Empowering women through equality in temperament and mindset

UJJAINI SHARMA

The most coined word that quite often hits the captions of any appalling account is inequality of women in home or office due to incidences of gender biasness. Opinion and outlook of various strata of shared age groups have their own definitions regarding women emancipation through the process of empowerment.

Empowerment generally refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their own capacities. Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to build stronger economies, achieve intertiolly agreed goals for development and sustaibility and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities.

Education is one of the prime weapons in empowering women that prepares her to stand the odds of her life and takes challenges as it comes from time to time. Whenever a girl is educated, she becomes capable to shoulder responsibilities by sharing the same platform with her opposite male counterpart. When she is literate she comes to know the world and society and in case of inequality she may ask for equal space and equal opportunity. But alas the bitter truth, in this hi-tech age, is that women are still facing a certain or large amount of injustice or disregard, either at home or workplace.

So, if we talk of women achievers, we too must talk of women sufferers that dot out a bleak and gloomy portrait of harassed and assaulted female gender that for generations have been silently suffering physical and mental pain. The most poignt reality is that women even after achieving great feats of human endeavors are still being subjected to psychological and bodily afflictions both at home and their places of work even after having so many constitutiol and legal rights for them. Incidents of domestic violence, and sexual pestering or harassment at places of work are the bitter realities for which the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, which were ected  by the Indian Government by taking cognizance of the situation of millions of victimized women at homes and workplaces.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, ensures that women are protected against sexual harassment at all the work places, be it in public or private. The Act contributes to realization of their right to gender equality, life and liberty and equality in working conditions everywhere. The sense of security at the workplace will improve women’s participation in work, resulting in their economic empowerment and inclusive growth.

The Act’s gives protection to all women, irrespective of her age or employment status whether in organized or unorganized sectors, public or private and covers clients, customers and domestic workers as well.

Likewise, the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, was passed to protect women from domestic violence including protection from threats of physical sexual, verbal, emotiol and economic abuses. The Act even encompasses those women who are or have been in relationship with the abuser where both the parties have lived together in a shared household. The women living together as a joint family like sisters, widows, mothers, single women, have also been included under the ambit of the Act. Notably, the Act is not just about protecting women from domestic violence but also providing them the right to shelter; right to live with dignity which is being ensured to them under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Moreover, Acts like the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition)Act and the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, are some of the relevant and essential Acts that provides security to women who are being trafficked or represented in the most indecent and battered manner.

Now the question lies whether even after ensuring the safety of women through the ectments of various Acts, do women, feel safe from the abusers or still a lot of sensitization needs to be carried out for guarding them against violence in all forms. And whether fear of harsher punishments within the minds of the perpetrators, requires to be infused through a brutal castigation other than death pelties.

Discussions are being held or organized to sensitize the call for equalization of women rights, yet occurrence of rapes and witch hunting episodes, places questions before the society whether a lot more has to be done to empower women and girls though better mechanisms for training them in wits and strength to wrestle the veiled architects of assaulters and invaders of women’s dignity.

Negatively, it is also pertinent visible that in voicing the call for empowerment of women, the misuse of Acts like domestic violence and sexual assaults have come to the forefront, where fake exposure of cases filed with an revengeful attitude, must be done away with. Such incidents sham the supposition of truthful happening of mistreated experiences crushing the cries of women, for equality and security through a legalized and justifiable justice deliverance organism.

Confidently, if consciousness and alertness through edification is inculcated, within the social order mainly among the illiterate class, feelings of prejudice against woman in all ture of disparities in our mind set could be chafed off. Laws, rights and duties may defend the self-respect of every woman, yet change in individual viewpoint is what requires to be attained, for empowering women to stand in equal solidarity to engineer a righteous society at large.