What is women’s empowerment? It is a topic that, over the past several decades, has become a very important topic of discussion all across the world.
Women’s empowerment has more recently taken center stage in politics, and politicians’ competencies are evaluated based on how they view women’s rights and empowerment.
We have gradually begun to recognize the importance of gender equality over the past century, now more than ever before. When women feel that they are empowered, it can have a great impact on a country’s economy, growth, and development.
We have come a long way in achieving rights for women and obtaining gender equality, but there is still work to be done.
Now, let’s understand what is women’s empowerment.
So, what is women’s empowerment?
The definition of empowerment is when one allows for or encourages individuals or groups of people to make their own decisions and make those decisions become a reality through whatever means they desire.
Therefore, this means women’s empowerment is showing and encouraging women that they have the power and ability to live their lives in the way they wish, and in allowing women to do so, there will be a positive outcome.
Women, when they are empowered, are allowed to achieve all their goals through whatever means they wish, through working in whichever profession they desire, or even staying at home, if that is what they want.
There is also the term “women’s economic empowerment,” which is defined as women being allowed to control and benefit from any resources, assets, and income, and to manage and improve their economic status.
This is basically saying that allowing women to have economic power and control their own finances is one of the most important facets of women’s empowerment and gender equality.
History of Women’s Empowerment
Women’s empowerment in the way that we understand it, however, has not been around for very long. In some historical societies, women had more rights than in others.
However, women have only had the right to vote in the United States for just about 100 years. There are still countries in which women cannot dress as they would like or in which they cannot live as they please. There is no specific date as to when the phrase “women’s empowerment” was established; however, women’s empowerment came a long way in the twentieth century.
During the 20th century, International Women’s Day, perhaps a more important holiday in non-Western countries than in Western countries, was first observed. Many marches, strikes, and protests were held by women who started the movement starting in 1909.
In Europe, starting in 1911, International Women’s Day was recognized, and women began to raise the issue of having the right to vote and holding public office. They also began to protest against sex discrimination in the workplace.
In 1914, in St. Petersburg, Russia, women began to protest, demanding the end of the war and the end of all the food shortages that were taking place around the country.
This was called the February Revolution. Once the Soviet Union was established, all countries considered part of the Soviet Union celebrated International Women’s Day.
In Western countries, starting in 1977, the UN General Assembly stated that all member states should proclaim March 8th as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace.
Why is women’s empowerment important?
The women’s rights movement as we know it is a relatively new concept. There are some countries which have not had prominent women’s rights movements because the concept of gender equality is not prevalent in their societies.
There are still many issues against which women in the West fight against. An example of one is rape. One in five women are estimated to be raped in their lifetimes, which is a scary figure.
However, most of these cases of rape are not reported, and when they are reported, the victim, who is most commonly a woman, faces ridicule and is blamed for getting raped. The rapist also often is not prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law.
This is especially one of the biggest reasons why we need to continue empowering women, no matter where we live; because in a world where they are blamed for violence against them, women need to be reminded that they are powerful and capable of doing anything they put their minds to.
Women’s empowerment is necessary in all countries around the world. When women feel empowered, they can help their families, their countries, and ultimately, the whole world, to do better.
If a woman has monetary power, an education, and equal opportunities, she will not only feel positively about herself, but she will also gain the respect of others, and will be seen as a role model by young girls, who will aspire to one day be like her.
There was a study conducted by Bina Agarwal, in which women participated in a forest conservation group. This was shown to improve the group’s efficiency and the women’s self-respect. Their male counterparts viewed the women with more respect. Therefore, it shows that when women are empowered, society functions more efficiently.
If a woman has the ability to participate in elections, hold political power, work in any profession she wishes, and obtain any education and degree she wishes, a higher degree of equality will be established between men and women.
When this happens, women are allowed to function as equal members of society. They are allowed to enrich their societies, invent new things, create new innovations that will benefit not only their countries but the entire world, and otherwise be important members of society.
If women are empowered and recognized as equals, crimes against women will decrease and be looked down upon more negatively in places where they are not already looked down upon.
The Human Development and Capabilities Approach, the Millennium Development Goals, and other approaches and goals state that if a country seeks to decrease poverty and improve its development, then women’s empowerment and participation in the country’s society is an absolutely necessary step that needs to be taken.
Who should empower women?
Empowering women should be done by both men and women. If women do not constantly compare themselves to each other, speak negatively of women who live differently than they do, who look differently than they do, or who dress differently than they do, then it will reinforce positive feelings between women towards one another and lead to more empowerment.
Men should empower women and treat them as equals, too. If a man and woman get married, and the man does not empower his wife, then she will feel unhappy in their marriage.
If they do not already do so, men should recognize that women are capable of helping society and making our world a better place. If men recognize women as their equals, and respect women in the way they deserve to be respected, then that will greatly make positive changes in our world.
What are some of the challenges facing women’s empowerment?
One of the biggest challenges facing women’s empowerment is stereotypes. There are still countries throughout the world where women are not afforded their basic rights.
Women cannot own property in some countries, cannot open bank accounts, cannot go out in public without a man or without a man’s permission, and are strictly confined to the house and doing household chores.
There are also societies where, more drastically, sex-selective abortions or female genital mutilation are prevalent. Female genital mutilation is illegal in most places, but there are some people who do it anyways.
Many governments are working to combat sex-selective abortions, but it is difficult to change individuals’ minds, especially when they were raised to believe that having male children is of utmost importance.
In such societies where this sort of mentality is present, empowering women becomes close to impossible. It is difficult to change the opinions of entire societies and to change entire countries’ laws. It has been done before, obviously, through protests, education, and progressive lawmakers.
The family also plays a huge role. If family members do not allow their female children to study at a university, to have the careers they wish, to marry whomever they wish, and instead they raise their daughters to believe that they are to be confined to the home for the rest of their lives, then that also is a huge obstacle in the path to women’s empowerment.
Tools to empower women
Thankfully, we now have a very powerful tool- the Internet- where many women have established careers and found their voices. The Internet allows people to express their feelings and thoughts without necessarily having to worry about the opinions of their peers.
Members of different societies can read articles about women’s empowerment or articles about powerful women and their eyes can be opened.
The Internet also allows women to study; there are many websites which allow people to learn new languages, to take online courses on any subject they wish, and more.
Universities sometimes even offer the option of getting your degree online. We now live in a very advanced world, and the empowerment of women will take that advancement to new levels.
Check Out Other Posts Related to What is Women’s Empowerment? The Importance of Gender Equality | Learn How to Empower Women
- Importance Of Women Empowerment: Learn The Necessary Steps For Women’s Empowerment
- Feminist Initiatives And Women Empowerment Projects: The Importance Of Women Entrepreneurship
- 50 Women Empowerment Quotes By Strong People That Are Extremely Powerful & Uplifting!