Women Empowerment
Introduction :
What is the meaning of women empowerment -
Women's empowerment is the process in which women elaborate and recreate what it is that they can be, do, and accomplish in a circumstance that they previously were denied. Empowerment can be defined in many ways, however, when talking about women's empowerment, empowerment means accepting and allowing people (women) who are on the outside of the decision-making process into it. “This puts a strong emphasis on participation in political structures and formal decision-making and, in the economic sphere, on the ability to obtain an income that enables participation in economic decision-making.”Empowerment is the process that creates power in individuals over their own lives, society, and in their communities. People are empowered when they are able to access the opportunities available to them without limitations and restrictions such as in education, profession and lifestyle. Feeling entitled to make your own decisions creates a sense of empowerment. Empowerment includes the action of raising the status of women through education, raising awareness, literacy, and training. Women's empowerment is all about equipping and allowing women to make life-determining decisions through the different problems in society.
Importance of women's empowerment.
Advisor to US President and businesswoman Ivanka Trump (right) and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe attending the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo to speak on women's rights and empowerment, 2017
Entire nations, businesses, communities and groups can benefit from the implementation of programs and policies that adopt the notion of women empowerment.[6] Empowerment of women is a necessity for the very development of a society, since it enhances both the quality and the quantity of human resources available for development. Empowerment is one of the main procedural concerns when addressing human rights and development.
Women's empowerment and achieving gender equality is essential for our society to ensure the sustainable development of the country. Many world leaders and scholars have argued that sustainable development is impossible without gender equality and women's empowerment. Sustainable development accepts environmental protection, social and economic development, and without women's empowerment, women wouldn't feel equally important to the process of development as men. It is widely believed that, the full participation of both men and women is critical for development. Only acknowledging men's participation will not be beneficial to sustainable development. In the context of women and development, empowerment must include more choices for women to make on their own. Without gender equality and empowerment, the country could not be just, and social change wouldn't occur. Therefore, scholars agree that women's empowerment plays a huge role in development and is one of the significant contributions of development. Without the equal inclusion of women in development, women would not be able to benefit or contribute to the development of the country.
The Internet as a tool of empowerment.
The growing access of the web in the late 20th century has allowed women to empower themselves by using various tools on the Internet. With the introduction of the World Wide Web, women have begun to use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter for online activism. Through online activism, women are able to empower themselves by organizing campaigns and voicing their opinions for equality rights without feeling oppressed by members of society. For example, on May 29, 2013, an online campaign started by 100 female advocates forced the leading social networking website, Facebook, to take down various pages that spread hatred about women.
In recent years, blogging has also become a powerful tool for the educational empowerment of women. According to a study done by the University of California, Los Angeles, medical patients who read and write about their disease are often in a much happier mood and more knowledgeable than those who do not. By reading others' experiences, patients can better educate themselves and apply strategies that their fellow bloggers suggest.
With the easy accessibility and affordability of e-learning (electronic learning), women can now study from the comfort of their homes. By empowering themselves educationally through new technologies like e-learning, women are also learning new skills that will come in handy in today's advancing globalized world.
Oftentimes, the internet is very useful as source of empowerment for women through its creation, dispersion, and utilization of hashtags on social media. One prime example of hashtags supporting women empowerment was in 2017 when the #AintNoCinderella hashtag came into existence. This hashtag spread like wildfire on social media after Varnika Kundu (a 29-year-old woman in India) was driving home past midnight on August 4 when she was followed and harassed by two men in a SUV. Kundu was blamed for being out late at night, particularly by the BJP government Vice-President Ramveer Bhatti. This led to women all across India and the world posting pictures of themselves out late at night with the hashtag "#AintNoCinderella" to show that women do not have a particular curfew to which they have to adhere to (like Cinderella did).
Conclusion :
In the present decade, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in educating women and empowering them in the health sector and in the political area.
the world is going through major process of transformation in this contemporary society and the one other need is to change the condition of women through women empowerment , in this male dominated society, the change in attitude of society towards the women can improve the development of the society and can help in the professional growth of the country as well as the world and make the world beautiful , the empowerment of women can change the face of world in various aspect as well as the behavior of human being which can create various opportunity for the individuals as well as country’s growth.