Today is International Women's Day. And it is indeed a
Empowerment is a mild term for a process which is so revolutionary, so liberating in its stride. Merely venerating female divinities does not make a society sensitive to female aspirations. Making women capable of taking their own decisions, of being independent of the pressures of their male relations and other male components of society, is an important step towards empowering the entire society wherein these women play just as important a role as the men.
The adage that an educated lady means an educated family cannot ever be denied; it is a given fact that someone who is literate will always be able to appreciate the subtle benefits that education confers upon an individual in the daily routine of life, and will therefore be more amenable to encouraging others within his/her circle of contacts to acquire some basic level of education, so as to improve their manner of eking their living.
But simply educating them will not suffice, as women need to be able to find opportunities wherein they can apply the knowledge that they have acquired. I am not so much in favour of the idea of reservations based on gender, as I feel they would be counter-productive, and may even alienate the genders from each other, when we should be looking at how the divide can be bridged in a most amicable manner. If an institutionalized bias does exist, then it is imperative that the State provide women with a weapon formidable enough to expose the deviants, and adequately penalize them. Anti-discrimination laws would therefore be more practical, although it must be understood that they need to be better in their manner of implementation than the current anti-dowry laws, which confer unreasonable powers on women, ignoring the fact that there are women, wont to be the black sheep amongst the herd, who would misuse the statute.
One may say that crime per se is not specifically directed against any particular gender, and yet I am not so stupid as to deny the fact that anti-woman crimes are perhaps a truth that society has to live with. Rape, abuse, domestic violence et al are crimes against women; abuse does transcend genders, but in the most general case, women suffer the most from it. And in my view, crimes of this nature are not just crimes against the individual concerned; rather they are crimes against the entire society of which the individual is a part. We need to strengthen our laws to deal with these reprehensible offences, so much as to deter further delinquents from ever even thinking about committing them. Women need to be assured that if they have been genuinely troubled, then the law shall be at its worst against their harassers.
Again, we could investigate the feasibility of how the State can encourage and support entrepreneurial initiatives by women, especially when such initiatives aim at providing a means of employing women and making them self-sufficient. Initiatives like SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association) and the Grameen Bank need to be replicated across the country. In the end, it is well established that irrespective of all other factors, financial independence or at least financial autonomy can sufficiently empower women to be able to fend for themselves in a most effective manner.
This has been a long blog, and I am tired now. But the point is this: sure, celebrate this day, but also ponder on what all must be achieved here on. This is not the end of the journey, just one milestone amongst millions to come. Once Minerva and Athena were venerated as goddesses controlling major portfolios like War and the Intellect. I pray that today's Minervas also achieve the same glories.
Image Courtesy: The Free Dictionary
5 comments:
Financial independce is not enough for the empowerment of women. They require social freedom too,as it was in the vedic times.
Women are afraid to seek justice because society does not approve of women who speak out against their families. Many rape victims don't even file FIR's fearing social stigma. And domestic violence has become a norm.
We behave like hypocrates. On one hand we make laws to safeguard the rights of women , and on the other we look down upon them if they speak up.
We can do very well even with the present set of laws if we cahnge our outlook towards women and their problems. Rather than blaming a woman for her troubles the society should focus on getting her justice.
@dipti - I more than agree with you on this one..
@Vivek - you're back to your verbose ways of blogging. :-) But thatnks to the great content, no one seems to be complaining.. :-)
Economic well-being is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for emancipation of women. For all that talk about women entering the corridors of power, we still continue to be inundated with thousands of cases of attrocities against women - some reported to the police, many others unreported.
If economics alone could take care of women's situation, the currently skewed sex-ratio could have easily taken care of the system of dowry. In fact, by now, we should have see reverse dowry happening as the number of females to males drops lower and lower.. Unfortunately, Adam Smith's invisible hand does not seem to be working in this case.
We need to setup special courts to deal with crime against women. I guess our current laws, if implemented properly are more than sufficient to deter potential offenders against women. We can work within the existing set of laws, but expedite the cases of crime against women so that they can have a sense of closure. Of course, there will be black sheep among women who will try to exploit the law to her advantage. This is why we should work within the current set of laws and first clear the immense backlog for such cases.
As for your comments on replication of micro-credit initiatives, I more than mirror your views..
What is needed more is to educate men and not women. Men need to mend their authoritative, autocratic ways and need to realise that men and women are equal!
Thanks to Neeraj for introducing me to "The Invisible Hand" concept.
Dipti, Neeraj, Aditya: I agree that financial independence is not the be all and end all. But one must admit that it is an important step towards the ultimate goal. I admit that social prejudices, especially when it comes to cases concerning sexual harassment and domestic abuse, do deter women from pursuing justice, and it is imperative that the criminal justice system be strong enough to be able to counter these entrenched biases.
While you mention the fact of women having entered the corridors of power, we are still a long way from the American state of affairs, wherein a women can lay claim to an important portfolio as is that of the Secretary of State. Of course, Condi Rice is there because she is first an African-American and then a women, but her second identity cannot and should not be ignored. Indian politics and general administrative systems encourage women only when they are part of entrenched dynasties, not otherwise.
I agree that financial independence is requred but as dipti says,the social aspect,I feel,is more important.
Women who have suffered/are suffering from various crimes(no matter how educated they are) still hesitate to speak up fearing social stigma & alienation from their family more than finance.Conviction of the guilty is a long-drawn process in our country where the judiciary moves at a pace slower than a tortoise.If immediate & effective punishment is meted out to the guilty,the crime rates will definitely drop.
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