Woman empowerment is a tricky subject to write on. Balancing views from both sides of the spectrum are needed. Unfortunately, every discussion on it becomes a gender issue and the respective genders begin to defend their arguments taking rationality for a toss. My aim is to be neutral and aid you to understand what woman empowerment really is.
First things first. What is empowerment? Granting someone the right or authority to do something. So you might be thinking were women not given the right to take decisions? Sadly, in many spheres of life and since millennia, women were subdued, forced to take secondary roles and were not allowed autonomy to even decide for themselves.
In the last few decades, women have realized their worth and a movement has born out of the desire to assert womankind. This has led to drastic changes in the thinking and mind set of people. From not getting the right to vote till the turn of the last century to the times when they head governments and humongous corporations, we have come a long way.
But every coin has two sides. To protect women from sexual harassment, rapes, dowry and other crimes, strict laws were made. Laws which unduly favour women and have the capacity to put men behind bars without a proper enquiry. Divorce laws are made such that a man is considered a criminal. He has to pay alimony even if his wife is capable of earning for herself. He has to pay for child support and has virtually no chance of the custody of his child. Until a few months ago according to Indian laws, a woman was not capable of adultery, and a man was liable to be criminally prosecuted. Such an irony!
Woman empowerment has led women defend their rights, get full education and to be financially independent. This has led to an unusual problem of increasing divorce rights in India. Men are not able to accept the new reality that women are equal partners in marriage and not just a person who will readily accept every decision of theirs.
I look forward to a word where woman empowerment is not a hot topic to be discussed. It should be a part of our daily lives. Women also have a responsibility to have not only equal rights, but also perform equal duties. Why teach a man not to hit a woman? Instead teach a human being not to hit another human being. Something to have a thought on, isn’t it?