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Lyrics: Movie Name: PUTHUMAI PEN

Song Title : Oh Oru Thendral Puyalaagi

Oh oru thendRal puyalaagi varumae Oh oru deivam padi thaaNdi varumae kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL maaRugindRathae kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL maaRugindRathae Oh oru thendRal puyalaagi varumae adukkaLai thudaippathum padukkaiyai virippathum adhu peNNin thozhil illayae sarithiram padaikkavum tharithiram thudaikkavum varuvathil pizhai illayae sutRam enna sonnaalum thooimai ondRu thaan sontham kaaval kaakkum ennaLum kaRpu ennum theep pantham iravum pagalum viyarvai vazhiya kaRaigirathae ratham Oh oru thendRal puyalaagi varumae Oh oru deivam padi thaaNdi varumae kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL maaRugindRathae kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL maaRugindRathae nilavinil irukkindRa kaLangathai ivaLathu peru viral thudaithu vidum pudhu yugam magaL ivaL aNingindRa vaLaiyalgaL siraigaLai udaithu vidum paari jaatha poompaavai paathiyaagi pOnaaLae

thaegam engum punnaagi thaethi pOla thaeinthaaLae chediyai pirintha piRagum chedikku uyir tharuthae poovae Oh oru thendRal puyalaagi varumae Oh oru deivam padi thaaNdi varumae kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL maaRugindRathae kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL maaRugindRathae

kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL aaRugindRathae kaala devanin tharma ellaigaL aaRugindRathae

Essay On The Empowerment of Women In India

"When women are the advisor, the Lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do; then they act upon it and if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it; if fails, they generously give herself the whole".- Louisa May Alcott India today is at the cusp of a paradigm change in its growth and its position in the world. We (both men and women) must act decisively to capture this opportunity. We need to think big and scale up rapidly in each and every area, be it education, infrastructure, industry, financial services or equality of both genders. For around two centuries, social reformers and missionaries in India have endeavored to bring women out of confines in which centuries of traditions had kept them. According to the 2001 Census, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54% up from 9% 1951. But we should not forget that history in a witness to the women who have in the past demonstrated unique leadership capabilities. Razia Sultana, Rani of Jhansi, Sarojini Naidu and Indira Gandhi are motivation examples of women empowerment. Earlier, most women were able to demonstrate the leadership qualities only on their home fronts, as in Indian society man has always acted as the master of the scene and the decision regarding the issue of empowering women has always been taken by him. God has gifted women with compassion, tender-heartedness, caring nature, concern for others. These are very positive signs which imply that women can be leaders. Though some women have shown their mettle yet a large number of them have to sharpen their leadership qualities in various ways. In order to help women to be in limelight, they need to be empowered. Therefore, empowerment of women is the prerequisite to transform a developing country into a developed country. I would like to peep into the past when the stature of women as destroyed. They were treated as chattel in the early Roman society. In France, they were termed as half-soul creatures responsible for the destruction of society. The Chinese considered them as devil's soul. Japanese men preferred to live unmarried lives. Before the advent of Islam, Arabs buried their daughters alive considering them as a sign of disgrace. In this way, they deprived women of their due place. Most men view themselves as being the superior life-form in society. They justify this belief by saying that they are stronger and more capable; thus, making them more qualified for the more important roles in society. they place themselves on pedestals and force women to believe in their own inferiority to men and their

incapability to excel educationally, politically, economically and domestically. But the truth is that women have advanced in all those areas. In Shakespeare's works, many female characters are portrayed as being manipulated, if not controlled outright by the men in their lives as fathers, uncles, suitors, husbands. Therefore, Shakespeare's works appear to send mixed singles regarding the notion of female empowerment. empowerment has multiple, interrelated and interdependent dimensions economic, social, cultural and political. It can be understood in relation to resources, perceptions. relationship and power. But what does women empowerment mean? Women empowerment generally has five components : firstly, women's sense of self worth; secondly, their right to have the power of control their own lives, both within and outside home; and lastly, their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a just social and economic order nationally, internationally and universally. Educational attainment and economic participation are they key constituents in ensuring the empowerment of women. Educational attainment is essential for empowering women in all spheres of society, for without education of comparable quality and content given to boys and men, updated with existing knowledge and relevant to current needs, women will be able to have access to wellpaid formal sector jobs and advance with men. The economic empowerment of women is a vital element of strong economic growth in any country. Empowering women enhances their ability to influence changes and to create a better society. Other than educational and economic empowerment, changes in women's mobility and social interaction and changes in intra-household decision-making are necessary. Slight improvement in women's involvement in household decision-making in male-headed household, on such issues as credit, the disposal of household assets, children's education and family healthcare can work wonders. Traditionally, gender based divisions persisted in intra-household decision-making. Women basically decide on food preparation and men make the financial decision. Women are one of the greatest assets in our society. They equal to men in all aspects. Women are more perfectionist in the power to create, nurture and transform.' Today, women are emerging as leaders in growing range of fields. be it aeronautics, medicine, space, engineering, law, politics, education, business...you just name the profession and they are there, all that needed in today's world in their empowerment. In India, the empowerment process has already begun. We are now witnessing a steady improvement in the enrollment of women in schools, colleges and even in profession institutes. Their health is better as compared to earlier decades. In this decade, women are entering into the job market in increasing numbers. They are showing their skills even in non-traditional sectors like police, defence, administration, media and research fields. Twenty-six laws have been enacted so far to protect women from various crimes. The recent law on the 'protection of women against domestic violence' satisfies the long pending demand of the women activities. In the political field, the reservation for women is a significant step forward towards their political empowerment. When thirty-three percent reservation for women in Parliament becomes a reality, women's voice will be heard in the highest forum of democracy. The day, women of India will reach zenith in their empowerment. But a lot of work has to be done as there is a category of women (who consider themselves highly educated) that proudly accepts that they don't have digital literacy even though they own a computer, they cannot even operate bank accounts or make travel arrangements for family or handle hospital admissions even during emergencies. Even for a simple task like social visits or shopping generally they need the company of their husbands.

