TOWARDS THE EMPOWERMENT OF INDIAN WOMEN

From time immemorial, woman in India have largely remained a matter of joy and she has been used and misused by men to serve their evil ends. She has been used like a machine for procreation. Efforts have been made by the social reformer in the post to bring dignity to women. But the proprietors of the orthodoxy thwarted these efforts.

Man and woman together constitute the social structure of human society. Both are the inevitable part of society. Women constitute fifty percent population. For all round development, political and other development activities are desirable.

Envisaging the importance of women in nation building, the founding fathers of Constitution made several provisions, which not only grant equality to women, but also empower the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women.

In recent years, the empowerment of women has been recognized as the central issue in determining the status of women. The women’s movements and the Apex Court have contributed a lot in inspiring initiatives for the empowerment of women.

The national Commission for women has been set up to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. The 73^rd and 74^th Amendments (1993) to the Constitution of India have provided for reservation for seats in the local bodies of Panchayats and Municipalities for woman. Various legislative measures have been designed to safeguard the rights and interest of women.

However, the picture today is still grim. Leaving a meagre number of urban women, the Indian women are still crying for simple justice. Cases of rape, molestation, dowry death, humiliation and gender discrimination are common and unstopped. The male child is given preference over the female childe. Women are ignored and marginalized from the mainstream.

There is no denying fact that whenever and wherever women have got opportunities, they have proved their worth and attained respect and glory in their respective fields. Today women occupy top ranks in almost all fields. Sonia Gandhi, P.T. Usha, Sania Mirza, Kiran Bedi, Lata Mangesker, Arundhati Roy, Romila Thapar etc. have become names to reckon with in the areas of their work. It is, therefore, must to maintain and protect chastity, dignity and modesty of woman. It is the need of the hour to give due share to each and every section of the Indian women.

First of all we must treat our female child at par with our male ones and create an environment through positive economic and social policies for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential. Thenceforth, all possible steps must be taken to restore equality in terms of participation and decision making in social, political and economic life. Besides, elimination of discrimination and all forms of violence against women and the girl child must be stopped.

Constitutional provisions and the legislations enacted by the Government have been bringing slow but effective change in social, economic and political status of women in India and thus laying a strong foundation of women empowerment. Let us hope that with the sustained efforts and effective implementation, full empowerment of women in all spheres will become a reality in the days to come.