Womens Education

 

Violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide, in all socio-economic and educational classes. It cuts across cultural and religious barriers, impeding the right of women to participate fully in society. Violence against women takes a dismaying variety of forms, from domestic abuse and rape to child marriages and female circumcision. All are violations of the most fundamental human rights.

 

In a statement to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September 1995, the United Nations Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, said that violence against women is a universal problem that must be universally condemned. But he said that the problem continues to grow.

 

The Secretary-General noted that domestic violence alone is on the increase. Studies in 10 countries, he said, have found that between 17 per cent and 38 per cent of women have suffered physical assaults by a partner.

 

In the Platform for Action, the core document of the Beijing Conference, Governments declared that "violence against women constitutes a violation of basic human rights and is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace".

 

The Work Of The Special Reporter

 

The issue of the advancement of women's rights has concerned the United Nations since the Organization's founding. Yet the alarming global dimensions of female-targeted violence were not explicitly acknowledged by the international community until December 1993, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.

 

Until that point, most Governments tended to regard violence against women largely as a private matter between individuals, and not as a pervasive human rights problem requiring State intervention. In view of the alarming growth in the number of cases of violence against women throughout the world, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, in which it decided to appoint the Special Reporter on violence against women, including its causes and consequences.

 

As a result of these steps, the problem of violence against women has been drawing increasing political attention. The Special Reporter has a mandate to collect and analyze comprehensive data and to recommend measures aimed at eliminating violence at the international, national and regional levels. The mandate is threefold: ? To collect information on violence against women and its causes and consequences from sources such as Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and to respond effectively to such information; To recommend measures and ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences; To work closely with other special reporters, special representatives, working groups and independent experts of the Commission on Human Rights.

Incest, Rape And Domestic Violence

 

Some females fall prey to violence before they are born, when expectant parents abort their unborn daughters, hoping for sons instead. In other societies, girls are subjected to such traditional practices as circumcision, which leave them maimed and traumatized. In others, they are compelled to marry at an early age, before they are physically, mentally or emotionally mature.

 

Women are victims of incest, rape and domestic violence that often lead to trauma, physical handicap or death. And rape is still being used as a weapon of war, a strategy used to subjugate and terrify entire communities. Soldiers deliberately impregnate women of different ethnic groups and abandon them when it is too late to get an abortion. The Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women declared that rape in armed conflict is a war crime -- and could, under certain circumstances, be considered genocide. Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali told the Beijing Conference that more women today were suffering directly from the effects of war and conflict than ever before in history.

 

"There is a deplorable trend towards the organized humiliation of women, including the crime of mass rape", the Secretary-General said. "We will press for international legal action against those who perpetrate organized violence against women in time of conflict."

 

A preliminary report in 1994 by the Special Reporter, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, focused on three areas of concern where women are particularly vulnerable:
1. in the family (including domestic violence, traditional practices, infanticide);
2. in the community (including rape, sexual assault, commercialized violence such as trafficking in women, labor exploitation, female migrant workers etc.);
3. and by the State (including violence against women in detention as well as violence against women in situations of armed conflict and against refugee women).

 

In the Platform for Action adopted at the Beijing Conference, violence against women and the human rights of women are 2 of the 12 critical areas of concern identified as the main obstacles to the advancement of women.

 

Commitments By Governments

 

Governments agreed to adopt and implement national legislation to end violence against women and to work actively to ratify all international agreements that relate to violence against women. They agreed that there should be shelters, legal aid and other services for girls and women at risk, and counseling and rehabilitation for perpetrators. Governments also pledged to adopt appropriate measures in the field of education to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women. And the Platform called on media professionals to develop self-regulatory guidelines to address violent, degrading and pornographic materials while encouraging non-stereotyped, balanced and diverse images of women.

 

Defining Gender-Based Abuse

 

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women is the first international human rights instrument to exclusively and explicitly address the issue of violence against women. It affirms that the phenomenon violates, impairs or nullifies women's human rights and their exercise of fundamental freedoms.

 

The Declaration provides a definition of gender-based abuse, calling it "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life".

 

The definition is amplified in article 2 of the Declaration, which identifies three areas in which violence commonly takes place:

 

1.Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs in the family, including battering; sexual abuse of female children in the household; dowry-related violence; marital rape; female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women; non-spousal violence; and violence related to exploitation;

 

2. Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs within the general community, including rape; sexual abuse; sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere; trafficking in women; and forced prostitution;

 

3. Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

 

Groundwork Is Laid In Vienna

 

The importance of the question of violence against women was emphasized over the last decade through the holding of several expert group meetings sponsored by the United Nations to draw attention to the extent and severity of the problem.

 

In September 1992, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women established a special Working Group and gave it a mandate to draw up a draft declaration on violence against women.

 

The following year, the United Nations Commission for Human Rights, in resolution 1993/46 of 3 March, condemned all forms of violence and violations of human rights directed specifically against women. The World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in June 1993, laid extensive groundwork for eliminating violence against women. In the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Governments declared that the United Nations system and Member States should work towards the elimination of violence against women in public and private life; of all forms of sexual harassment, exploitation and trafficking in women; of gender bias in the administration of justice; and of any conflicts arising between the rights of women and the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism.

 

The document also declared that "violations of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflicts are violations of the fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law", and that all violations of this kind -- including murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy -- "require a particularly effective
response".

 

Kinds Of Violence Against Women

 

Domestic violence

 

Violence against women in the family occurs in developed and developing countries alike. It has long been considered a private matter by bystanders -- including neighbours, the community and government. But such private matters have a tendency to become public tragedies.
In the United States, a woman is beaten every 18 minutes. Indeed, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury among women of reproductive age in the United States. Between 22 and 35 per cent of women who visit emergency rooms are there for that reason. The highly publicized trial of O. J. Simpson, the retired United States football player acquitted of the murder of his former wife and a male friend of hers, helped focus international media attention on the issue of domestic violence and spousal abuse. In Peru, 70 per cent of all crimes reported to the police involve women beaten by their husbands. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto strongly defended a 35-year-old mother of two who was severely burned by her husband in a domestic dispute.

 

"There is no excuse for such a behaviour", the Prime Minister declared after visiting the hospitalized victim. "My presence here is to send a message to all those who violate Islamic teachings and defy laws of the land with their inhuman treatment of women. This will not be tolerated." According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in the 400 cases of domestic violence reported in 1993 in the province of Punjab, nearly half ended with the death of the wife.

 

According to the Special Reporter's report, many Governments now recognize the importance of protecting victims of domestic abuse and taking action to punish perpetrators. The establishment of structures allowing officials to deal with cases of domestic violence and its consequences is a significant step towards the elimination of violence against women in the family.

 

The Special Reporter's report highlights the importance of adopting legislation that provides for prosecution of the offender. It also stresses the importance of specialized training for law enforcement authorities as well as medical and legal professionals, and of the establishment of community support services for victims, including access to information and shelters.

 

Traditional practices

 

In many countries, women fall victim to traditional practices that violate their human rights. The persistence of the problem has much to do with the fact that most of these physically and psychologically harmful customs are deeply rooted in the tradition and culture of society.

 

Female genital mutilation

 

According to the World Health Organization, 85 million to 115 million girls and women in the population have undergone some form of female genital mutilation and suffer from its adverse health effects. Every year an estimated 2 million young girls undergo this procedure. Most live in Africa and Asia -- but an increasing number can be found among immigrant and refugee families in Western Europe and North America. Indeed, the practice has been outlawed in some European countries. In France, a Malian was convicted in a criminal court after his baby girl died of a female circumcision-related infection. The procedure had been performed on the infant at home.