Women in India feel proud to display that they are well protected and pampered by their husbands without realizing that they are making themselves helpless. Such women's economic literacy is so low that they cannot play any role in family's decision regarding family's budget, savings and investments. To such women, the national budget discussion is for men only and soap operas are for them. Such women suffer a lot if something untoward happens to their husbands. This type of extreme dependency is not good for the development of women. Women should remember that they are also rational, intelligent and thinking human beings. Dependent women are not empowered women. If modern women think that they are empowered, it's a myth for them. Empowerment means to inspire women with he courage to break free from the chains of limiting beliefs, patterns and societal or religious conditions that have traditionally kept women suppressed and unable to realize their true beauty and power. Some qualities to be acquired by women to become truly empowered are awareness about risk prevailing at home, in work place, in traveling and staying outside home. They should have political, legal, economic and health awareness. They should have knowledge about support groups and positive attitudes towards life. They should get goals for future and strive to achieve them with courage. The best gift parents today can give to their daughters is education. If women choose to be ignorant then all the efforts taken by the Government and women activists will go in vain. Even in twenty-fifth century, they will remain backward and will be paying a heavy price for their dependence, So, it is a wake-up call for women to awake from their deep slumber and understand the true meaning of their empowerment. In the end I would like to conclude with the following words, "Women as the motherhood of the nation should be strong, aware and alert".

Women Empowerment: Challenges and Prospects

India, the sub-continent, is indubitably a great country of miscellaneous cultures, traditions, religions, castes and geographical characteristics. However, India is even known for its sobriquet 'male-chauvinistic nation'. It's 'Bharath Maatha' who is inturn a woman that serves as the mother of every Indian. While such a woman looks after every Indian child, women in general are simply being disregarded at the dominant men's best. Men ought not to forget the fact that 'men' are in 'WOmen'. Women are no less than men in India in any sector. Women are not what they really were. Some decades ago, women were limited to the kitchen. Today, Indian women have made their presence felt virtually in every field. Women have ultimately come out of their 'saree' image and entrap the nation by dint of their hardwork and power. Women Empowerment is infact the ability of women to exercise full control over ones actions. Empowerment of women in India is conspicuous by many live examples. But, is that all? Are only those women empowered? If not, how about rest of the Indian-women world? Are the common women vested with powers to drive the nation? These above questions, if posed to our so called leaders, would simply be parried. Women have become marionettes in the hands of them. Delegating power or an authority to a woman seemed astonishing to our governing bodies. Ironically, our country, our leaders and governing bodies in particular, are being ruled by Smt.Sonia Gandhi who is a woman. It is that woman who had been ranked 13th among world's most powerful women by Forbes magazine. It's a woman who is leading Indian National Congress as its president. Sonia Gandhi would be an epitome of women's leadership qualities. She did umpteen things what a male leader couldn't do. Smt. Mamta Banerjee is the next big name; she has managed to break the jinx of Communist Party in Bengal who has ruled there for more than half the century. She is the Railway minister of India and is working hard to improve the image

