2018. Are Women free or empowered?

We recently celebrated 72 years of Independent India, as a nation, we have come a long way. There has been tremendous progress on many accounts but when it comes to women, a lot still needs to done. Are women of our country truly free? Do they have the right to choose, or freedom of thought, freedom of speech?  Are they able to walk, talk or dress as they wish without being judged or trolled? Women are not free as they fear being judged at every step in life .The whole world seems to decide what is right for a woman. She more often than not lacks the simple freedom of making her own decisions.

So much talk about equality and women emancipation, but at the heart of it all it is the same. 

Till today, we hear of honor killings, acid attacks, rapes, molestation. Too many ills plague women even today, like dowry system, illiteracy, sexual harassment, inequality, female infanticide, domestic violence child abuse, rape, prostitution, illegal trafficking. Prejudice runs deep, little girls are burdened with the pressure of doing things in a certain way, just to conform to hackneyed ideas of how good girls ought to behave. Often, girls are told that they need to be a certain way in order to find eligible men, instead of being told that if they are educated, self-reliant and independent, man or no man, the world will take notice. How does a man give a woman validation of her existence even in this day and age? A woman is the essence of humanity, she is a mother, sister, daughter, and wife but firstly she is a woman. Her own identity as a human being is often forgotten, under the immense weight of all the roles she has to fulfill.

For women to be empowered, they need to be educated, Kofi Annan, said “Empower women and empower a nation. Currently, only 65 % of women in India are educated”Education of females is of utmost importance though the right to education makes elementary education free and compulsory. In spite of many government run campaigns to support women in rural areas and to enable them to understand their rights, it seems like the tip of the ice berg. The Right to Equality, the 108^th Constitutional Amendment Bill (also called Women’s Reservation Bill) , Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao are some of the initiatives which have been instrumental in bringing some change but a lot remains to be done.

 In order to bring awareness in the society about the true rights of women , we have to be change we want to see, women empowerment is a very loosely used term, but what does it really entail? Subha Rajan Tampi, Sr Advisor, CII, says “women empowerment means together day every woman world over can walk with her head held high and be proud to  be a woman “ Naina Lal Kidwai,  Former Chairman, HSBC, India feels” Women empowerment is about having the confidence to stand up for ones rights. To be heard. To earn so as to have economic empowerment “while leading fashion designer, Leena Singh says Women Empowerment " means to me that every single urban and rural women should be empowered with the right of living life with dignity and being educated to have the personal freedom to live the life with their own terms, so that they can stand tall and confident against any odds they face in life.

True empowerment will come when women have freedom to just live their lives.

Real freedom will be from these double standards and shackles and stereotypes. When they are not forced to prove themselves at every step. What happened to Sita in Indian mythology happens every day in Modern India. A woman has to give a test at every stage in her life. .  True freedom will be from all these stereotypes, when women can do as they please, without being answerable to all and sundry and without being judged as every point.Each one of us needs to come forward and take onus, do our bit in empowering other women and enabling them. We need to lend a supporting hand to other women, we need to exercise our freedom and help other women exercise theirs. We need to respect others and command respect for womanhood.