 

In Canada, fear of being forced to undergo circumcision can be grounds for asylum. A Nigerian woman was granted refugee status since she felt that she might be persecuted in her home country because of her refusal to inflict genital mutilation on her baby daughter. There is a growing consensus that the best way to eliminate these practices is through educational campaigns that emphasize their dangerous health consequences. Several Governments have been actively promoting such campaigns in their countries.

 

Son preference

 

Son preference affects women in many countries, particularly in Asia. Its consequences can be anything from fetal or female infanticide to neglect of the girl child over her brother in terms of such essential needs as nutrition, basic health care and education. In China and India, some women choose to terminate their pregnancies when expecting daughters but carry their pregnancies to term when expecting sons.

 

According to reports from India, genetic testing for sex selection has become a booming business, especially in the country's northern regions. Indian gender-detection clinics drew protests from women's groups after the appearance of advertisements suggesting that it was better to spend $38 now to terminate a female fetus than $3,800 later on her dowry. A study of amniocentesis procedures conducted in a large Bombay hospital found that 95.5 per cent of fetuses identified as female were aborted, compared with a far smaller percentage of male fetuses. The problem of son preference is present in many other countries as well. Asked how many children he had fathered, the former United States boxing champion Muhammad Ali told an interviewer: "One boy and seven mistakes."

 

Dowry-related violence and early marriage

 

In some countries, weddings are preceded by the payment of an agreed-upon dowry by the bride's family. Failure to pay the dowry can lead to violence.

 

In Bangladesh, a bride whose dowry was deemed too small was disfigured after her husband threw acid on her face. In India, an average of five women a day are burned in dowry-related disputes -- and many more cases are never reported. Early marriage, especially without the consent of the girl, is another form of human rights violation. Early marriage followed by multiple pregnancies can affect the health of women for life. The report of the Special Reporter has documented the destructive effects of marriage of female children under 18 and has urged Governments to adopt relevant legislation.

 

Violence In The Community

 

Rape

 

Rape can occur anywhere, even in the family, where it can take the form of marital rape or incest. It occurs in the community, where a woman can fall prey to any abuser. It also occurs in situations of armed conflict and in refugee camps.

 

In the United States, national statistics indicate that a woman is raped every six minutes. In 1995, the case of a Brazilian jogger raped and murdered in New York City's Central Park drew international attention once again to the problem. The incident occurred only a few years after an earlier sensational jogger-assault case in which the victim -- an American assaulted in the same general area of the park -- barely survived after her assailants left her for dead.

 

Relations between residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa and American GIs were thrown into turmoil in 1995 after two marines and a sailor allegedly kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old girl. The Special Reporter?s report underlines the importance of education to sensitize the public about the special horrors of rape, and of sensitivity training for the police and hospital staff who work with victims.

 

Sexual assault within marriage

 

In many countries sexual assault by a husband on his wife is not considered to be a crime: a wife is expected to submit. It is thus very difficult in practice for a woman to prove that sexual assault has occurred unless she can demonstrate serious injury. The report of the Special Reporter noted that light sentences in sexual
assault cases send the wrong message to perpetrators and to the public at large: that female sexual victimization is unimportant.

 

Sexual harassment

 

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a growing concern for women. Employers abuse their authority to seek sexual favors from their female co-workers or subordinates, sometimes promising promotions or other forms of career advancement or simply creating an untenable and hostile work environment. Women who refuse to give in to such unwanted sexual advances often run the risk of anything from demotion to dismissal. But in recent years more women have been coming forward to report such practices -- some taking their cases to court.

 

In her report, the Special Reporter stressed that sexual harassment constitutes a form of sex discrimination. "It not only degrades the woman", the report noted, "but reinforces and reflects the idea of non-professionalism on the part of women workers, who are consequently regarded as less able to perform their duties than their male colleagues."

 

Prostitution And Trafficking

 

Many women are forced into prostitution either by their parents, husbands or boyfriends -- or as a result of the difficult economic and social conditions in which they find themselves. They are also lured into prostitution, sometimes by "mail-order bride" agencies that promise to find them a husband or a job in a foreign country. As a result, they very often find themselves illegally confined in brothels in slavery-like conditions where they are physically abused and their passports withheld.

 

Most women initially victimized by sexual traffickers have little inkling of what awaits them. They generally get a very small percentage of what the customer pays to the pimp or the brothel owner. Once they are caught up in the system there is practically no way out, and they find themselves in a very vulnerable situation. Since prostitution is illegal in many countries, it is difficult for prostitutes to come forward and ask for protection if they become victims of rape or want to escape from brothels. Customers, on the other hand, are rarely the object of penal laws.

 

In Thailand, prostitutes who complain to the police are often arrested and sent back to the brothels upon payment of a fine. The extent of trafficking in women and girl children has reached alarming proportions, especially in Asian countries.

 

Many women and girl children are trafficked across borders, often with the complicity of border guards. In one incident, five young prostitutes burned to death in a brothel fire because they had been chained to their beds. At the same time, sex tours of developing countries are a well-organized industry in several European and other industrialized countries.

 

The Special Reporter has called on Governments to take action to protect young girls from being recruited as prostitutes and to closely monitor recruiting agencies.

Violence Against Women Migrant Workers

 

Female migrant workers typically leave their countries for better living conditions and better pay -- but the real benefits accrue to both the host countries and the countries of origin.

 

For home countries, money sent home by migrant workers is an important source of hard currency, while receiving countries are able to find workers for low-paying jobs that might otherwise go unfilled.

 

But migrant workers themselves fare badly, and sometimes tragically. Many become virtual slaves, subject to abuse and rape by their employers.

 

In the Middle East and Persian Gulf region, there are an estimated 1.2 million women, mainly Asians, who are employed as domestic servants. According to the independent human rights group Middle East Watch, female migrant workers in Kuwait often suffer beatings and sexual assaults at the hands of their employers.

 

The police are often of little help. In many cases, women who report being raped by their employers are sent back to the employer -- or are even assaulted at the police station. Working conditions are often appalling, and employers prevent women from escaping by seizing their passports or identity papers. The report of the Special Reporter draws attention to the fact that there are many international instruments that can be used to prevent abuse against migrant women and suggests some measures to protect the human rights of migrant women.

 

Pornography
Another concern highlighted in the Special Reporter's report is pornography, which represents a form of violence against women that "glamorizes the degradation and maltreatment of women and asserts their subordinate function as mere receptacles for male lust".

 

Violence Perpetrated Or Condoned By States

 

Custodial Violence Against Women

 

Violence against women by the very people who are supposed to protect them -- members of the law enforcement and criminal justice systems -- is widespread.

 

Women are physically or verbally abused; they also suffer sexual and physical torture. According to Amnesty International, thousands of women held in custody are routinely raped in police detention centers worldwide. The report of the Special Reporter underlines the necessity for States to prosecute those accused of abusing women while in detention and to hold them accountable for their actions.

 

Violence Against Women In Situations Of Armed Conflict

 

Rape has been widely used as a weapon of war whenever armed conflicts arise between different parties. It has been used all over the world: in Chiapas, Mexico, in Rwanda, in Kuwait, in Haiti, in Colombia. Women and girl children are frequently victims of gang rape committed by soldiers from all sides of a conflict. Such acts are done mainly to trample the dignity of the victims. Rape has been used to reinforce the policy of ethnic cleansing in the war that has been tearing apart the former Yugoslavia.