of Indian railway. Smt.Mayawati who is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and president of the Bahujan Samaj Party is the most influential name in the Indian Politics. Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the first women President of India and is actively working for the upliftment of Indian women. The year 2009 witnessed the History written moments when Smt. Meira Kumar became the first Indian women to hold the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker. She is an ex-IFS officer and hails from the Bhojpuri land clearly indicating the women power in politics. Women could really do more than what they actually think they can. The real power within a woman is exuded by the first woman IPS Officer Kiran Bedi. The ability of a woman to break the barriers and tread on a new path was proved by her. People usually get carried by the myth that men can do far better than women. Indian women dispelled the myth by making their footprints in almost every field of work. Women are not only law-makers and law-controllers, but also Business magnates. Chanda Kochhar is the current CEO and MD of ICICI Bank. She was born in 1961 and now heads ICICI Bank. The CEO and Chairperson of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, born in 1955, sets the perfect model of a Business magnate. She carved out a niche for herself in Business. Nafisa Ali who was actress, model and politician is now an eminent social worker, with her crusade on HIV/AIDS being world recognized. She has been appointed as the Chairman of the Environment Committee of Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010. She is industrious in the area of health, women and child rights poverty and social development. She reached out to the masses and made a significant difference in lives of the people. Tennis star Sania Mirza and Badminton player Saina Nehwal made their mark representing India. Women have the inherent potential to overlook any impediments, to commit themselves to their ambitions and eventually drive the nation by fulfilling them. The real empowerment is attained only when they are wise-enough and highly-powered to make decisions and women, when authoritative, would turn into economic carriers of India. Gender equality plays a crucial role in uplifting women. Rather, gender inequality certainly needs to be abolished. Gender-based discrimination and disparity are evident from various dowry cases and sexual harassment incidents. The idea of equal employment opportunities is still lingering unimplemented in several remote areas. Women in some inaccessible areas are yet confined to their household routines while their spouses go for work. India has the lowest percentage of women employees (23%), followed by Japan (24%), Turkey (26%) and Austria (29%), according to the Corporate Gender Gap report brought out by the World Economic Forum. Women must be given freedom to choose their interest of work and discharge their duties unbiased. Government should open its doors for women to be given opportunities to prove themselves on a par with the men. Survey confirms various percentages of employed women in distinct sectors - the financial services and insurance (60%), professional services (56%) and media and entertainment (42%). The sectors that flaunt the lowest percentage of women in the 20 economies are automotive (18%), mining (18%) and agriculture (21%). Besides employment, gender inequality is clearly observed at temples wherein only entry of male devotees is sternly followed. One of such temples is Sabarimala temple where women are not at all allowed in which creates imbalance between men and women. "When women are the advisor, the Lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do; then they act upon it and if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it; if fails, they generously give herself the whole". - Louisa May Alcott.

'A blessing in disguise' seems to justify the women empowerment in India. Although women are brought up by themselves to the top-notch position, some miscellaneous factors clampdown on them. Top brass officials politicise things and it's ultimately women who become victims which lead to their resignation or stall of activities being carried out by them. Drearily, sometimes it might even result in suicides. Sexual harassment is one of the horrendous factors that suppresses women. The Ruchika Girhotra Case involving the molestation of 14 year old Ruchika Girhotra in 1990 by the Inspector General of Police Shambhu Pratap Singh Rathore is a shame on Indian bureaucracy. If this is the case of police being culprit, how can women be protected then and where is the question of empowering women. Another incident of girls assaulted in Mangalore Pub by Sri Ram Sena and Bajrang Dal activists throws down the gauntlet to the government. Rape is another abysmal crime that government needs to tackle to ensure women empowerment. Hardly a day passes without a case of rape being reported in Indian newspapers and media. Statistics from 2000 showed that on average a woman is raped every hour in India. Welfare of women is the foremost thing that government must lay an emphasis on. The Government of India declared 2001 as the Year of Women's Empowerment. The National Policy For The Empowerment Of Women came was passed in 2001 the goal of which is to bring about the advancement, development and empowerment of women. The Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. It underscores girl rights, health, women education, gender equality, decision making, poverty eradication and violence against women. Women's Reservation Bill, which promises 33% of LokSabha seats reserved for women, is put on hold. Although it was passed by RajyaSabha, Loksabha is yet to table it. The bill, if passed, makes history in Indian politics and constitution. This bill certainly adds to empowering of women. The key benefits that can be reaped out of the bill are - women's resistance to corruption, gender equality, equal employment opportunities for men and women, sensible and legal politics, sincerity and eventually transparency in implementing the policies. A berth in Loksabha is an impetus for women to voice their views and take up the gauntlet to bring a revolution in the country. Women empowerment can be achieved chiefly through Health and Education. "Health is Wealth". Basic sanitation facilities, adequate medical camps, government health schemes would be conducive to bring about a major change. According to National Literacy Mission, referring to the last census held in 2001, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54.16%. The female literacy rate has also increased from 8.86% in 1951 to 54.16%. It is noticed that the female literacy rate during the period 1991-2001 increased by 14.87% whereas male literacy rate rose by 11.72%. Enrolment of girls in schools makes a huge difference in transforming the nation. Women are no less than outstanding, be it in business, politics, entertainment, sports or whatever. They must be provided with ardent invigoration and their spirits must be kept high to delete the term 'impossible' from the dictionary. Like sarojini naidu, Jhansi lakshmi bhai and Indira Gandhi who exemplified women empowerment with their deeds, let us expect many more epitomes of such personality traits. By Dinesh Reddy Sarasani

Top 25 Empowerment Quotations for Women

Posted on October 19, 2010

We love a good quotation, and apparently you do too. Often its a simple post of a quote on our Facebook page that will draw the most comments and likes. So what is it that draws us to these short lines of text? Is it the feelings of inspiration they provide? Is it the nuggets of wisdom buried in their meaning? Are we so pressed for time that we can only afford the few seconds it takes to read and ponder these sayings? We believe the answer to be, all of the above. Weve been amassing quotations for years and weve built quite the collection. Some are deep, some are funny, and our favorites remind us of the potential and unique power within each woman. Weve drawn from our quotation library when weve needed a lift, and also tapped into this resource when weve recognized another is in need of a pick-me-up.

