Women Empowerment

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Women Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic

strength of Women. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their own
capacities. Empowerment is probably the totality of the following or similar capabilities:

* Having decision-making power of their own

* Having access to information and resources for taking proper decision
* Having a range of options from which you can make choices (not just yes/no, either/or.)
* Ability to exercise assertiveness in collective decision making
* Having positive thinking on the ability to make change
* Ability to learn skills for improving one's personal or group power.
* Ability to change others’ perceptions by democratic means.
* Involving in the growth process and changes that is never ending and self-initiated
* Increasing one's positive self-image and overcoming stigma

Status of Women in India

Women in India now participate in all activities such as education, politics,
media, art and culture, service sectors, science and technology, etc.

The Constitution of India guarantees to all Indian 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)). In addition, it allows special provisions
to be made by the State in favour of women and children (Article 15(3)),
renounces practices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article 51(A) (e)), and
also allows for provisions to be made by the State for securing just and humane
conditions of work and for maternity relief. (Article 42).

The feminist activism in India picked up momentum during later 1970s. One of
the first national level issues that brought the women's groups together was the
Mathura rape case. The acquittal of policemen accused of raping a young girl
Mathura in a police station, led to a wide-scale protests in 1979–1980. The
protests were widely covered in the national media, and forced the Government to
amend the Evidence Act, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Penal Code
and introduce the category of custodial rape. Female activists united over issues
such as female infanticide, gender bias, women health, and female literacy.

Since alcoholism is often associated with violence against women in India, many
women groups launched anti-liquor campaigns in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, Haryana, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and other states. Many Indian Muslim
women have questioned the fundamental leaders' interpretation of women's rights
under the Shariat law and have criticized the triple talaq system.
 In 1990s, grants from foreign donor agencies enabled the formation of new
women-oriented NGOs. Self-help groups and NGOs such as Self Employed
Women's Association (SEWA) have played a major role in women's rights in
India. Many women have emerged as leaders of local movements. For example,
Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan.

The Government of India declared 2001 as the Year of Women's Empowerment

(Swashakti). The National Policy For The Empowerment Of Women came was
passed in 2001.

Women bear almost all responsibility for meeting basic needs of the family, yet are systematically
denied the resources, information and freedom of action they need to fulfill this responsibility.

The vast majority of the world's poor are women. Two-thirds of the world's illiterates are female.
Of the millions of school age children not in school, the majority are girls. And today, HIV/AIDS is
rapidly becoming a woman's disease. In several southern African countries, more than three-
quarters of all young people living with HIV are women.

The current world food price crisis is having a severe impact on women. Around the world,
millions of people eat two or three times a day, but a significant percentage of women eat only
once. And, now, many women are denying themselves even that one meal to ensure that their
children are fed. These women are already suffering the effects of even more severe malnutrition,
which inevitably will be their children's fate as well. The impact of this crisis will be with us for
many years.

Studies show that when women are supported and empowered, all of society benefits. Their
families are healthier, more children go to school, agricultural productivity improves and incomes
increase. In short, communities become more resilient.

The Hunger Project firmly believes that empowering women to be key change agents is an
essential element to achieving the end of hunger and poverty. Wherever we work, our programs
aim to support women and build their capacity.

The results of these programs include:

• By providing women food farmers easy access to credit, adequate training and
instilling in them the importance of saving, THP's Microfinance Program enables
women to engage in income-generating activities to increase their incomes and invest in
their families and communities.
• More than 920,000 people have taken the HIV/AIDS and Gender Inequality
Workshop, in which they not only learn the facts of AIDS, but also confront and transform
the gender-based behaviors that fuel the pandemic.

• In India, our Women's Leadership Workshop has empowered 75,000 women elected
to local councils to be effective change agents in their villages. They are forming district-
and state-wide federations to ensure that their voices are heard at top levels of
government.

• In Bangladesh, we catalyzed the formation of a 300-organization alliance that

organizes more than 800 events across the country each September in honor of National
Girl Child Day, a day to focus on eradicating all forms of discrimination against girl
children.