 

The so-called "comfort women" -- young girls of colonized or occupied countries who became sexual slaves to Japanese soldiers during the Second World War -- have dramatized the problem in a historical context. Many of these women are now coming forward and demanding compensation for their suffering from Japanese authorities. "Such rape is the symbolic rape of the community, the destruction of the fundamental elements of a society and culture -- the ultimate humiliation of the male enemy", the report by the Special Reporter noted. It stressed the need to hold the perpetrators of such crimes fully accountable.

 

Violence Against Refugee And Displaced Women

 

Women and children form the great majority of refugee populations all over the world and are especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation. In refugee camps, they are raped and abused by military and immigration personnel, bandit groups, male refugees and rival ethnic groups. They are also forced into prostitution. In her report, the Special Reporter proposes the following measures to be taken for the protection of women and girls in refugee camps: improvement of security, deployment of trained female officers at all points of the refugees' journey, participation of women in organizational structures of the camps and prosecution of government and military personnel responsible for abuse against refugee women.

 

Legal Steps To Criminalize Violence Against Women

 

In recent years some countries have taken significant steps towards improving laws relating to violence against women. For example:
# In July 1991, Mexico revised its rape law in several important ways. A provision was eliminated that allowed a man who rapes a minor to avoid prosecution if he agrees to marry her. Now judges are required to hand down a decision regarding access to an abortion within five working days.

 

# On 9 June 1994, the Organization of American States adopted the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women a new international instrument that recognizes all gender-based violence as an abuse of human rights. This Convention provides an individual right of petition and a right for non-governmental organizations to lodge complaints with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.

 

# In Australia, a National Committee on Violence against Women was established to coordinate the development of policy, legislation and law enforcement at the national level as well as community education on violence against women.

 

# In 1991, the Government of Canada announced a new four-year Family Violence Initiative intended to mobilize community action, strengthen Canada's legal framework, establish services on Indian reserves and in Inuit communities, develop resources to help victims and stop offenders, and provide housing for abused women and children.

 

# In Turkey, a Ministry of State for Women was established whose main goals are, among others, to promote women's rights and strengthen their role in economic, social, political and cultural life. Legal measures are being adopted towards the elimination of violence against women.

 

The establishment of special courts to deal with violence is envisaged. Psychological treatment for abused women is also planned, along with the establishment of women's shelters around the country. Specially trained female police officers could provide assistance to victims of violence. ? In Burkina Faso, a strong advertising campaign by the Government as well as television and radio programmes on the unhealthy practice of genital mutilation was launched to educate and raise public awareness about the dangerous consequences of such an "operation". A National Anti-Excision Committee was established in 1990 by the present head of State. Today, the practice of genital mutilation has been eliminated in some villages of Burkina Faso. In others, there has been an incredible drop in the number of girls excised: only 10 per cent of the girls are excised compared to 100 per cent 10 years ago.

 

? Some countries have introduced police units specially trained for dealing with spousal assault. In Brazil, specific police stations have been designated to deal with women's issues, including domestic violence. These police stations are staffed entirely by women.

 

Ensuring That Laws Are Obeyed

 

These examples illustrate some steps taken at the national level towards the eradication of violence against women. Combating and eradicating this scourge require enhanced and concerted efforts to protect women at the local, national and international levels.

 

States have tended to adopt a passive attitude when confronted by cases of violations of women's rights by private actors. Most laws fail to protect victims or to punish perpetrators. Passing laws to criminalize violence against women is an important way to redefine the limits of acceptable behavior.

 

States should ensure that national legislation, once adopted, does not go unenforced. State responsibility is clearly underlined in article 4 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which stipulates that "States should exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons".

 

Any approach designed to combat violence must be twofold, addressing the root causes of the problem and treating its manifestations. Society at large, including judges and police officers, must be educated to change the social attitudes and beliefs that encourage male violence.

 

Conclusion
The meaning of gender and sexuality and the balance of power between women and men at all levels of society must be reviewed. Combating violence against women requires challenging the way that gender roles and power relations are articulated in society. In many countries women have a low status. They are considered as inferior and there is a strong belief that men are superior to them and even own them. Changing people's attitude and mentality towards women will take a long time -- at least a generation, many believe, and perhaps longer. Nevertheless, raising awareness of the issue of violence against women, and educating boys and men to view women as valuable partners in life, in the development of a society and in the attainment of peace are just as important as taking legal steps to protect women's human rights. It is also important in order to prevent violence that non-violent means be used to resolve conflict between all members of society. Breaking the cycle of abuse will require concerted collaboration and action between governmental and non-governmental actors, including educators, health-care authorities, legislators, the judiciary and the mass media.

 

Even as we are in the 21st century, caste discrimination, an age- old practice that dehumanizes and perpetuates a cruel form of discrimination continues to be practiced. India where the practice is rampant despite the existence of a legislation to stop this, 160 million Dalits of which 49.96 percentage are women continue to suffer discrimination. The discrimination that Dalit women are subjected to is similar to racial discrimination. Dalit women are thrice discriminated, treated as untouchables and as outcaste, due to their caste, face gender discrimination being women and finally economic impoverishment due to unequal wage disparity, with low or underpaid labour. According to the Manusmiriti, women have no right to education, independence, or wealth. It not only justifies the treatment of dalit women as a sex object and promotes child marriage. Manusmiriti also promoted inequality between men and women. As other parts of country in Tamil Nadu also Dalit women are facing challenges because of their caste and gender discrimination. So, in order to improve and get due respect of Dalit women, the various women's forum and organization started as Dalit women movement to protect their rights.

In this context, the present paper focuses on Dalit Women Movement in Tamil Nadu. This study also highlights the Dalit Movement in India and Role of Ambedkar for the rights of Dalits.

Dalit Movement in India

Dalit movement has a rich history of rationalism and humanism. In fact, the historical evolution took place with Buddha's revolt against Varnashram dharama. Buddha not only rejected supremacy of Bramins but also of the Shastras. After Buddha, Mahavir Swami rejected the notion of caste and violence in the brahmanical structure. In the 15th century Kabir talked of rejection of caste system and talked of one God. He attacked rituals and shastras and talked of a society based on equality. Yet the brahmanical system continued by hook or by crook. The brahmanical literature degraded Dalits and talked very cleverly about the pre- birth theory. While Mughal rule in India was a status quo one, the emergence of British power made a lot of difference for the downtrodden people. They brought a sense of liberty for the marginalized communities. Jyoti Ba Phule belonged to Mali community of Maharastra. Pune's Chtpawan Bramin would not allow any Dalit and backward to join schools. Women and particularly of Dalit community could never dream of going to school. Phule realized that unless the community gets educated they would not be able to emancipate themselves. So he started a massive work of education by starting various schools in and around Pune. The Brahmins opposed education movement among Dalits which they had denied for years. Phule appreciated Christian missionaries for their noble work in school education.

Dalit Movement today is at the crossroads. The early center of the movement was Maharashtra since the pre- Independence period. Ambedkar and the Maharashtra Movements were the source of inspiration for the dalit movements elsewhere. But, the dalit panthers of 1970's could not withstand for more than a decade. The Republican party (RPI ) has splintered into so many factions and the main faction led by Athauale is clinging on to the Congress apron strings. The BRP led by Prakash Ambedkar is still enjoying mass respect and influence, still, there is no movements worth the name.

