This document provides information on the status of women around the world. It includes data on early marriage prevalence, women as non-farm wage earners, acceptance of wife beating, and access to media by women and men. Some key statistics are that 41% of women in Africa have never been to school, only 7% of women work in professional jobs, and women have lower access to media than men in every age group. The document discusses the need to empower women by addressing issues like lack of decision making power, limited freedom of movement, and domestic violence. Government policies and programs aimed at social, economic and educational empowerment can help promote gender equality.
7. Prevalence of Early Marriage Around the World
Source: UNICEF, www.childinfo.org/marriage_countrydata.php, and PRB analysis.
8. Source: PRB, The World’s Women and Girls 2011 Data Sheet.
Women as Non-Farm Wage Earners (Percent)
7
48
41
25
49
47
Africa Northern
America
Latin America
and
Caribbean
Asia
(excluding
China)
Europe Oceania
9. Source: Demographic and Health Surveys, various years.
Women and Men Who Agree That Wife Beating is Acceptable if a Wife Argues
With Her Husband(Percent)
1
7
15
21
30
40
3
5
22
11
26
36
Dominican
Republic
(2007)
Indonesia
(2007)
Armenia
(2005)
Ghana (2008) India (2005-
2006)
Uganda
(2006)
Female Male
10. Source: Demographic and Health Surveys, various years.
Women and Men Who Agree That Wife Beating is Acceptable if a Wife Refuses
Sex With Her Husband (Percent)
1
7
4
12
14
31
3 3
5
7 8
19
Dominican
Republic
(2007)
Indonesia
(2007)
Armenia
(2005)
Ghana (2008) India (2005-
2006)
Uganda
(2006)
Female Male
13. INTRODUCTION
• Empowerment is a process whereby
individual is able to organize themselves to
increase their own self- reliance, to assert
their independent right to make choices
and to control resources which will assist in
challenging their own subordination.
• Women Empowerment refers to increasing
the spiritual, political, social, educational,
gender and economic strength of
individuals and communities of women.
14. Feminist notions
of Empowerment
• Power over: Controlling power over some
one and something. Response to it can be
compliance, resistance or manipulation
• Power to: Generative or productive power
that creates new possibilities and actions
without domination
15. NEED FOR
WOMEN
EMPOWERMNENT
WOMEN ARE DEPRIVED OF:
• Decision Making Power
• Freedom of Movement
• Access to Education
• Access to Employment
• Exposure to Media
• Domestic Violence
16. ADVANTAGES
OF WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
• Next generation will be empowered because of her.
• If woman will be empowered she will not be a
burden on anyone.
• Financial burden of man can be shared with her
support.
• Family can be more strong because of both working
hands.
17. DECISION
MAKING POWER
• The number of decisions women make jointly varies
positively with education and nonlinearly with wealth;
and
• For women, having earnings that they control is
associated with greater participation in decisions;
however, having earnings without a major say in their
use is negatively associated with the number of
decisions made jointly and, unexpectedly, positively
associated with the number of decisions made mainly
alone.
18. FREEDOM OF
MOVEMENT
• Women’s freedom of movement is severely curtailed:
only one in three are allowed to go alone to the
market, the health centre, and outside the community.
• Women face a large number of hurdles in accessing
health care
19. ACCESS TO
EDUCATION
Children’s school attendance
• Only two-thirds of girls and three-fourths of boys age 6-17
years are attending school. The sex ratio of children
attending school is 889 girls per 1,000 boys.
Literacy and educational attainment among adults
• 41% of women age 15-49 have never been to school.
• Educational attainment remains very low: even among the
20-29 age group, only 27% of women have 10 or more
years of education.
• The percentage of ever-married women with 10 or more
years of education has risen very slowly from 11% in NFHS-
1 to 17% in NFHS-3.
http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-women-girls-2011-data-sheet.pdf
20. ACCESS TO
EMPLOYMENT
The relationship of employment and wealth for
women suggests that, for many women, employment
is largely a result of economic necessity.
Even with controls for education, age, and wealth,
marriage is negatively associated with a woman’s
likelihood of being employed and is positively
associated with a man’s likelihood of being employed.
Only 7% women work in professional, technical, or
managerial occupations.
http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-women-girls-2011-data-sheet.pdf
21. EXPOSURE TO
MEDIA
Women have lower access to media than men in every
age group.
About 71% of women are exposed to media as
compared to 88% in case of men.
29% of women do not have access to media regularly.
