In a world, where girls play second fiddle to boys and boys are always the wanted “gender” – it is crucial to empower the girls.
Growing up in conservative state(of course, most of India is conservative with the exception of the metros) of Tamil Nadu, studying Computer engineering(a long time ago! :)) was a big thing for me(that was empowering for those days)
What does empowering women really mean? It seems that this word has been thrown around quite a bit. While empowering women and girls might mean different things to different people, my only thought is to “let women and girls do what they want in life” after teaching them good values. It is the thought of protecting girls(by the parents, husband) that leads to not empowering them adequately.
Because, I have always heard girls say
- That they were allowed to study in a school or college – but only in some place close by
- That they were not allowed to study in school or college at all
- That they were allowed to study but not allowed to work(what if the man who married her sat and ate her earnings?! ;))
- That they “have” to work(this is the other extreme!!)
- That they are not allowed to drive a car
- And there are million other “don’t do this and don’t do that” rules for girls and women….
So, how will we empower them?
- To start off, it is good to give them the best education in the college and in the field they would like to study. At least, the opportunity should be given.
- The next step will be to make them financially independent. Having a career for themselves will make them mentally and physically strong. Of course, once motherhood comes along, it is difficult to juggle between work and home and the decision to continue the career or not should be best left to the girl herself.
So, what are the advantages of empowering the women?
- They are more confident
- Can handle life in case, any calamity falls on the family
- With today’s soaring prices, it is always good to have two incomes instead of one…
Again, my thoughts on the subject!! 😉
Bottom line : EMPOWERING WOMEN IS JUST LETTING THE WOMEN DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO! 🙂
Very bold take on empowering women. I agree with the list you have made about what women think they are allowed/ not allwoed to do.
Do drop by my #AtoZ too
Thanks! 🙂 Hope it brings about a change somewhere….
Sure…will drop by… 🙂
Empowering women means empowering the family, empowering the society and empowering the nation
Absolutely true! 🙂 A small step towards empowering the women helps the world at large…
I agree with you! Giving girls the freedom to choose what they want to do with their lives is essential.
Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to building stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families, and communities. The idea of women empowerment might sound hard by the yard, but by the inch, it is just a cinch. All we need is a concentrated effort focused in the right direction that would rest only with the liberation of women from all forms of evil. I would like to quote Kofi Annan here – ‘There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.”
Absolutely true… empowering women leads to stronger families ,cities, nations and the world! 🙂