K K Bakshi
Social status of various segments of population of our country has seen an incredible change during last seventy six years. Millions of people have been lifted out of poverty and tens of thousands are now a part of neo-middle class society. Purchasing power of a common man vis-à-vis standard of living has gone up in recent years. Aspirational class is fast emerging as a society that is leading the growth story of India. However, despite all these positive developments over the years some sections of society while sniffing the whiff of change are moving up at a snail’s pace. Women constitute the largest chunk of this bloc and the benefits of schemes meant for the social upliftment of deprived sections of society do not reach them as fast and effectively as they should as a result of which women development is still a work in progress. Undoubtedly, women cutting across all social groups have recorded significant improvement but the progress they have made in different spheres is abysmally very mild. Condition of women in the rural belt is more pathetic.
Treatment being meted out to them in households continues to be both shabby and discriminatory. Their subjugation to the whims and commandments of menfolk is still seen as important cultural manifestation of family values although all this smacks of male chauvinism and social hypocrisy. Various self-help groups and women centric NGOs have been toiling hard to change the situation on ground. Their strenuous efforts are paying off albeit slowly. Government and other non-governmental organisations have to work tirelessly to bring about gender parity in the society. Comparative study of progress made by men and women in different fields shows women are still trailing behind their male counterparts by a mile. It further reveals how concerted efforts are consistently needed to bridge the gap in order to bring some semblance of parity between both the genders.
Female literacy rate as per 2021 data in India is 71.5% as compared to 84.4% of males and as per labour commission report of 2022 a meagre 23.97% is the female working population in the country today. Only 14% of female entrepreneurs totaling about eight million are running their own businesses and nearly 20.34% of MSME industry is made up of women led businesses as on 31st of October 2021. Situation in our legislative assemblies is no different. Just 10.5% of women legislators have made it to the assemblies. It is for this reason that 33% of reservation for women in legislature passed by Parliament recently is an imperative need of the hour. Enrollment of women in the premier law institutes is no doubt on the rise yet a very small percentage (6%) of Judges is working in supreme court and about 11.5% of women Judges are serving in the different high courts of the nation. Bureaucracy, which is the bed rock of our country’s governance, is also poorly represented by women officers. Figuresm suggest a small percentage (21%) of females is working as I.A.S officers in the country as per the data compiled till october 2021.
There is no doubt that women have proved themselves in different fields as and when opportunities came their way. Their contribution in the growth of India can not be overlooked. Some hard facts of their contribution to the country’s growth and prosperity bear testimony to the fact that they are second to none and that they can do wonders if saddled with important responsibilities. Maximum number of women pilots in the global civil aviation industry are from India.
Highest number of women in the managerial positions today are also from India. Our women are at the forefront of space technology revolution and their contribution in the field of science and technology is exemplary. Teaching and nursing professions are vastly dominated by women today. Women now are a part of combat operations being conducted by Indian forces in the different parts of the country. There is hardly any field left where women have not made a mark.
All this is indicative of the fact that if given a bit of pat on back, a woman can produce results beyond a man’s imagination and expectation. Emancipation of women shall pave way for their empowerment and once it happens, progress of the society shall get wings and development of the nation a slingshot. Women in rural belt of the country need the special attention of the Government. Awareness campaigns along with literacy programs need to be run in the most backward areas of our country so that the poor, uneducated and backward women come forward and lend their contribution to its growth. No country can claim to be developed unless half of its population moves up the ladder of success with ferocity and intensity. If, even after 76 years of independence, women cry for their due share in the power structure of the country and want to be liberated and empowered enough so that they can successfully challenge male domination and can also unshackle the fetters of restrictions and regression, their so called emancipation then is not only a hoax but also an orchestrated lie.
Society has to step in and make efforts towards freeing women from the enslaved mentality and encourage them to unleash their power and potential not only for realisation of their own dreams but also for overall good of the country. Empowerment of women is a pre-requisite for attainment of the status of a developed nation. If gender discrimination continues unchallenged and unchecked, progress of the whole society shall never become a reality and in order to achieve overall growth, emancipation of women is a must. Those who underestimate the women power fail to understand how crucial women empowerment is for the development of the country and if this fact is not looked into its entirety and acted upon with unfeigned sincerity, our dream of being a developed nation by 2047 could go down the drain.
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