INSPIRATION
Women’s Empowerment in India Compiled by Reena Shah
Women’s empowerment can be defined as promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others. It is a fundamental human right that’s also key to achieving a more peaceful, prosperous world that equips and allows women to make life-determining decisions through the various problems in society. Women’s empowerment and promoting women’s rights have emerged as a part of a major global movement and is continuing to break new ground in recent years. Days like “International Women’s Empowerment Day” are also gaining momentum.
Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) Of the female labor force in India, more than 94 percent of workers make their living in the unorganized sector. Yet this demographic largely remains invisible due to the self-employed nature of their work. Since these women are not part of the mainstream salaried workforce, they do not have access to welfare benefits that the laborers in the traditional workforce do, leaving them unprotected.
But despite a great deal of progress, women and girls continue to face discrimination and violence in every part of the world. Empowering women is essential to the health and social development of families, communities, and countries. When women are living safe, fulfilled, and productive lives, they can reach their full potential. contributing their skills to the workforce and can raise happier and healthier children. They are also able to help fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large. The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles. The Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favor of women.
On one hand, the country is home to a number of feminist icons like Kamla Bhasin, who has been advocating for female education since the seventies, but on the other, around 93 women are raped in India every day. In addition, even in 2019, nonconsensual sex between a husband and wife is not considered rape according to India’s penal code. It is also estimated that 120,000 Indian women a year will be victims of domestic violence.
Fortunately, several organizations are tirelessly working to put an end to gender inequality in India. These fighting for fighting women’s empowerment Theseorganizations five organizations for women’s empowerment in India are to uplifting and in India are dedicated to dedicated uplifting and peotecting protecting women. women.
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Incorporated in 1972, the Self-Employed Women’s Association, or SEWA, is a trade union made up of poor and self-employed female workers that earn a living through self-run small businesses or their personal labor. SEWA aims to organize women so that they can attain full employment and all its benefits including social security, which is defined as health care, childcare, and shelter. SEWA stimulates full employment and female self-reliance by offering a number of services including health care, childcare, banking through the Sewa Bank (a cooperative bank with credit and finance services), insurance via VimoSEWA (SEWA insurance), legal services and housing. Snehalaya Snehalaya translates to “home of love” and is an NGO that was founded in 1989 in the city of Ahmednagar. The NGO provides support to women, children, and the LGBT communities. Snehalaya specifically focuses on these vulnerable members of society that have suffered at the hands of HIV and AIDS, trafficking, sexual violence and poverty.