The dalit movement in Karnataka, symbolized by the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) was known for its agitational and movemental character. In Andhra Pradesh the Dalit movement showed some signs of revival in the mid 1990's when the BSP made an attempt to expand its wings to south India. Lakhs of people got mobilized in the inaugural rally. Ex-PWG leaders, prominent dalit leaders etc., joined the BSP in the presence of Kansiram. Kerala has the lowest proportion of dalits in south India. The 68 communities included in the list of S.Cs form a mere 9.8 percent of the population in a state dominated few major communities Muslims, (27.70%) Ezhavas, (22.91%) Chirstians ( 19.02%) and Nairs ( 12.88%) and S.Ts form a miniscule 1.1 percent. The dalits of Kerala are the most literate among the S.C. population in the country.

Role of Ambedkar for the Dalits rights

Taking inspiration from phule, Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar also talked the importance of education. But education must be rationalists and reasonable. Education agitates our mind. It gives us thought about what is good and what is bad. Hence, Education is root of every movement. Agitation on certain thing is uniting factor. It became the famous word of Ambedkar " Educate, agitate and organise" . Ambedkar was one of the tallest intellectuals of the country, a scholar who understood the crookedness of the Shastras. He was an iconoclast and questioned the very essence of Shastras.

Ambedkar fought for the dignity of Dalits. The Hindu Varnavyavastha snatched the dignity from Dalits. It degraded labour. He considered the Hindu law book as the source of caste system and discrimination against Dalits in India that he launched a movement against it.On December 25th 1927, he launched a Satyagraha in Mahad town of Maharastra for the water rights of Dalits and against the Manu Smriti. He burnt Manu Smriti terming it a document of discrimination with a number of his supporters.

It was of great courage to do so in the den of violent Chitpawan Brahmins in Maharastra. He fought for the rights of Dalits and had a broader vision for his community. His main concern was to ensure fare participation of Dalits in political life of the country and he succeeded in getting separate electorate for them, which he had to withdraw to save the life of Gandhi in 1932 known as Poona Pact.

Then as constitutionalist when he drafted constitution and later worked very hard to ensure fare deal for women in the Hindu Code Bill. In the last phase of his life when Babe Saheb embraced Buddhism, his main concern was providing a political alternative to Dalits. It is also interesting to note that B.R.Ambedkar was a humanist to the core of his heart. Even when his so called followers have converted him as a caste man or narrowly interpreted his ideologies and perception, Ambedkar could be termed an international humanist. Poor Dalits who consider him his emancipator. Ambedkar is a uniting factor for Dalits. No Doubt that he has became an icon from North to south from Hindiland to the Southern Tamilnadu.

Dalit Movement in Tamil Nadu

The Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu has long and chequered history. Iyothee Thass, Erattaimalai Srinivasan, M.C.Rajah, N.Sivaraj and L.Elayaperumal Vai. Balasundaram were some of the stalwarts associated with the movement at various stages. The founder of the Self- Respect Movement and the Dravidar Kazhagam, ' Periyar' E.V.Ramasami,( Title was given by Women organizations at Women Conferrence in Chengalpet in 1929.)who was also among the early champions of the Dalit cause.

One of the earliest organized endeavors for the Dalit cause was perhaps a memorandum submitted to the Governor of Madras Presidency in the early 1890s on the horrifying living conditions of Paraiyars, one of the two principal social groups among Dalits, in the then Chengalpat district. Following this, Paraiyars and other sections of Dalits were assigned what was termed ' Panchama land'. Over the years this land was grabbed by caste – Hindu usurpers in violation of the provision against the transfer of its ownership. A hundred years later, in 1994, a movement was launched in the same district to restore the land to its rightful owners. This agitation, in which two people died in police firing, marked the beginning of the present phase of the Dalit movement in the state.

In the 1990s, the Dalit response was to get organized. The regional movements demonstrated the strength arising from numbers and unity, but also brought out some inherent limitations. First, of course was the fact they did not have the resources, the personnel and leadership to build up and sustain large-scale movements. Of the three, leadership was the most crucial. It is in this context that the services of K.Krishnasamy and Thirumavalavan have to be appreciated, the former a medical practitioner and the later a well placed government official. Both of them gave part time help to aggrieved fellow Dalit initially, later they became leaders of Dalit Movements and have since emerged as political personalities. Their sustained effort and personal sacrifices have succeeded in mobilizing Dalits, enthusing more Dalits to devote time for the movements, and generated resources to make the movements fairly well established in the state. The DPI, one of the large dalit political movements in Tamilnadu since the 1990s has been remarkably active in taking up the issues of caste atrocities on dalits in the northern parts of the state. Its powerful protests against caste oppression and adherence to Periyar's radical social values were once well known.

The conflicts between Dalits and Thevars, a caste Hindu social group, the southern districts are not new in the state and Dalits have mostly been at the receiving end. A significant out come of the confrontation between Dalits and caste Hindus in different parts of the state for nearly a decade is the emergence of two principal organizations, Puthiya Thamizhagam led by Dr.K.Krishnasamy and Viduthalai Siruthaigal of Thol. Thirumavalavan

Dalit Women Movement in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Dalit women movement was launched during the year1997 by SRED (Society for Rural Education and Development) human rights organization who worked among women for 20years to promote their rights. During those past period they start organizing women into groups and then as a federation. In the latter stage, they start coordinating al the groups into movements or one forum called Tamil Nadu women's forum that concentrate on promoting rights among common grass root women. Then while working among dalit women, they realized need for separate movement for dalit women with the focus of dalit and especially to protect their rights.

With the help of various NGOs in Tamil Nadu they organized dalit women and start highlighting the issues of dalit wherever they find. Thirty voluntary leaders from 30 districts of Tamil Nadu coordinate together and take this movement to the grass roots. This movement is open for dalit women who can address their issues and atrocities where this movement fights for the rights and justice. This movement is active in 16 districts of Tamil Nadu and takes issues of violence against dalits, untouchable practices, discrimination, atrocities against them and the denial of livelihood rights.

Tamil Nadu Women's Forum (TNWF) is a state level imitative for women's rights and gender justice. TNWF was started in 1991 in order to train women for more leadership, to strengthen women' s movement and to build up strong people's movement. This movement is also collaborated with some of the dalit parties like Viduthalai siruthaigal ( Dalit panthers of India- DPI). However, the transformation of the DPI from a political movement to a party seems to have led to a dramatic dilution of its radicalism. Importantly, dalit women despite their very active participation in politics, continue to lack of recognition and respect even within the dalit movement.

When Parliament enacted the constitution (73rd) Amendment Act in 1993, the move was hailed as a breakthrough in bringing about a vibrant system of participatory democracy at the grassroots level and a paradigm shift in the process of development, for the first time it provided for statutory reservation of elected posts in local bodies for women, besides the Scheduled Castes (Dalits) and the Schedule Tribes. Caste Hindu leaders challenged the reservation of elected offices in local bodies for Dalits. In the elections, Dalits were prevented from filing nominations in several villages where Panchayat president ship were reserved for them. A large number of elected Dalit and women Panchayat presidents suffered humiliation at the hands of the Vice Presidents and co members and even government officials. For rural women and Dalits most of whom were elected to these posts for the first time, it was uphill task.