Since it is an important source of empowerment,
greater proportion of women without having access to
media reflects the relatively disadvantageous position
of women in relation to men with regards to
empowerment.
http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-women-girls-2011-data-sheet.pdf
22. Changes in women's mobility and social interaction;
Changes in women's labour patterns;
Changes in women's access to and control over resources;
Changes in women's control over decision-making.
WAYS TO EMPOWER WOMEN
23. • Power with: power generating a feeling that the whole is
greater than the sum of individuals and action as a group is
more effective
• Power from within: a sense that there is strength that is in
each and every individual. The recognition of one's own self-
acceptance and self-respect enables the acceptance of
others as equals.
24. GOVERNMENT
POLICY
• Creating an environment through positive economic and
social policies for full development of women to enable
them to realize their full potential
• Enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedom
by women on equal basis with men in all spheres –
political, economic, social, cultural and civil
• Equal access to participation and decision making of
women in social, political and economic life of the nation.
25. GOVERNMENT
POLICY
(Continue)
• Equal access to women to health care, quality education
at all levels, career and vocational guidance,
employment, equal remuneration, occupational health
and safety, social security and public office etc.
• Strengthening legal systems aimed at elimination of all
forms of discrimination against women
• Changing societal attitudes and community practices by
active participation and involvement of both men and
women
26. GOVERNMENT
POLICY
(Continue)
• Mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development
process
• Elimination of discrimination and all forms of violence
against women and the girl child; and
• Building and strengthening partnerships with civil society,
particularly women’s organizations.
27. Economic
empowerment
• Poverty eradication
• Micro-credit-easy access to credit
• Women’s perspective in macro-economic policies
• Enhance productivity and skills in agriculture-
• Women & industry-entrepreneurship development,
labour legislations support
28. Social
Empowerment
• To create an enabling environment through various
affirmative developmental policies and programmes for
development of women besides providing them easy and
equal access to all the basic minimum services so as to
enable them to realize their full potentials.
29. Education- equal access, universalization of education, reduce gender gaps, gender
sensitive educational system
Health- holistic approach to women’s health reduction in IMR & MMR
Nutrition – meeting nutritional needs of women at all stages of life cycle
Housing and shelter – adequate and safe housing
Science and technology – appropriate technology to reduce drudgery
Women in difficult circumstances – capacity building of women in difficult
circumstances
Violence against women- eliminate all forms of violence against women
Right of the girl child – elimination of gender discrimination
Mass media – remove gender stereotypes and promote positive image of women
31. - Support for Training cum Employment
Programmes (STEP)
- Setting up of Training cum Production Centres
for Women (NORAD)
- Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)
- Swarnajanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)
- Swa – shakti
- Swayamsidha
- Swadhar
- Swalamban
Employment and Income – generation
32. • National Commission for Women
• National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development
• Department of Women and Child Development
• Rashtriya Mahila Kosh
• Central Social Welfare Board
• Women Development Corporations
• National Vocational Training Institute
• Crimes Against Women Cell/ Women police station
ADMINISTRATITIVE MACHNERY
34. • Freedom from discrimination- e.g. Gender, race, ethnicity, national origin and
religion.
• Freedom from fear of threats to personal security, from torture, arbitrary
arrest and other violent acts.
• Freedom of thoughts and speech and to participate in decision making and
forming associations.
• Freedom from wants – to enjoy decent standard of living.
• Freedom to realize one’s human potential.
• Freedom from injustice and violation of the rule of laws.
• Freedom for decent work – without exploitation.
HUMAN RIGHTS – SEVEN FREEDOM
35. • Short- stay homes for women and girls
• Working women hostel
• Awareness generation and gender sensitisation
• Socio economic programmes
36. LEGISLATIVE ACTS IN INDIA FOR
EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
Constitution of India, 1950 :
• Article 14 -equality .
• Article 15- prohibits discrimination of sex.
• Article 16- equality of opportunity for employment.
• The 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution
of India provided for reservation of seats
38. • Section 304(b) - Murder of women in connection with demand of dowry.
• Sections 312 to 318 - Miscarriage.
• Section 366-A deals - Procuration of minor girls for sexual purpose.
• Section 376 - Punishment for rape.
• Section 498-A - Women to cruelty by her husband or relatives.
• Section 509- Punishment for uttering words and gesture or act intended to
insult the modesty of a woman.
39. • The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
• The Factories Act, 1948
• The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 :
• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
• The Chid Marriage Restraint Act, 1976
• The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986
• The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987
• The National Commission for Women Act, 1992 :
• The Prenatal Diagnostic Technique Act, 1994
40. • The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
• Women's Reservation Bill or the The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill.
• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Act, 2013
• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013
