Dr Tanvi Sharma
kavitaparihardoda@gmail.com
“The market asks women to be beautiful; the idea of Shakti asks society to recognise their power.”
Contemporary discussions on women’s empowerment often revolve around visibility, representation, and freedom of choice. Across social media platforms, advertising campaigns, and entertainment industries, women are increasingly presented as symbols of empowerment. However, the closer examination reveals a troubling paradox. Much of what is celebrated as empowerment today remains deeply tied to physical appearance, attractiveness, and marketability. Women are encouraged to be confident, but often only within the boundaries of socially approved beauty standards. In this environment, visibility is frequently mistaken for empowerment, and admiration is confused with agency.
The modern marketplace has discovered that beauty is profitable. Cosmetic industries, fashion brands, wellness businesses, and social-media platforms continuously reinforce the message that a woman’s value depends upon how she looks. Algorithms reward visual appeal, public attention becomes a form of social capital, and self-worth is increasingly measured through likes, followers, and digital validation. Consequently, women experience a new form of pressure-not merely to succeed, but to remain attractive while succeeding.
This development deserves careful scrutiny. Empowerment, in its true sense, means expanding an individual’s capacity to make decisions, exercise freedom, influence society, and realise personal potential. It is fundamentally about agency. When a woman’s social recognition remains dependent upon her appearance, society merely replaces one form of limitation with another. The expectation may appear modern, but the logic remains familiar: women continue to be evaluated primarily through external standards established by others.
Ironically, this contemporary understanding of empowerment stands in contrast to one of the most influential ideas within Hindu civilisation:t he concept of Shakti. In Hindu philosophy, Shakti represents the dynamic force that sustains creation, transformation, and life itself. The feminine principle is not portrayed as passive, decorative, or subordinate. Rather, it is understood as the source of energy, power, and action.
The symbolic universe of Hindu thought reflects this understanding. Saraswati embodies knowledge, wisdom, and intellectual pursuit. Lakshmi symbolises prosperity, abundance, and economic well-being. Durga represents courage, protection, and resistance against injustice. The significance of these goddesses lies not merely in their divinity but in the values they represent. Knowledge, prosperity, and strength are recognised as the highest forms of social power.
This philosophical framework offers an alternative vision of women’s empowerment. It suggests that feminine worth originates not in appearance but in capability. A woman’s power lies in her ability to think, create, lead, nurture, innovate, and transform society. The emphasis is placed on contribution rather than presentation, on agency rather than admiration.
Historical traditions also provide examples of women who participated actively in intellectual life. Figures such as Gargi Vachaknavi and Maitreyi engaged in philosophical debates and explored profound questions concerning knowledge and existence. Their presence demonstrates that intellectual authority was not entirely restricted by gender within ancient Indian thought. Whether in philosophy, spirituality, or governance, women were not imagined solely as objects of beauty but as participants in shaping social and intellectual life.
Indian society has often struggled to translate these ideals into reality. Across centuries, patriarchal customs limited women’s access to education, property, and public participation. The contradiction became evident: a civilisation that revered goddesses frequently denied equal opportunities to women. The challenge, therefore, is not simply to celebrate tradition but to recover its most empowering elements.
This challenge is particularly relevant today because the commodification of women often disguises itself as liberation. Consumer culture offers women visibility while simultaneously subjecting them to relentless standards of beauty. It encourages self-expression while creating anxiety about ageing, appearance, and desirability. What appears to be freedom can become a subtle form of dependence on public approval.
The Hindu idea of Shakti invites a different conversation. It asks whether empowerment should be measured by attractiveness or by autonomy. It shifts attention from the body as an object of consumption to the individual as a source of creativity and influence. Under this framework, empowerment means ensuring access to education, economic independence, leadership opportunities, personal security, and equal participation in public life.
If society genuinely honours Saraswati, every girl should have access to quality education. If it respects Lakshmi, women should possess equal economic opportunities and financial independence. If it reveres Durga, women should enjoy safety, dignity, and authority in both private and public spaces. The true test of cultural values lies not in ritual celebration but in institutional commitment.
The future of women’s empowerment depends on moving beyond symbolic reverence and commercial representations. A society may admire women and still deny them power. It may celebrate beauty while limiting agency. Genuine empowerment emerges when women are recognised as decision-makers, innovators, leaders, and equal participants in shaping society.
The forgotten Hindu vision of women’s power reminds us that feminine strength is not measured by appearance but by the capacity to create, transform, and lead. In an age increasingly dominated by images and impressions, recovering this deeper understanding of Shakti may be one of the most meaningful contributions India can make to the global conversation on women’s empowerment.
(The author is Assistant Professor at UILS, Chandigarh University, Punjab)
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