Below we share some of our favorites about women and womens empowerment. We hope they offer you some inspiration and we invite you to forward this post to a friend who is in need of a powerboost! We know you have your own favorites too, and invite you to post them in the comments area of this blog to help us build an even larger source of empowerment for women everywhere! The Soul Sisters TOP 25 EMPOWERMENT QUOTATIONS FOR WOMEN: It doesnt matter who you are, or where you came from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always. ~Oprah Winfrey The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they dont have any. ~Alice Walker Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it with use. ~Ruth Gordon There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you dont try. ~Beverly Sills Its not what you call me, but what I answer to. ~African proverb You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame. ~Erica Jong Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform. ~Diane Mariechild When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak. ~Audre Lorde The question isnt whos going to let me; its who is going to stop me. ~Ayn Rand Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it. ~Roseanne Barr I do not wish [women] to have power over men; but over themselves. ~Mary Wollstonecraft You dont have to be anti-man to be pro-woman. ~Jane Galvin Lewis There is a growing strength in women but its in the forehead, not the forearm. ~Beverly Sills Its hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head. ~Sally Kempton Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths. ~Lois Wyse Remove those I want you to like me stickers from your forehead and, instead, place the m where they truly will do the most good on your mirror! ~Susan Jeffers Never underestimate the power of a woman. ~Nellie McClung Women have to harness their power its absolutely true. Its just learning not to take the first no. And if you cant go straight ahead, you go around the corner. ~Cher Good for a giggle The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off. ~Gloria Steinem Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. ~Charlotte Whitton A woman is like a tea bag: you cannot tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. ~Nancy Reagan Long on power Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of god. Your playing small doesnt serve the world. Theres nothing e nlightened about shrinking so that other people wont feel insecure around you.

We were born to make and manifest the glory of god that is within us. Its not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson

Medieval Indian Women

Medieval India was considered the "Dark Ages" for Indian women. Medieval India saw many foreign conquests, which resulted in the decline in women's status. When foreign conquerors like the Mughals and the British invaded India they brought with them their own culture, which in some cases adversely affected the condition of women and in some cases emancipated them.

Over the ages in India women have been treated as the sole property of her father, brother or husband, not been given any choice or freedom of her own. One more reason for the decline in the status of women and their freedom was that original Indians wanted to shield their women folk from the barbarous Muslim invaders. As polygamy was a norm for these invaders they picked up any women they wanted and kept them in their "harems". In order to protect them Indian women started using 'Purdah', (a veil), which covers the body. Due to this reason their freedom also became affected. They were not allowed to move freely and this lead to the further deterioration of their status. These problems related with women resulted in changed mindset of people and they began to consider a girl as misery and a burden, which has to be shielded from the eyes of intruders and needs extra care. Whereas a boy child did not need such extra care and instead will be helpful as an earning hand. Thus a vicious circle started in which women were at the receiving end. All this gave rise to some new evils such as Child Marriage, Sati, Jauhar and restriction on girl education

Sati: The ritual of dying on the funeral pyre of the husband is known as "Sati" or "Sahagaman". According to some of the Hindu scriptures women dying on the funeral pyre of her husband go straight to heaven so it's good to practice this ritual. Initially it was not obligatory for the women but if she practiced such a custom she was highly respected by the society. Sati was considered to be the better option then living as a widow as the plight of widows in Hindu society was even worse. Some of the scriptures like 'Medhatiti' had different views it say that Sati is like committing suicide so one should avoid this.

Jauhar: It is also more or less similar to Sati but it is a mass suicide. Jauhar was prevalent in ancient Rajput societies. In this custom wives immolated themselves while their husbands went to perform Saka, i.e face the larger army of the enemy knowing that they will be killed since they are outnumbered. When people of the Rajput clan became sure that they were going to die at the hands of their enemy then all the women arrange a large pyre and set themselves afire, while their husband used to fight the last decisive battle with the enemy. Thus protecting the honour of the women and the whole clan.

Child Marriage:It was a norm in medieval India to get girls married at the age of 8-10. They were not allowed access to education and were trained in house work instead. Child marriage had its own share of problems such as increased birth rate, poor health of women due to repeated child bearing and high mortality rate of women and children.

