The subject of women empowerment is becoming a burning issue for the last few decades. Women comprise 48% of the total population in India. Where as in the United States they comprise 51% and Europe it is 51.7% of the total population.This slight difference is a major concern.
Woman’s condition socially, politically and economically have not remained the same from a long time. With the dawn of the famous laws of Manu or Manusmriti, the status of a woman was relegated to a subordinate position.One of the shocking verses of Manusmriti about a woman, “It is the duty of all husbands to have control (of) their wives. Even weak husbands must strive to control their wives.”From this sage premise, the rights of the women were taken away from them. Some of the disturbing rules and practices that came into existence were child marriage, Devadashi pratha, Nagar vadhu system, Sati pratha etc. Women’s right to education, to work, and the right to make their own decisions were taken away from them.
The British invasion brought western ideas to our country. Other personalities like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vvekananda, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and many others worked for the upliftment of women. It was the unrelenting efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Rao that compelled the British rulers to abolish the horrible practice of Sati.
After independence the framers of the Indian Constitution, were determined and created laws equal for both men and women.The preamble of the Constitution of India assures justice, social, political, equality of status, opportunity and dignity to every individual. Some of the laws which were introduced by the parliament for the upliftment of women in India are, the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1976,the immoral traffic Act (956,) the equal remuneration Act 1976, the Maternity benefit Act 1961 and the commission of Sati Act 1987.
In Spite of these laws, woman still face discrimination and abuse which is preventing most of them to be the decision makers in our society and to enjoy full rights. Beyond question, women have the capability to be the leaders in whichever field they choose.
Empowerment of women is about letting them stand on their own feet and taking their own decisions without any peer pressure from their relatives or the society. Many examples of woman who rose to a level equal and above men are Chitra Ramkrishna, MD & CEO of National Stock Exchange who believes that women are unique in their own way and come from stronger social values. Arthi Subramanium, executive director of TCS, is known for her determination to not settle for anything but the best! Anita Dongre, founder of The House of Anita Dongre, Apurva Purohit who is the president of the famous Jagran Group, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman of State Bank Of India, Ekta Kapoor, Joint Managing Director of Balaji Telefilms and many others who have proved that women are capable of taking responsibilities and handle them just as good, if not better than men.