Women Movement against poverty and violence (MAPOVI)

Women MAPOVI is coordinated body of grass root women organizations or federations from all over Tamil Nadu. Grass root women become members of these federations by participating in a sangam in their respective village in respective districts. In the pursuit of village development each federations has become a local radical force for social and political change concerning the role of women. Each federation was organized with the efforts of concern NGOs who believe that empowerment of women can bring total empowerment of their society. Federation identified their own leaders to lead their federation and these women have themselves become empowered to act as role models and provide leadership among other women. As a result of their growing consciousness many federations joined together, networked to find joint solutions to common problems mainly the issues of poverty and violence. Many coordinated campaigns and joint public actions taken by Women MAPOVI and the social problems that they had been fighting against are the poverty and violence among women.

Movement has succeeded in many issues due to various lobby actions. For instance the public meeting and the rally conducted by Tamil Nadu Anti liquor movement (TALM) in Aundipatti on 5.02.2002 against the introduction of cheap liquor by the state in Tamil Nadu has certainly strengthened the movement. Because, the loud protest of the women, has reached the government and the political parties and they withdraw the cheap liquor in Tamil Nadu during the month of April 2002.

To conclude, Dalit women, despite their very active participation in politics, continue to lack of recognition and respect even within the Dalit Movement. Though there are some women organization fighting for the rights of dalits and to uplift dalit women they joined together as Dalit Women Movement without a strong political support even within their dalit political parties. However, Dalit Women Movement in Tamil Nadu has been playing a significant role through Tamil Nadu Women's Forum and with the support of dalit political parties against all forms of discrimination and for their rights. It seems to be there is positive changing situation for the empowerment of Dalit women in Tamil Nadu, albeit slowly.

NOTES

1. V.B.Rawat, Dalit movement At The Cross Road, Countercurrents.org, 09.08.2005

2. C.T.Kurien, Tamil Nadu's Dalit Saga. Frontline. November 05-18, 2005.

3. Googlee.co.in/dalit movement/tamilnadu.

4. www,franciscansinternational.org/IWD/interview.html

5. Fronline, December 29, 2006.

6. Unheared Voices- Dalit Women- an alternative report submitted by the Government of India for the session on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Geneva. Janurary, 2007.

7. K.Nagaraj, Dalit Situation in Tamil Nadu August 23, 2005 The Hindu.

8. Shankar , Caste, Class and the Dalit Question paper presented at the central

party School of CPI(ML) held on 28-30 November 2001, at Bhuvaneswar

9. Frontline, August 16, 2002.

10. Narender Kumar, Dalit and Shudra Politics and Anti-Brahmin Movemnent,

Economic and political Weekly, November 4-10,2000.

Introduction

            Suleiman (2006) defined entrepreneurship as "the willingness and ability of an individual to seek for investment opportunities to establish and run an enterprise successfully" while Drucker viewed an entrepreneur as a person who perceives business opportunities and takes advantage of the scarce resources and uses them profitably. Entrepreneurs are job creators and/or become self-employed rather than seekers of jobs in an overstretched public service. Using USA standard, a woman-owned enterprise is a small enterprise that is at least 51% owned, managed and operated by one or more women.

            A small-scale farming is a farm holding established on a land area of not less than 5 hectares. In Nigeria, most of the small-scale farming enterprises are owned by men. This does not imply that Nigerian women agriculturists are not desirous of expanding their businesses due to so many challenges which border on gender issues, economic or socio-cultural barriers as well as government unfavourable policies. This paper, a purely descriptive research, employs secondary data to expound on the issues and challenges confronting the development of the Nigerian women to full blown agro- entrepreneurs for national economic advancement. The rest of the discussion in this paper is organized along the following issues;

·        Women's potentials in entrepreneurial skills.

·        Why women entrepreneurship development?

·        Policy Framework for Women Entrepreneurship Development.

·        Challenges faced by women agro-entrepreneurs.

·        Strategies for development of women agro-entrepreneurs.

·        Conclusion.

Women's Potentials in Entrepreneurial Skills                                             

Women in general are naturally endowed with some exceptional abilities, which if properly harnessed for entrepreneurship purpose, could result in positive and enviable results. Women by nature;

v     Have creative abilities

v     Are blessed with ability to persist and pursue their desires

v     Are good and patient nurtures of children, and this tenacity is usually transferred into business

v     Are good innovators

v     Have ability to develop passion for what they believe in

Waton (undated) cited in Okara (2005) identified the basic requirements of an entrepreneur to include: hardwork, teamwork, commitment, appreciation, listening, high expectations, setting achievable goals. Women, by nature and exposure to family relationships, possess most of these qualities that are essential and can be enhanced for entrepreneurial success.

Why Women Entrepreneurship Development?

          Many researchers have shown that poverty is a malady that incapacitates its victim economically and indirectly subject him/her to a state of destitution, voicelessness, powerlessness and even violence (World Bank 2000; Okojie, 2002) Unfortunately, the most affected sex by the above incapacitation are women and children. Statistics show that women are poorer than men. The UNDP (1995) estimated that, about 60% of the world-poors, are women. Women are poorer because they are more vulnerable economically.

           The findings of Thane (1978), Showalter (1987) and Lewis and Piachered (1987) cited in Magaji (2004) showed that women have been the poor sex throughout the 20th Century and have formed a substantial majority of the poor since poverty was first recognized. On why women are the poorest sex, the physical strength of women and various challenges limit them to specific soft duties making it difficult to be enterprising. Entrepreneurship development therefore is a crucial tool for women's economic empowerment.

            The benefits derivable from empowering the women folk are far reaching, starting with family advancement and eventually touching on the national and global economic advancement. According to the Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya H. S. Bungudu, the latest Nigerian census revealed that women constitute 49.9% of the nation's population; the underrepresentation of women (2%) in the nation's development processes in finance, business and investment fronts renders 40% of the population inadequately positioned to contribute to the economic growth of the country. It is the nation that blends the strengths of women and men that will lead the world in development (Kiyosaki 1993) in the field of agriculture and other sectors.

Entrepreneurship or investing is not an exclusive reserve of any gender. Both women and men generate the same result provided they follow the principles of investment. Kiyosaki (1993) proves with statistical data in United States, that women are better investors than men. A year 2000 National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) study found that women-only clubs achieved average annual returns of 32% since 1951 versus 23% for men-only investment clubs. The verdict is; women know how to handle money and can be greater entrepreneurs than men if the various obstacles to development is removed or minimized.

Policy Framework for Women Entrepreneurship Development

There are neither policies nor strategies for entrepreneurship development that is specifically tailored to women (Olutunla, 2008). The Nigerian government's policy of promoting entrepreneurship dated back to the early 1970s. The hope of promoting small scale enterprises to stimulate entrepreneurship was documented in the 2nd National Development Plan (1970-74). This policy continued in the 3rd (1975-80) and the 4th National Development Plan through various strategies of technical, financial and management of the small scale industries. The Federal Government's concern for the menacing problem of mass unemployment in the mid-1980s spurred the setting up of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in 1986 and the Work For Yourself Programme (WFYP) in 1987. Both were essentially joint programmes of training and financial support to entrepreneurs. The NDE operations included three core programmes (i) Youth Employment and Vocational Skills Development Program (YEVSDP) (ii) agricultural programs (iii) the small scale industries and graduate employment scheme. The NDE, though starved of fund for some time, has achieved a lot in promoting employment, create wealth and alleviating women poverty. The Better Life for Rural Women Programme (BLRWP) initiative of a first lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Maryam Babangida, was an entrepreneurship development programme specifically for promoting education, health and economic development of women. It made unprecedented contribution to women through the cooperative organizations. The spirit of BLRWP is still operating today through the subsequent first ladies. A number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also came up to promote entrepreneurship development. Prominent amongst them was the Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN) which contributed immensely towards women entrepreneurship development through organization of many cooperatives and micro-credit schemes and in partnership with the United Nations.             

