schemes like Apni
Beti Apna Dhan Yojana (Haryana), Kunwar Bainu Mamerun Scheme (Gujarat),
Kamdhenu Yojana (Maharashtra) can prove to be the right medicines. Moreover,
the aid should not only come from governments. Public Private Partnership model
could be followed to attract investment from Private sector. Moreover, there
could be a separate provision under the head, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
for women welfare schemes. Foreign Investment can be allowed in the schemes as
well.
Banks, Microfinance
Institutions should always be ready to provide financial helps to Self Help Groups
(SHG) etc at reasonable cost.
National Best Practice
Government should identify
the states or the regions where the schemes are implemented in the best
possible manner. They could act as the models for other states or regions to
follow. We should keep in mind that we need not to follow world best practices;
the national best practices will be enough to achieve the desired goals.
Source: Yojana.gov.in
Role of Institutions like NCW, NGOs
Apart from government
institutions like NCW which is in operations for the last 20 years, Non
Government Organisations (NGOs) should also come forward. This will enable
wider coverage. Moreover, head of the village could be made responsible for the
better implementation.
Helpline Numbers
There should be a 24x7 active
helpline number for Women related issues. NCW launched such a helpline.
SHG, Cooperatives
Self Help Groups have written
several success stories in our countries by making thousands of women
self-reliant and self-sufficient. Cooperatives are other bodies that can go a
long way in eradicating some problems facing women.
Power of Social Media and other communication channels
The First thing that we do in
the morning is check our Facebook status. Although the Internet penetration at
present is very low but the future projections are very encouraging. Facebook,
Twitter and other social media platforms can be used to spread awareness. They
can also act as the platforms for public discussions. This will improve policy
making and delivery of service as well. But first, the issue of Computer
literacy too will need to be addressed. With the launch of Aakash -2 Tablets,
it may not remain an issue in coming years. Moreover, Short Message Service
(SMS) and Multimedia Message Services (MMS) can also be used. Already several
initiatives like e-choupal have done wonders for the farmers. Similar results
could be achieved for women welfare related schemes as well.
Social Security Cover
Indira Sahara, 2000 was
launched to provide Social Security Cover extended to the age group 18-50
years.
Concluding Remarks
In a nutshell, there are many
challenges facing the policy makers but the real challenge is that of “Implementation”.
With so many schemes and policies, we should have achieved the breaking point by
now but due some illegal practices and subsequent delays we haven’t moved much
from where we were at, some two decades ago. Although comparatively, the progress
has been there but there is enough room to make some major strides. For
inspiration, we should not forget the contributions of women personalities like
Late Rani Laxmi Bai, Late Indira Gandhi etc or some contemporary figures like
Ms. Meira Kumar, Ms. Mamata Banarjee etc. Today women have made their names in
almost all the fields like Saina Nehwal (Badminton), Kalpana Chawla (NASA),
Sunita William (NASA) etc. This leaves absolutely no doubt that women are no
less competent than men. A recent example is that of UPSC 2011 results where
the top two positions were grabbed by women. This shows that women have
overtaken men in certain areas as well.
But then we have disheartening
incidents like the one where both the hands of a woman police officer were
chopped off because she was opposing a child marriage. We have an incident
where a girl was pushed out of a moving train when she tried to oppose a group
of people who were trying to rape her. This shows that we are living in two Bharats. This also proves that only a
certain section of women have been benefitted by various laws and policies that
exist in the country.
Hence, we need to ensure that
the benefits reach all the sections of women. Then only we’ll be able to get
our golden bird the missing wing back. Otherwise, even if we give her an
incomplete wing, it will simply not be enough to give her the desired height
and distance.