Restriction on Widow Remarriage: The condition of widows in medieval India was very poor. They were not treated as equals and were subjected to a lot of restrictions. They were supposed to live pious life after their husband died and were not allowed entry in any celebration. Their presence in any good work was considered to be a bad omen. Many widows also had to have their hair shaved off as a mark of mourning. They were not allowed to remarry. Any woman remarrying was looked down by the society. This cruelty on widows was one of the main reasons for the large number of women committing Sati. In medieval India living as a Hindu widow was no short of a curse.

Purdah System: The veil or the 'Purdah' system was widely prevalent in medieval Indian society. It was used to protect the women folk from the eyes of foreign rulers who invaded India in medieval period. But this system curtailed the freedom of women.

Female Education: The girls of medieval India and especially Hindu society were not given formal education. They were given education related to household chores. But a famous Indian philosopher 'Vatsyayana' wrote that women were supposed to be perfect in sixty four arts which included cooking, spinning, grinding, knowledge of medicine, recitation and many more. Though these evils were present in medieval Indian society but they were mainly confined to Hindu society. As compared to Hindu society other societies such as Buddhism, Jainism and Christians were a bit lenient. Women in those societies enjoyed far more freedom. They had easy access to education and were more liberal in their approach. According to these religions gender was not the issue in attaining salvation. Any person whether a man or a woman is entitled to get the grace of god. During the time of king Ashoka, women took part in religious preaching. According to Hiuen Tsang, the famous traveler of that time, Rajyashri, the sister of Harshavardhana was a distinguished scholar of her time. Another such example is the daughter of king Ashoka, Sanghmitra. She along with her brother Mahendra went to Sri Lanka to preach Buddhism. The status of women in Southern India was better than in Northern India. While in Northern India there were not many women administrators, in Southern India we can find some names that made women of that time proud. Priyaketaladevi, queen of Chalukya Vikramaditya ruled three villages. Another woman named Jakkiabbe used to rule seventy villages. In South India women had representation in each and every field. Domingo Paes, famous Portuguese traveler testifies to it. He has written in his account that in Vijaynagar kingdom women were present in each and every field. He says that women could wrestle, blow trumpet and handle sword with equal perfection. Nuniz, another famous traveler to the South also agrees to it and says that women were employed in writing accounts of expenses, recording the affairs of kingdom, which shows that they were educated. There is no evidence of any public school in northern India but according to famous historian Ibn Batuta there were 13 schools for girls and 24 for boys in Honavar. There was one major evil present in South India of medieval time. It was the custom of Devadasis.

Devadasis: It was a custom prevalent in Southern India. In this system girls were dedicated to temples in the name of gods and goddesses. The girls were then onwards known as 'Devadasis' meaning servant of god. These Devadasis were supposed to live the life of celibacy. All the requirements of Devadasis were fulfilled by the grants given to the temples. In temple they used to spend their time in worship of god and by singing and dancing for the god. Some kings used to invite temple dancers to perform at their court for the pleasure of courtiers and thus some Devadasis converted to Rajadasis (palace dancers) prevalent in some tribes of South India like the Yellamma cult. During the colonial times, social reformers started working towards removal of the Devdasi practice on the grounds that it supported prostitution.

The plight of women in medieval India and at the starting of modern India can be summed up in the words of great poet Rabindranath Tagore: "O Lord Why have you not given woman the right to conquer her destiny? Why does she have to wait head bowed, By the roadside, Waiting with tired patience, Hoping for a miracle in the morrow?"

Modern Indian Women

The status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. If on one hand she is at the peak of ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the violence afflicted on her by her own family members. As compared with past women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way. Women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armored with their talent. They had proven themselves. But in India they are yet to get their dues. The sex ratio of India shows that the Indian society is still prejudiced against female. There are 917 females per thousand males in India according to the census of 2011, which is much below the world average of 990 females. There are many problems which women in India have to go through daily, some of which are:

Malnutrition On of the major causes of mal nutrition among Indian women is gender inequality. In many parts of India, especially rural India, women are the ones who eat last and least in the whole family. This means they eat whatever is left after the men folk are satiated. As a result most of the times their food intake does not contain the nutritional value required in maintaining the healthy body. In villages, sometimes women do not get to eat a whole meal due to poverty. The UNICEF report of 1996 clearly states that the women of South Asia are not given proper care, which results in higher level of malnutrition among the women of South Asia than anywhere else in the world. This nutritional deficiency has two major consequences for women first they become anemic and second they never achieve their full growth, which leads to an unending cycle of undergrowth as malnourished women cannot give birth to healthy children. Poor Health Malnutrition results in poor health of women. The women of India are prejudiced from birth itself. They are not breastfed for long. In the want of a son get pregnant as soon as possible which decreases the caring period to the girl child, whereas male members get adequate care and nutrition. Women are not given the right to free movement that means that they cannot go anywhere on their own if they want and they have to take the permission of male member of family or have to take them along. This means that women miss

