Introduction: What is Women's Empowerment

I wrote this as an assignment, and consulted various books. I posted this with the hope that it will help students and other who are looking for quick answer.  So the basic content is broken down into 3 different posts, as a series, and the references are kept with the last post. keep on scrolling :)

1. Introduction: What is women's empowerment?
2. Approaches to/for Women's Empowerment
- South Asian Approaches (Batliwala)
- Women Empowerment in Development (WED) or Developmental Approach
- Women in Development (WID)
- Women and Development (WAD)
- Gender and Development (GAD)
- The Welfare Approach
- The Equity Approach
- The Efficency Approach
- Anti-Proverty Approach
- The empowered Approach
3. Strategies for Women's Empowerment
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Introduction: What is Women's Empowerment?

The concept of women’s empowerment as understood in the South Asian context defined it as a bottom-up process, and the results/outcomes of that process, of transforming the relations of power between individuals and social groups.  It acknowledge the unequal distribution of power in the society and the challenging of that power relations so that women, as an individual and group, can have equal control over their access to  resources and to participate equally in decision making.

For an individual or group to be empowered, they must have the power to control or equal access to these five broad categories of resources viz. physical, human, intellectual, and financial resources, and the self (Pamei, 2001).  Similarly, they must have the power to control ideology, which means ability to determine beliefs, values, attitudes, and virtually, control over ways of thinking and perceiving situations. This process of gaining control over the self, over ideology and the resources, which determine power, may be termed as ‘empowerment’. (Hajira and Varghese, 2004).

According to Batliwala (1994), empowerment is both a process and a goal. She states that: …the goals of women’s empowerment are to challenge patriarchal ideology (male domination and women’s subordination); transform the structures and institutions that reinforce and perpetuate gender discrimination and social inequality (the family, caste, class, religion, educational processes and institutions, the media, health practices and systems, laws and civil codes, political processes, development models, and government institutions); and enable women to gain access to, and control of, both material and informational resources.

The term ‘women’s empowerment’ is often equated with other terminology like ‘gender equality’, ‘female autonomy’, or ‘women’s emancipation’.  However, they are not the same and can be distinguished by two elements which are present in women’s empowerment. The first is that of process (Kabeer, 2001; Oxaal and Baden, 1997; Rowlands, 1995). None of the other concepts explicitly encompasses a progression from one state (gender inequality) to another (gender equality). The second element is agency—in other words, women themselves must be significant actors in the process of change that is being described or measured. Thus, hypothetically there could be an improvement in gender equality by various measures, but unless the intervening processes involved women as agents of that change rather than merely as its recipients we would not consider it empowerment. (Malhotra, 2003)

The concept of empowerment has several different and inter-related aspects.  It is not only about opening up access to decision making or control over resources or power, but also must include processes that lead people to perceive themselves as able and entitled to occupy that decision-making space (Rowlands, 1995).  Empowerment is sometimes described as being about the ability to make choices, but it must also involve being able to shape what choices are on offer. 

Empowerment is a process of transition from a state of powerlessness to a state of relative control over one’s life, destiny, and environment. This transition can manifest itself in an improvement in the perceived ability to control, as well as in an improvement in the actual ability to control.

I'm Indian* but...

*condition apply

So the Honourable Chief Minister of Mizoram, Mr. Lal Thanhawla wanted all Mizos to accept their Indian nationality, or lose their ration card...humph thank God I got no ration card!!! (http://www.sinlung.com/2011/08/mizos-should-accept-they-are-indians.html)

But, you know, dear Chief Minister, that sucks because even after living almost a decade in the National capital of India, I'm still not accepted as an Indian.  And as a matter of fact, I really don't care it either.  I'm tired of being an unaccepted and unacknowledged Indian national. By the way I've long given up complaining, whining and explaining the geography of India that almost 90% of Indian are guaranteed not to know, and in trying to cope with the plain and unabashed racism and discrimination I have faced because of that ignorance. My blog is a tastemant to that fact.

Anyway, what option do we really have? We want it or not, we are Indian, and we are the new untouchable Indian who have faced all sorts of discrimination in our so called country, which made us, people like me, a disgruntled lot.  May be you didn't know how it feels to be a part of a group that doesn't want you. Perhaps you may blame us for us not willing to be called Indian. Perhaps it's time that we arrange some sort of agreement as to what we should be called. May be, a different kind of Indian, perhaps yellow Indian? But no matter what,  no one, none who should, will acknowledge our claim. 

