Evolution of Women empowerment in Jammu and Tamil Nadu
(an essay written for a competition)
Yatra naaryastu puujyante ramante tatra devataaH |
‘The Gods reside where Women are worshipped’, This Sanskrit Shloka portrays a Utopian situation in an era when women fear to tread alone at night.
Our country is revered as ‘Mother’ India and adulations are bestowed upon Her and other goddesses. But are the mothers, sisters, wives and daughters of this country respected thus? Our history has evidence of women in power including the likes of Rani Lakshmibai, Devi Ahilyabai, Razia Sultana, to modern day leaders like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Indra Nooyi, Sowmya Swaminathan, all scaling heights in various domains and being a source of inspiration.
In spite of this, we stand witness to some harrowing incidents as well, which make every Indian cringe in shame. From the heart wrenching Nirbhaya case to the millions of Nirbhayas silently suffering in India, do we actually respect the women in our country, the way they should be? Do they stand empowered and liberated? We have had some awakening to the horrors faced by women in our country including domestic abuse, sexual harassment and discrimination at work. As the wise say, ‘being aware of the existence of a problem is the first step towards solving it’. We stand at a crossroad where one needs to evaluate and devise strategies to address these till the day dawns when one can stand upright and say “Yes! We are a gender-equal country! We respect not only Goddesses, but also the women who toil for us at home and at work’.
What does the word “Empowerment” word signify? Empowerment is the process by which those devoid of power acquire control over the circumstances of their life including achieving self-confidence and a will-power strong enough to break through the barricades posed by the external environment. Women’s empowerment has been largely defined by the pre-existing gender-relations in the society. Gender-specific roles accorded to women and the obligations attached to it by societal norms have largely remained unequal. Even in the current lockdown, men in various professions are more active professionally, while women remain a wee step behind owing to the extra responsibilities at home. The ray of hope is that some men have magnanimously come forward to share the burden and this sense of empathy could be a harbinger of further empowerment.
An evaluation of the course of women empowerment at the extreme northern and southern tip of India, viz Jammu and Kashmir (JK) and Tamil Nadu (TN) would offer a glimpse of the status of women across different zones molded by local cultural and religious beliefs. Both being relatively conservative states, have yet seen women like Malala Yousufa and Dr. Sowmya Swaminathan rise to note-worthy positions.
The status of women in JK remained highly pitiable for a long time with women forming the more vulnerable and affected section of society additionally plagued by poverty, early marriage and deprivation of a chance for education. Bound by customs, traditions, increasing gender discrimination compounded by the social, economic and political conditions of the state, women remained mute spectators to their deteriorating status. The crime rate against women in JK rose from 1656 in 2001 to 3363 in 2015. Surprisingly this trend of physical, sexual and psychological abuse was seen even in the educated and economically independent fraction of women as well. The rate of women unemployment remained 20.2% which is significantly higher than the national average of 3.7%. With this scenario, various schemes launched by the State and Central government have helped to empower women in various spheres of life. These include awareness generation projects for rural women, condensed educational courses (for women who had to discontinue their education), family counselling centres (to cater to their mental and psychological wellbeing), Janani Suraksha Yojana (for pregnant women), Working women hostel schemes, SwayamSidha scheme, Educational and microcredit loans for women etc. An improvement in the educational sector saw an increase in the women literacy rate from 43% in 2001 to 56% in 2011. Women are now encouraged to be part of various decision-making situations and with the strong commitment of the government a strong ray of hope shines for the women of JK.
Tamil Nadu has been a pioneer in women empowerment aided by women-centric governments which introduced many schemes to uplift the condition of women in the state. Women education has always remained a focus area with the passing of the Madras Elementary Education act in 1920 and the subsequent 50% fee-concession offered to girls. The establishment of separate women colleges doubled the number of women students from 151 to 330 between 1916-1920. The Government’s Five-Year plans also laid a lot of emphasis on the first step of women empowerment viz. education. The number of educational institutions for women in Madras Presidency increased by 180% between 1920-1947. The Madras Presidency has been on the forefront in women education with a literacy rate of 20.8% as early as 1951 to 73.4% in 2011. TN has also been home to many programs initiated by the Government aided by Self-help groups and NGOs for the upliftment of women. Some of them are the Cradle Baby scheme (to curb female foeticides), Master health check up plans for women, Thalikku Thangam Thittam (to support the marriage expenses of economically backward women), provision of lucrative loans, grinders, sewing machines to aid women to be financially independent. More than 92 Lakh women in TN are part of self-help groups which help in their empowerment.
Women as decision-makers thus no longer remains a distant vision but has become a reality. While we can gloat over it, there are ‘miles to go before we sleep’ and we need to constantly work towards improvising woman empowerment further.
“Educate your women first and leave them to themselves; then they will tell you what reforms are necessary for them. In matters concerning them, who are you?” ‘“The idea of perfect womanhood is perfect independence.” – Swami Vivekananda
Jai Hind!!!
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