visiting doctors even when they should, which adds to their poor health. Maternal Mortality The maternal mortality rate in India is among highest in the world. As females are not given proper attention, which results in the malnutrition and then they are married at an early age which leads to pregnancies at younger age when the body is not ready to bear the burden of a child. All this results in complications, which may lead to gynecological problems, which may become serious with time and may ultimately, lead to death. Lack of education In India women's education never got its due share of attention. From medieval India women were debarred

from the educational field. According to medieval perception women need just household education and this perception of medieval India still persists in villages of India even today. Girls are supposed to fulfill domestic duties and education becomes secondary for them whereas it is considered to be important for boys. Although scenario in urban areas has changed a lot and women are opting for higher education but majority of Indian population residing in villages still live in medieval times. The people of villages consider girls to be curse and they do not want to waste money and time on them as they think that women should be wedded off as soon as possible. The main reason for not sending girls to school is the poor economic condition. Another reason is far off location of schools. In Indian society virginity and purity is given utmost importance during marriage and people are afraid to send their girl child to far off schools were male teacher teach them along with boys. The lack of education is the root cause for many other problems. An uneducated mother cannot look after her children properly and she is not aware of the deadly diseases and their cure, which leads to the poor health of the children. An uneducated person does not know about hygiene this lack of knowledge of

hygiene may lead to poor health of the whole family. Mistreatment In India violence against women is a common evil. Not just in remote parts but even in cities women bear the brunt. They are subjected to physical and mental violence. They are the one who work most but are not given their due. Every hour a woman is raped in India and every 93 minutes a woman is burnt to death due to dowry problem. There are many laws such as The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, The Hindu Succession Act of 1956, The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856, The Hindu Women Right to Property Act of 1937, The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, to protect women and punishment is severe but the conviction rate of

crime against women is very low in India. Overworked Indian women work more than men of India but their work is hardly recognized as they mainly do unskilled work. Their household chores is never counted as a work, if a woman is working in a field to help her husband it will also be not counted as a work. A study conducted by Mies in 1986 states that inAndhra Pradesh a woman works around 15 hours a day during the agricultural season whereas a male on an

average works for around 7-8 hours. Lack of power In India a large percentage of women do not have power. They cannot take decisions independently not even related to their own life. They have to take permission of male members for each and every issue.

They don't have any say in important household matters and not in matter of their own marriage. Marriage The family mainly fixes the marriages in India. The scenario in villages is very bad. The girl is not consulted but is told to marry a groom whom her family has chosen for him. They are taught to abide by the whims and fancies of their husbands. Going against the wishes of husband is considered to be a sin. In marriage husband always has the upper hand. The groom and his parents show as if they are obliging the girl by

marrying her and in return they demand hefty dowry. Dowry Another serious issue in modern India. Courts are flooded with cases related to death due to dowry harassment by husband and in laws. In ancient times women were given 'Stridhan' when they departed from the house of their parents. This amount of money was given to her as a gift which she can use on her and her children but her in-laws did not have any right on that amount. This amount was supposed to help the girl in time of need. Slowly this tradition became obligatory and took the form of dowry. Nowadays parents have to give hefty amount in dowry, the in laws of their girl are not concerned whether they can afford it or not. If a girl brings large amount of dowry she is given respect and is treated well in her new home and if she does not bring dowry according to expectations of her in laws then she has to suffer harassment. Due to this

evil practice many newly wed women of India have to lose their lives. Female infanticide/foeticide As women were supposed to be and in some areas of India are still considered to be curse by some strata of society their birth was taken as a burden. So in past times they were killed as soon as they were born. In

some of the Rajput clans of Rajasthan newly born girl children was dropped in a large bowl of milk and were killed. Today with the help of technology the sex of the unborn baby is determined and if it is a girl child then it is aborted. In all this procedure women do not have any say they have to do according to the wish of their

husbands even if she does not want an abortion, she has no choice. Divorce The divorce rate in India is not so high compared to western countries but that does not mean that marriages are more successful here. The reason behind low level of divorce rate is that it is looked down by the society. It is regarded as the sign of failure of marriage, especially of women. She is treated as if she has committed some crime by divorcing her husband. In some communities like Muslims women did not have the right to divorce their husband they were divorced at just the pronouncement of "I divorce you" by their husband thrice and they could not do anything except to be the mute spectator. Recently Muslim Law Board has given right of divorce to women. After divorce women is entitled to get her "Mehr" for herself and her children's sustenance. In Hindu society women get maintenance for themselves and their children after divorce.