Anyway, tell me, dear Chief Minister, how can a peacock be a crow when its feather are glittering like gems or is it the other way round - that the crow is as black as a coal.  What difference does it make, a crow will never be a peacock, nor a peacock become a crow.  It simply doesn't add up.

Perhaps you can teach the Indian govt. what and how, you and your family did to make your young wife feel comfortable and at-home just after you got married, and she entered your family home for the first time.  It's too many decades late now to be treated as a new bride, but may be, just may be, it still can make some difference, if India, for once, treated us as it's own. 

After so many years, if some sections of the Mizos, and other tribal communities in the north-east doesn't feel at home in India, and are not comfortable with the 'Indian' tag, it's hardly their fault.  After all, their claim of being a free and sovereign people before being seceded into India is not a hoax or myth, and you know as well as me, that....is for a fact!!! 

So, dear Chief Minister, what say you????

An Overview of Churachandpur District Census Data 2011

Churachandpur belongs to us, isn't it? Anyway that's where we live, and that's the one place that concerns us mostly. Here is a quick overview of census 2011 for Churachandpur district and a bit of an analysis.

Population Density and Decadal Growth

Here is no big change, smaller district are gaining population which is a rather good sign in the sense that urban migration is not as rampant as supposed to be.

Literacy Rates and Literacy Gap between Male and Female

Here is a reason to celebrate (even though it’s not good enough). The literacy gap between Male and Female continued to be the lowest in our district. Even though we lag behind Imphal West in term of overall literacy rate, it seems our women have better access to education. (But this is also dependant on many factors, like the numbers of illiterate ageing population, statistical outliers, etc). By the way, the national/country gap is 16.68% which means two districts in our state is worst than the country percentage.

Sex Ratio

The country sex ratio is 940, Churachandpur’s is 944. We are a little better off than the country in our discrimination towards the girl child. Overall, in the state we ranked no. 5 which is an improvement from the last census where we ranked no. 7. (I always though we as a Christian will be more welcoming to a girl child than the Hindus in the plain area). But no doubt, our preference and the importance we attached to a male child is undeniable.

But there seems to be a little improvement among the present 0 – 6 years even thought they will not make much of a statistical difference in the next census.

The above table is based only among children belonging to age 6 and below (who are not included in literacy counts). If this is the trend for the future, than the sex ratio of Manipur is done for, however, the comfort is that, the above children will only contribute to the existing rate, and they will not be counted as separate, apart from that, we have a good nine years to correct the wrongs.

Huihui let’s make room for the girls. We are Christian, we are Zomi, we are proud of our women and their achievement, and we love bragging about how independent our women are.  But we are not as good as we thought we are and apparently, we don’t love our women enough!

Why I Don't Support Anna Hazare

My friend often asked me if I have been to the Ramlila Ground to support Anna.  Sometime I told them I can't manage the time, and some time I just told them I choose not to be there.

The truth is, I love Anna Hazare, and admire his courage. I hate corruption as much as he does, and as much as you.  I want the Lokpal Bill, and I want the Prime Minister's Office to come under it, and I want it to be implemented immediately....so basically I agreed with Mr. Hazare in every sphere....

But Anna lost the supporter in me when he said 'my Lokpal, or no lokpal'!  That's it...that is the major reason why I am not out on the street supporting the man I so admired - Anna Hazare!

Besides, his authoritarian views on justice including his support for capital punishment and his alleged support for forced vasectomies as a method of family planning horrified me.

I'm a child of democracy, and I'm a child of freedom! As much as I believe in my freedom, I also believe in the freedom of other.  I have seen war, I have seen anarchy taking over democracy, and I don't like either of it. 

I believe the constitution is supreme, that my fundamental rights are fundamental, and that democracy is too precious to be used as a play thing.  

I 'hate' people who undermine democracy and freedom, I 'despise' them as much as corruption.  Anna Hazare just made to my list...

I don't support someone who 'ransomed' a democratically elected government, a government who have the country's mandate!  I personally went to vote for this Government, and it hurts me to see that my Vote and fundamental right is being ransomed by a group of people....

No matter what their cause and reasons are, no matter my disappointment with the present government....I don't like being ransomed and hijacked!  No matter what the end is, the mean is most important to me! 

And, I still consider democracy and freedom as my fundamental right.  I wouldn't let anyone tell me otherwise.

Thank You!