The Role of Women in Agriculture

A significant amount of work has been carried out in developing countries on the potential of women in boosting food production. Boserup (1970) described Black Africa as the region of female farming par excellence. FAO (1982) estimated that the rural women contribute two-third of all the time that is put into traditional agriculture in Africa. Accat (1983) also pointed out that 80% of African women are engaged in agriculture. Patel and Antonio (1973) reported that 95% of the Yoruba women of the Southwestern Nigeria are engaged in farm works, growing yams, maize, tobacco and cassava, poultry and fish farming. They also participate in bush clearing, land preparation and weeding. In addition to their role in production, they are actively engaged in harvesting, processing and marketing of farm produce. The participation of Igbo men in nonfarm activities and waged employment has resulted in an increased workload for women in food crop production as well as a breakdown of the gender division of labor in agriculture. Igbo women now undertake some of the conventional male agricultural tasks in addition to those in the female domain (Ezumah and Di Domenico, 1995). The predominance of women in the small-scale fisheries post-harvest activities: micro-fish retailing, fish processing, fish distribution and marketing, make women the major players in the socio-economic development of the West African countries.

Despite women's extensive and varied participation in agriculture, they continue to have less access to credit and modern agriculture inputs. Consequently, their farm works is labor-intensive, yields meager economic returns (Buvinie and Mehra, 1990) and operate mostly at subsistence level. International Labour Organization (ILO 2003) quoted in Akpera and Sunday (2008) reported that Nigerian and African women entrepreneurs in general are in the micro enterprise sector and almost invisible in the small and medium enterprise categories.

The Challenges of Nigerian Women Agro-Entrepreneurs

            Some of the many obstacles that hinder women enterprise development, agribusiness growth and improved income earnings include;

1)    Finance

The greatest challenge for Nigerian women in agribusiness is lack of finance. Women in agribusiness need substantial finance both for start-up and expansion. Finance could be in form of equity or from external sources. Equity from informal sources includes personal savings, friends and relatives, traditional (esusu), professional and age-group associations as well as formal co-operative societies.

External finance is majorly from banks (specialized, development, commercial, etc), government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), international donors, etc. Entrepreneurs are expected to provide, in some cases, 25% of fund applied for and/or produce collaterals before accessing these external finances. It has been difficult for women to raise equity for own business because most women interested or engaged in farming earn low income. Many of the commercial or development banks are reluctant to grant agricultural loans due generally to the high agricultural risk factor or because they do not have competent assessors as in the case of fish farming. The high interest rate charged as well as the demand for collateral of landed property or other assets also compound the issue.

            Currently, the Microfinance banks (MFB) are the government's latest major organ of policy for entrepreneurship finance in Nigeria. In an ongoing research conducted recently, it was discovered that male to female application and approval by MFB are in the ratio 65% to 35%. This discrepancy was linked to women entrepreneurs approaching banks on an individual basis and lack of soundly written business plan and/or feasibility studies (Olutunla, 2008).

2)       Manpower and Education

The whole business be- it agricultural or any other, revolves around the entrepreneur (visionary) as she combines all other human, financial and material resources to create an enterprise of value. The chief executive of the business outfit must be knowledgeable to effectively mobilize resources to advantage. Agribusiness at small or medium scale is highly professional, technologically driven and require some level of education. Education not only provides basic knowledge and skills to improve health and Iivelihood, but it empowers women to take their rightful place in society and the development process (Fasokun 2000).

      Entrepreneurial education seems to be the major key policy to promote entrepreneurship development for women in Nigeria. Entrepreneurship education should be inculcated into school curriculum at all levels. Research indicates that Small and Medium Enterprise Industrial Empowerment Scheme (SMEIES) operators ranked the reasons for failure of entrepreneurs' application for loans and came up with reasons that range from bad feasibility studies, poor management skills, lack of proper accounting, poor character checks and attitudes among others. All these are challenges that can be remedied by entrepreneurship education. Even as the 93 approved Nigerian universities have adopted entrepreneurial studies, funds and the dearth of teachers to train the students has remained an obstacle.

A number of current training centers/programs are urban-based, for example, the Industrial Development Centers established in the 1960s are urban-based. Small Medium Entrepreneurial Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) aimed at facilitating credit, technology markets, capacity building, training and technical support for SMEs and provide adequate linkage with women bodies is urban-based and starved of funds. Agribusiness is rural-based and better educated farmers are more likely to adopt new technologies and have access to credit and extension services (Adereti, 2000).

3)          Technology

Many women, due to lack of exposure and financial limitations, still make use of old technology in farming, processing and preservation thus leading to drudgery and low output.

4)    Cultural Restrictions/Weak Land Rights:

The Nigerian culture cannot be described as being gender friendly. For example, the "Kule" policy in the North where married women are forbidden from going out of the house in daylight for business is an initiative/development-killer policy that should be discouraged in this 21st Century. In Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, where women have prime responsibility for food production, they are generally limited to user rights to land and subject to the consent of a male relative (FAO, 1982). Culture and social practices discriminate against women to be enterprise successors/inheritors or own independent assets which could easily serve as collaterals. Such unequal land rights are reflected in the smaller land sizes of women farmers thus limiting them economically.

5)       Lack of Equipment and Appropriate Technology

Despite women's extensive and varied participation in agriculture, they continue to have less access to modern agriculture inputs. Consequently, women agro-entrepreneurs work under very difficult and laborious conditions, using crude traditional technology. Technology is closely related to finance and education. Nigerian women entrepreneurs, especially in agriculture, work under very difficult and laborious conditions, using crude traditional technology. There is urgent need for provision of modern, cost effective and affordable technologies for the use of women.  

Moreover, some new technology has often been inappropriate to women's needs. There is a need to define some priority actions to promote the role of women in the economy because it has been showed that women are productive and efficient when they have access to the right technologies and opportunities.

6)       Erroneous Ideas about Women and Credit

There are certain myths about women in respect to credit which have made them to remain poor and limited their entrepreneurial prospects. One of such myths is that poor women make poor credit risks. This is being proved wrong as Olutunla (2008) reported that Nigerian women have been found to be more faithful in terms of loan repayment to Banks than men.

7)                Entrepreneurial Attitude

According to Akpa (2007), an average entrepreneur is rugged and aggressive. These are common attributes of men while most women are of the gentle and kind disposition. Men tend to focus on gettingthe job done while women tend to focus on being more inclusive and relational. If a woman entrepreneur is to succeed, she must adopt some level of ruggedness and aggressiveness. Success is not gender-friendly.

8)                   Research and Extension Services

For a long time, agronomic researchers do not pay attention to the role of women in the farming system. Research into the activities of women in agriculture is gaining attention only recently. A survey in Ogun State, Nigeria (Elabor-Idemudia, 1991) and Osun State, Nigeria (Ogbimi and Williams, 1999) revealed that Extension Agents visited between 7-10% of women farmers every week compared to 70% of the male farmers who received weekly visits. An FAO (1989) study found government investment on agriculture represented less than half the sector's contribution to national income, therefore, it is reasonable to guess that women's access to extension services and training especially in the area of fish farming, processing, packaging, distribution and marketing are unlikely to improve when the overall funding and availability of services is declining.

