Legal Empowerment Vs

Real Empowerment of Women

 Empowerment may be described as a process
which helps people to assert their control over
the factors which affect their lives.
 Empowerment of women means developing
them as more aware individuals, who are
politically active, economically productive and
independent and are able to make intelligent
discussion in matters that affect them.
 Social development cannot progress without
concomitant women’s empowerment .
 The United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNDFW) includes the following factors in its
definition of women empowerment:
-Acquiring knowledge and understanding of
gender relations and the way in which these relations
may be changed.
-Developing a sense of self-worth, a belief in
one’s ability to secure desired changes and the right
to control one’s life.
 The parameters of women empowerment are:-

 Raising self-esteem and self-confidence of

women.
 Elimination of discrimination and all
forms of violence against women and girl
child.
 Building and strengthening partnership
with civil society particularly women’s
organizations.
 Fostering decision-making and
collective action.
 Enabling women to make informed
choices.
 Ensuring women’s participation in all
walks of life.
 Providing information, knowledge,
skills for self-employment.
 Enforcement of constitutional and legal
provisions and safeguarding rights of
women.
 Building a positive image of women in the
society and recognizing their contributions
in social, economic and political sphere.
 Developing ability among women to think
critically.
 Elimination of discrimination against women’s
participation in the areas of:
– Access to food
– Equal wages
– Property rights
– Family resources
– Freedom of movement and travel
– Access to credit
– Control over savings, earnings and
resources
– Guardianship and custody of children and
their maintenance
 The law provides a platform to the
weaker sections in the society, such as
women and children to raise their
concerns.
 Within the framework of Indian
democratic polity, our laws, development
policies, Plans and Programmes have
aimed at women’s advancement in
different spheres.
 Women Empowerment In India
 From the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974- 78)- women
development
 From Eighth Five Year Plan- shifted from
development to empowerment
 International conventions and human rights
instruments
 National Commission for Women
 Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)
 Women Empowerment Policy 2001
 The National Mission for Empowerment of Women
(NMEW)
 Crime Against Women In India

 Irrespective of all the measures initiated by the

government, the status of women in our country is
very pathetic in the rural areas
- Acid Throwing
-Child marriage
- Domestic violence
-Dowry
-Honor killings
-Sexual harassment
 Gender Gap Index -2019 shows India
has slipped to 112th position.
 Bottom five on health and economic
fronts.
 The present scenario, workplace
inequalities will not be erased until the
year 2276.
 13.8% women representation on
company boards.
 Problems in Legal
Empowerment
 Personal laws of different cultures
 Uniform code of personal law may encounter many
difficulties in a multicultural country like India.
 Application of legal proof to cases that are adjudicated
according to traditional personal laws
 Fails to consider the social context in which it must apply
 Not all individuals have learned that they can access the
legal system
 No specific attention to teaching women how to claim for
their rights
 Required a basic knowledge about the concept and
procedures of law.
 Legal literacy is a major tool that makes the legal
empowerment into reality.
 Social programs could be implemented for
developing women’s empowerment in basic areas
such as education and awareness.
 It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.
 Transform colossal women force into an effective
human resource .