The statistics testifies to the brutalities afflicted on women folk Social Indicator India World

Infant Mortality Rate, per 1000 live births Maternal Mortality Rate, per 100,000 live births Female Literacy, % Female School Enrollment Earned Income by females, % Underweight Children, % Total Fertility Rate Women in Government, % Contraception usage, % Low birth weight babies, %

73 570 58 47 26 53 3.2 6 44 33

60 430 77.6 62 58 30 2.9 7 56 17

Though there are problems in the lives of Indian women but they are always ready to fight all the odds and enjoy their life to the full they have their own talent, hobbies, and they socialize according to Indian customs. Attire In ancient India, both men and women used to wear clothes which did not need stitching. This custom resulted in women wearing the unstitched long cloth to cover the lower part of body this clothe came to be known as 'Sari' and the upper half of the body was covered with "Stanpatta", modern day 'choli' or blouse which was tied at the back. This attire of the past along with certain modifications continues till today. It is the major attire in rural India. In northern India and especially in cities women also wear 'Salwar kameez', which is comfortable in workplace. Nowadays some women in urban India also wear westernized dresses like trousers and shirts but still a lot of women prefer wearing Indian attire. Recreational Activities Traditionally Indian women would spend their free time with their husband's family and indulging in activities like needle work or knitting. The modern Indian career woman on the other hand spends most of her day at work and may spend her free time such as weekends shopping or going out with her friends for movies or lunch/dinner. Most

women also prefer doing their own grocery shopping these days and free time may also be spent buying house hold essentials

Women Empowerment in India

Though women of India are not at par with her counterpart in the Western world but she is getting there. India has examples of commendable women from history who set an example of extraordinary bravery, which even men might not be able to show. Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi was the one such woman. She was the one who put even British rulers to shame with her extraordinary feats in battle. She fought for her kingdom, which Lord Dalhousie, British Governor General, had unlawfully annexed. She was in a true sense the leader of uprising of 1857. There are certain men who took the cause of women in India. There have been social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekanand, Swami Dayananda Saraswati who have helped women gain a strong standing in society.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Born on 22nd may 1772 he was the torchbearer of social reforms for the women. He was strictly against the evils prevalent in society in his time. He was against the practice of Sati and helped abolish it and it was due to his efforts that Lord William Bentinck banned the custom of Sati in 1829. Though this law was not a great deterrent but it changed mindset of people to some extent. Ram Mohan Roy also did great work in the field of women's education. He was against child marriage and favored widow remarriage. He married a widow thus setting the example for the whole society. Along with 'Dwarka Nath Tagore' he founded the "Brahmo Samaj" for the reform of Indian society and emancipation of women.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was popularly known as Vidyasager, which means ocean of knowledge. Testifying to his name he was truly the sea of knowledge. He was a pillar of social reform movement ofWest Bengal in 19th century. He widely read ancient Hindu scriptures and came to know that the gender divide which was prevalent in Bengal was not encoded in our ancient texts instead it is the politics to keep women subordinate to men. He strongly supported women education in Bengal and went door to door to persuade people to send their girl children to school. He also did a lot in the field of widow remarriage. He opened many schools for girls. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Born on April 11, 1827, Pune, Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was a real philanthropist. He was the one to open first girl school in India. He is also credited with opening first home for widows of the upper caste and a home for newborn girl children so that they can be saved from female infanticide. Swami Dayananda Saraswati He was the founder of Arya Samaj who translated the Vedas from Sanskrit to Hindi so that the common man could read it and understand that the Vedic Hindu scriptures gave utmost importance to women. He emphasized for the equal rights for women in every field. He tried to change the mindset of people with his Vedic teachings.

Mahatma Gandhi

The social reformers of 19th century laid down the stage for the emancipation of women but it was Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi under whose influence these reforms reached masses. He was the one who liberated Indian women from the clutches of 'Purdah' and other social evils. He brought them from their confinement and asked them to participate in the struggle for independence. According to him women should be liberated from the slavery of kitchen only then their true potential could be realized. He said that responsibility of household is important for women, but it should not be the only one. In fact she should come forward to share the responsibilities of nation. When Gandhi came to the stage of Indian struggle for independence then the average life span of the Indian women was only 27 years and only 2%women were educated. This shows what a Herculean task it was to bring the women of India out of their homes and get them to fight for the cause of the nation. But it was due to his efforts that so many women like Sarojini Naidu, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kriplani and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur came forward. He spread the message of equality of the gender to the masses and criticized the desire of Indian people to have male child instead of a female. Gandhi was also strictly against child marriage and favored widow remarriage. He urged the youth to come forward and accept young widows as their life partner. He said that the girls are also capable of everything boys can do but the need of the time is to give them opportunities so that they can prove themselves. It was mainly due to his efforts that when India got independence the 'right to vote' came naturally to Indian women whereas in other developed nations like England and America women got this right very late and that too after lot of protest.

Women Achievers
With the help of these social reformes, the women of India slowly started recognizing their true potential. She started questioning the rules laid down for her by the society. As a result, started breaking barriers and earned a respectable position in the world. Today Indian women have excelled in each and every field from social work to visiting space. There is no arena, which remained unconquered by Indian women, be it politics, sports, entertainment, literature or technology.