9)          Misplaced Focus

Many agricultural projects and programs are not suited to the special circumstances of women or may not reach women at all, thus truncating the intended effort to increase food production.

10)      Market and Marketing

Due to lack of good roads in Nigeria, electricity, poor access to information and poor networking, many farm produce perish thus discouraging women farmers.

Strategies for Women Agro-Entrepreneurship Development

·                    The complementary policy issues in entrepreneurship education should include increasing women enrolment in schools at all levels especially in the field of agriculture to reduce gender inequality. Budgetary allocation should be made to accommodate more continuing and vocational education.

·                    More seminars/workshops should be sponsored and extended to rural areas to increase women's capacity to start and grow their agribusiness, prepare sound business plan/feasibility studies and increase their technical and managerial capacity in agribusiness.

·        Modern processing plants/storage facilities should be installed for women groups on government/private joint partnership basis so that women can process and store their farm produce with ease.

·        The enabling environment in terms of gender-friendly policies, good roads, pipe-borne water and electricity should be provided by the various arms of government.

·        Cooperatives and women groups should be more formally instituted and encouraged among women to position them strategically to access fund and other inputs with ease.

·        The Government should mandate the commercial Banks to produce more gender-friendly loan packages (low interest rates and more relaxed duration of repayment).

·        Women should be exposed to the latest agro-technology from time to time to remove drudgery in farming, processing and preservation techniques.

·        Nigerian women should be encouraged to network more, both at the national and international levels for more exposure, to access fund and export information.

·        Agro-extension institutions should be boosted and more women extension agents be trained to reduce women to extension workers ratio and for wider coverage of women agriculturists.

Conclusion

            Nigeria's vision of becoming one of the top twenty leading economies of the world by the year 2020, otherwise known simply as vision 20:20 appears compelling enough to energize its over 150 million people (nearly half of which are women) to make the vision a reality. To accomplish this laudable goal, there is urgent need to pay attention to the development of agro-women entrepreneurs so that they can take their place in family advancement and national economic development. The government and development/change agencies must not only be prepared to recognize the economic role of the women but must also extend to them the same recognition and facilities as the men are enjoying.

REFERENCES

Accat, E.C. (1983): "Women's Role in Horticultural Production in Developing Countries" A Paper presented at F.A.O. Expert Consultation on Women in Food Production. Rome, Italy. 7-14 December, pp. 3-7.

Adereti F.O. (2000): Poverty Alleviating Strategies for Rural Women in Osun State. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Ibadan , pp.36-37.

Akpa A. (2007): Challenges of the Nigerian entrepreneur in the twenty-first century. A paper presented at the maiden Annual College of Management Sciences Seminar, University of Mkar. 10p

Akpera D.M. and Sunday M. (2008): Strategies for the development of entrepreneurs in Nigeria. A paper presented at the 3-day International workshop on "Promoting Entrepreneurship Education Among Nigeria women: Issues and Approaches" Abuja 12p

Boserup, E. (1970): Women's Role in Economic Development. St. Martino Press New York, George Allen and Unwin Ltd.

Buvinie, M. and Mehra, R. (1990): Women in Agriculture: What Development can do. ICRW (International Centre for Research on Women) Pp. 3-5.

Elabor-Idemudia, P. (1991): Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Women and their Household

in Bendel and Ogun States, Nigeria. In: Structural Adjustment and West African Women Farmers, Christina H. Gladwin (ed.), Gainesville, University of Florida, p128-150

Ezumah N. N. and Di Domenico C. M. (1995):Enhancing the role of women in crop production: A case     study of Igbo women in Nigeria. World Development, 23(10), p1731-1744.


References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.

Fasokun, T.O. (200-): The role of education in poverty eradication. In "Education for the Millennium Development" Vol.1 Eds; M.  Boucouvalas and R. Aderinoye. Spectrum Books Ltd., Ibadan pg.459-475

Food and Agricultural Organization (1982): Role of Women in Agricultural Production. FAO, Rome pg.5

Food and Agricultural Organization (1989): Effects of Stabilization and Structural Adjustment

Programmes on Food Security. Committee on World Food Security, Fourteenth Session, Rome, Italy, 3-7 April 1987.

Kiyosaki, T.R. (1993):If you want to be Rich and Happy, Don't Go to School (Fair field: Aslan publishing)

Ogbimi G. E. and and Williams S. B. (1999): Gender Sensitivity and Marginalized Group: Assessment

of Availability of Productive Assets to Women in Agricultural Development. Unpublished Paper. 14p.

Okojie, C.E.E. (2002): "Globalization and the Women's Enterprises; Opportunity and Challenges". UNIFEM Women Entrepreneurs Forum. Lagos

Olutunla G.T. (2008): Policy Framework and Strategy for Entrepreneurship Development of Nigerian Women. A paper presented at the 3-day International workshop on "Promoting Entrepreneurship Education Amongst Nigerian Women: Issues and Approaches" Abuja. 15p

Magaji, S. (2004): "Introduction to Project Evaluation". Sanitex Press.  Abuja

Patel, A.U. and Anthonio, Q.B.O. (1973): "Farmers' Wives in Agricultural Development: The Nigerian Case" Paper presented at XV International Congress of Agricultural Economists. August 20-29, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Suleiman, A.S. (2006): The Business Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Development, Small and Medium Enterprises, 2nd Edition, Entrepreneurship Academy Publishing, Kaduna.

World Bank (2000): "Nigeria at a glance". The World Bank, Washington D.C

Impact of Education on Domestic Violence and Development of Women through Education

 

                                                                                                                                               

 

INTRODUCTION

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.

- Jawaharlal Nehru

"Literary education is of no value, if it is not able to build up a sound character."

- Mahatma Gandhi

 

            Education has been regarded as the most significant instrument for changing women's subjugated position in the society. It not only develops the personality and rationality of individuals, but qualifies them to fulfill certain economic, political and cultural functions and thereby improves their socio-economic status. One of the direct expectations from educational development in a society is the reduction in the inequality among individuals and that is why Education was included as the basic right of every human being in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The constitution of UNESCO also directs its efforts to achieve `The ideal of equality of educational opportunity without regard to race, sex or any distinction, economic or social'.

            Domestic Violence (sometimes referred to as domestic abuse or spousal abuse) occurs when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. Domestic violence often refers to violence between spouses, or spousal abuse but can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures; people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes can be perpetrators of domestic violence. Domestic violence is perpetrated by both men and women, occurring in both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships.  

What Is Domestic Violence?

            Domestic violence is controlling behaviour and includes all kinds of physical, sexual and emotional abuse within all kinds of intimate relationships. The perpetrators of domestic violence or abuse are usually men and the victims or survivors are usually women and children that they know. It includes:

• Punching and slapping

• Kicking and hair pulling

• Biting and pinching

• Pushing and shoving

• Being forced to have sex

• Being beaten or cut with other objects

• Disrespect, neglect and emotional blackmail

• Verbal abuse and swearing

• Being prevented from going out or seeing people – being isolated

• Lying, harassment and putting pressure on you through threats

            1:4 women experience domestic violence at some point in their lives and 1:10 will be experiencing domestic violence today

WOMEN VIOLENCE IN DIFFERENT STATES OF INDIA

            Over 37 per cent married women in the country were victims of physical or sexual abuse by their husbands with Bihar topping the list. Women in Himachal Pradesh faced less violence at home compared to other states in the country. The latest National Family Health Survey-III found that 37.2 per cent women had experienced violence and cited lack of education as the key reason behind their woes. "Women with no education were much more likely than other women to have suffered spousal violence. However, spousal abuse also extends to women who have secondary or higher secondary level education, with 16 per cent reporting abuse," the survey said.

