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Women Empowerment And Constitutional Provisions

Women Empowerment And Constitutional Provisions

The main objective behind this article is neither to favour the prevalence of feminism nor to be criticizing about the chauvinism. The focal point of this article is to promote equality. In Today’s scenario the empowerment of women has become one of the most important concerns of 21st century.
But practically women empowerment is still an illusion of reality. We observe in our day to day life how women become victimized by various social evils. Women Empowerment is the vital instrument to expand women’s ability to have resources and to make strategic life choices. Empowerment of women is essentially the process of upliftment of economic, social and political status of women, the traditionally underprivileged ones, in the society. It is the process of guarding them against all forms of violence. Women empowerment is giving legitimate power or authority to perform the tasks.
Introduction
People of India used to say this country as Bharat-Mata however never realized the true meaning of it. Bharat-Mata means a mother of every Indian whom we have to save and respect. Women population is around 50% of the total population of the world. Reflecting into the Vedas Purana of Indian culture, women is being worshiped such as LAXMI MAA, goddess of wealth; SARSWATI MAA, for wisdom; DURGA MAA for power.
Now-a-days, women are increasingly gaining control over their lives and are actively taking their own decisions with regard to their education, career, profession and lifestyle. Women have demanded equality with men in matters of education, employment, inheritance, marriage, and politics and recently in the field of religion also to serve as priest. Also, women need to be given equal opportunities for education and employment without any sense of discrimination.

What Is Women Empowerment?

Women empowerment implies the ability in women to take decisions with regard to their life and work and giving equal rights to them in all spheres like: personal, social, economic, political, legal and so on. We are living in an age of women empowerment where Women are working shoulder to shoulder with men. A woman also manages to balance between their commitment to their profession as well as their home and family. They are playing multiple roles - at home as a mother, daughter, sister, and wife and at working place as professionals with remarkable simplicity and compatibility.

Women empowerment is essential for the betterment of any country’s future as they play dual responsibilities of managing their families while simultaneously juggling to earn to contribute in fulfilling their family needs. No one can ever ignore the importance of the role of a mother, sister, or a daughter in their families. At the same time, women have also established themselves as equal contributors in managing the financial requirements of their homes. On international level as well, women have successfully created their unbeatable position, but they are just a handful in comparison to their counterparts.

• Women empowerment is not limited to urban and even women in remote towns and villages are now increasingly making their voices heard loud and clear in society. While it is true that women, to a large extent, do not face discrimination in society today, unfortunately, many of them face exploitation and harassment which can be of diverse types: emotional, physical, mental and sexual. They are often subjected to rape, abuse and other forms of physical and intellectual violence.
   
• Women are now claiming the socio-political rights (right to work, right to education, right to decide, etc) for them. The Parliament of India too has passed various legislations to save women from various forms of injustice and discrimination. To empower women there are some following laws : Equal Remuneration Act-1976; Dowry Prohibition Act-1961; Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act-1956, Medical termination of Pregnancy Act-1971; Maternity Benefit Act-1961; Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act-1987; Prohibition of Child Marriage Act-2006; Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act-1994; and Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Protection and) Act-2013.
   
• More recently, in the wake of Nirbhaya case involving the rape and brutal murder of paramedical student in Delhi, the government has passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015. This Act makes a significant departure from the earlier Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, as the juvenile age inviting punishment for offence now stands reduced from 18 to 16 years.
   
• The most famous pearl of wisdom said by the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is To awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, the family moves, the village moves, the nation moves. In India, to empower the women, first it needs to kill all the demons killing women’s rights and values in the society such as dowry system, illiteracy, sexual harassment, inequality, female infanticide and domestic violence against women, rape, prostitution, illegal trafficking and other issues. Gender discrimination in the nation brings cultural, social, economic and educational differences which push country back. The most effective remedy to kill such devils is making women empowered by ensuring the Right to Equality mentioned in the Article 14, Constitution of India.
• According to the provisions of the Constitution of India, it is a legal point to grant equality to women in the society in all spheres just like males have. The Women are given a top place in India from the ancient time however they were not given empowerment to participate in all areas. They need to be strong, aware and alert every moment for their growth and development. Empowering women is the main motto of the development department because an empowered mother with child makes the bright future of any nation.

Position And Status of Women

The position and status of women all over the world has risen extraordinarily in the 20th century. We find that it has been very low in past centuries in India and hence they were treated like ‘objects’ that can be bought and sold. For a long time women in India remained within the four walls of their household. They totally depend on menfolk.
In India, the customs of purdha (veil system), female infanticide, child marriage, sati system (self-immolation by the women with their husbands), dowry system and the state of permanent widowhood were totally removed.