Women’s Empowerment: At a Price!

Listening to ‘the story behind the story’ and hearing the pain behind every success may be ways of validating the sacrifices that women across every strata of society make. Empowerment can only stem from this recognition of the inequalities inherent in the lives of men and women, in terms of responsibilities, work and sacrifices, and the appreciation for their contribution

E mpowerment is a big word; more than that, it has a deep meaning. But do we really understand what it means?

Empowerment, as I understand it, means to take charge of one’s life. And that whatever may happen in a person’s life, he or she is totally responsible for it. The question that comes to mind is, “How does a woman become empowered?” By being strong, by being confident or by being independent?

Let us suppose that she becomes strong, independent and confident. She becomes a woman who takes her own decisions. She might no longer need to ask someone’s permission before taking a decision. However, after she has taken a decision, what happens to her? Does she pay a price for her independence?

Women are the most targeted victims of this world. They have always been told what to do and what not to do. Has anyone asked them what they want to do? From the time of the birth of a child, we differentiate between a boy and a girl. Recently, I attended a workshop on gender, in which tribal and non-tribal women shared their life stories. The one thing which I noticed was that the identities of most of the women speakers came from the family they belonged to, and not from their own selves.