Politics

Women of India are highly active today in politics, right from Sarojini Naidu, Vijaylakshami Pandit, Sucheta Kriplani who were the torchbearers for the women of India. Mrs.Vijay Lakshmi Pandit was the first Indian woman to hold a post in the cabinet, thus paving the way for other women. The most important name in the category of women politicians of recent times is Mrs Indira Gandhi. She was the one who made world stop and notice the talent and potential of Indian women. She was the first women Prime Minister of independent India. Today her daughter-in law Mrs Sonia Gandhi is following her footsteps and is leading the Indian National Congress. Other women who have made their name in politics of India are Shiela Dixit, Uma Bharti, Jayalalitha, Vasundhra Raje and, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee.

Sports

Indian women have achieved great laurels for the nation in every sport. Whether it is cricket or hockey India have national women team for every game. Indian women cricket team has won Asia Cup of 2004 and 2005 and made country proud. Some women sports icons of India are:

Saina Nehwal (Badminton) Mary Kom (Boxing) Art and Entertainment

o o o o o o o

P.T. Usha (Athletics) Kunjarani Devi (Weight lifting) Diana Edulji (Cricket) Sania Mirza (Tennis) Karnam Malleshwari (Weight lifting)

This arena is full of Indian women. We have many names to boast of like M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle as famous singers. Madhu Bala, Rekha and Aishwarya Rai as Bollywood queens.

Literature

In past women of India used to write, but their work did not get the recognition. Today they are getting their dues. Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, Shobhaa De, Jhumpa Lahiri are famous names in Indian literature. Not just in India now these women are recognized all over the world. Arundhati Roy has been awarded with the Booker Prize of 1997 for her work "God of Small Things". Kiran Desai has been given the Booker Prize of 2006 and Jhumpa Lahiri got recognition in the form of Pulitzer prize.

Corporate Divas

Kiran Majumdar Shaw is the undisputed corporate queen of India. She is the richest Indian woman. She is the MD of Biocon India. She is the wealthiest entrepreneur of India. Majumdar Shaw initially wanted to become a doctor but could not get admission in medical colleges but even then she did not lose courage and went on to become India's first woman 'Brew Master' and subsequently corporate queen. Other names in this list include Vidya Mohan Chhabaria, Chairperson of Jumbo Group, Naina Lal Kidwai, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of HSBC Securities and Capital Market, Sullaijja Firodia Motwani and Mallika Srinivasan.

Social saints

Mother Teresa is one name which every Indian is familiar with. She was the person who used to consider the smile of her countrymen as her wealth. She worked for those whom even their own families have deserted. She did not care whether she is in the company of a person suffering from communicable disease or whether it is day or night. Whenever or wherever one needed her she was present. She opened various homes for these people most famous of which is 'Nirmal Hriday". It is open to everyone irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Another important names working for the cause of people includes Aruna Roy who worked for the save RTI Campaign and Medha Patekar who is associated with Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Universal Queens

Indian women have not just made their mark on earth but they have engraved their name in the whole universe by flying to space. Kalpana Chawla, who was the member of Colombia Space Shuttle, which exploded on its way back, was the first Indian women astronaut who visited space station. Following in her

footsteps is another woman of Indian origin, Sunita William, who has become the second one to be the member of International Space Station crew. Indian women have some a long way since the medieval times, but she still has to go a long way to go. The desire of Indian women can be best summed up in the following lines of 'Song of an African Women': I have only one request. I do not ask for money Although I have need of it, I do not ask for meat . . . I have only one request, And all I ask is That you remove The road block From my path. Present Status of women in India Some Bright Spots

India has the world's largest number of professionally qualified women. India has largest population of working women in the world. India has a large number of female doctors, surgeons, scientists, professors, than the United States

Women Who Broke the Glass Ceiling in India!

In Parliament: Of course you know her. Pratibha Patil is the current and first female president of India. She started her career as a lawyer. However, she entered politics at a tender age of 27. She has an impeccable record of winning all the elections she has contested! Kudos to Pratibha! In Law: Justice Fathima Beevi from Kerala, was the first female judge to be appointed to the Supreme court. She wasnt just the first Supreme court female judge in India, but also in Asia! After retiring from her post as a judge, she became the Governor of Tamil Nadu! Now that's one heck of a successful career, don't you think? In Finance: Naina Lal Kidwai is a businesswoman and is currently the Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC Group (India). Kidwai is a chartered accountant and is the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School! And they say women are bad at Math - Bah! In Armed Forces: Lieutenant General Punita Arora is the first Indian woman to have the title of Lieutenant General of the Indian Army. She was born in Lahore, pre-independence. However, during the partition, her family relocated to India. No wonder Punita has such high degrees of patriotism! In Sports: Jhulan Goswami is an all rounder cricketer known for her batting as well as bowling skills. Presently, the captain of the Indian womens Cricket Team. Jhulan had led the Indian team to win their first test series, in 2006-07, in England. This skillful cricketer has also earned herself the ICC Women's Player of the Year title in 2007.
1. Kiran Bedi (Ex. Police Commissioner) 2. Indra Nooyi, (CEO, Pepsi) 3.Arundhati Roy, Author

4. Nita Ambani, (Reliance) 5. Aishwariya Rai (Ex. Miss World)