            The survey showed that countrywide more women face violence in rural areas (40.2) as compared to those in the urban areas (30.4).

            In Bihar, women in urban areas fared worse than those in rural areas. While 62.2 per cent underwent the trauma in urban areas, it was 58.5 per cent women in villages.

            It is followed by Rajasthan (46.3) Madhya Pradesh (45.8), Tripura (44.1), Manipur (43.9), Uttar Pradesh (42.4), Tamil Nadu (41.9), West Bengal (40.3) and Arunachal Pradesh (38.8).

            Among the metros, the fairer sex was better off in Delhi (16.3) and Mumbai (19.5) recorded relatively low percentage as compared to Chennai (40.6) and Kolkata (26.7).

            Nearly, 17 per cent women in Goa have experienced violence, with 17.2 women in rural areas at the receiving end as compared to 16.4 per cent women in urban areas.

            In Chhattisgarh, a total of 30 per cent women suffered at the hands of their husbands, while in Jharkhand, the figure was 37 per cent. About 40.8 per cent women in Jharkhand villages found the going tough as compared to 24.6 per cent in the urban areas.

            In the hill state of Uttarakhand, nearly 28 per cent women experienced violence, with those in villages (29.8) fared worse than their urban counterparts (22.8). After Himachal Pradesh, women fared relatively better in Jammu and Kashmir (12.6), Meghalaya (13.1), Nagaland (15.4), Sikkim (16.5) and Kerala (16.4).

Other states where women find themselves vulnerable are Assam (39.6), Arunachal Pradesh (38.8), Orissa (38.5), Maharashtra (30.7), Andhra Pradesh (35.2), Haryana (27.3), Gujarat (27.6) Punjab (25.4), Mizoram (22.5) and Karnataka (20).

CRIME AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA

·        One crime against women every three minutes

·        One rape every 29 minutes

·        One dowry death case every 77 minutes

·        One case of cruelty by husband and relatives every nine minutes

·        Once suicide every 240 minutes.

Source: National Crime Records Bureau       

CHILD VIOLENCE

           Children are the nation's assets. A happy child will make his/her home and the country happy. The future of any country depends upon the right upbringing of its children, for which a congenial environment and adequate opportunities for wholesome development are essential.

According to UNICEF's  "The State of the World's Children," report for 2006, one-third of the world's children lack adequate shelter, 31% lack basic sanitation and 21% have no access to clean, potable water.  Illness, malnutrition, and premature death are common when children lack the most basic protection.

            A government commissioned survey has found that more than 53 per cent of children in India are subjected to sexual abuse, but most don't report the assaults to anyone.

            The survey, released last April and which covered different forms of child abuse physical, sexual and emotional as well as female child neglect, found that two out of every three children have been physically abused.

            Parents and relatives, persons known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility were mostly found to be the perpetrators of child sexual abuse in the country. According to the women and child development ministry-sponsored report, which assumes greater significance in the backdrop of the Nithari killings that brought into focus the issue of children's safety, those in the age group of 5-12 years reported higher levels of abuse.

            While releasing the survey, Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury said, "Child abuse is shrouded in secrecy and there is a conspiracy of silence around the entire subject. The ministry is working on a new law for protection of children's rights by clearly specifying offences against children and stiffening punishments."

            The survey carried out across 13 states and with a sample size of 12,447, revealed that 53.22 per cent of children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse, with Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Delhi reporting the highest percentage of such incidents. In 50 per cent of child abuse cases, the abusers were known to the child or were in a position of trust and responsibility and most children did not report the matter to anyone.

            The survey, sponsored by WCD ministry and carried out by the NGO Prayas in association with UNICEF and Save the Children, found that more than 50 per cent children were subjected to one or the other form of physical abuse and more boys than girls were abused physically. The first-ever survey on child abuse in the country disclosed that nearly 65 per cent of school children reported facing corporal punishment beatings by teachers mostly in government schools.

            Of children physically abused in families, in 88.6 per cent of the cases, it was the parents who were the perpetrators. More than 50 per cent had been sexually abused in ways that ranged from severe such as rape or fondling to milder forms of molestation that included forcible kissing.

            The study also interviewed 2,324 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, almost half of whom reported being physically or sexually abused as children. When it comes to emotional abuse, every second child was subjected to emotional assault and in 83 per cent of the cases, parents were the abusers.

Children living with domestic violence may:

 

• Express behavioural problems.

• Be more likely to truant or have difficulties at school.

• Turn to alcohol or drugs.

• Self-harm or attempt suicide.

            According to the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) of Children living with domestic violence:

 

Ø      100% are emotionally abused.

Ø      48% are psychologically abused.

Ø      26% are physically abused.

Ø      13% are accidentally injured.

Ø      7% are sexually abused.

Recent figures from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show that:

v     Globally, 1 in 6 children work.

v     218 million children aged 5 - 17 are involved in child labour world wide.

v     126 million children work in hazardous conditions.

v     The highest numbers of child labourers are in the Asia/Pacific region, where there are 122 million working children.

v     The highest proportion of child labourers is in Sub Saharan Africa, where 26% of children (49 million) are involved in work.

DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION       

 

        Education is the process of instruction aimed at the all round development of boys and girls. Education dispels ignorance. It is the only wealth that cannot be robbed. Learning includes the moral values and the improvement of character and the methods to increase the strength of mind.

            Once the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru said, "you can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women". This is absolutely true. Woman of any nation is the mirror to its civilization. If women enjoy good status it shows that the society has reached a level of maturity and sense of responsibility while a decadent image conjures up if the opposite is true. The story of Indian women is as old as the history of Indian civilization.

            Kumud Sharma of the Centre for Women's Development Studies in New Delhi traced the correlation between education and domestic violence to patriarchal attitudes. "Educated women are aware of their rights," she said. "They are no longer willing to follow commands blindly. When they ask questions, it causes conflicts, which, in turn, leads to violence. In many Indian states, working women are asked to hand over their paycheck to the husband and have no control over their finances. So, if they stop doing so or start asserting their right, there is bound to be friction."

Female Literacy in India

            According to last census held in 2001, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54.16%. The literacy rate in the country has increased from 18.33% in 1951 to 65.38% as per 2001 census. The female literacy rate has also increased from 8.86% in 1951 to 54.16%. It is noticed that the female literacy rate during the period 1991-2001 increased by 14.87% whereas male literacy rate rose by 11.72%. Hence the female literacy rate actually increased by 3.15% more compared to male literacy rate.

 

WOMEN UNIVERSITIES IN INDIA

 

Ø      Andhra Pradesh

      Sri Padmavati University, Tirupati

Ø      Delhi

      Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Lajpat Nagar

Ø      Maharashtra

      SNDT Women's University, Mumbai

Ø      Rajasthan

      Banasthali Vidyapith, Banasthali

Ø      Tamil Nadu

      Stella Maris College, Chennai

      Women's Christian College, Chennai

      Madura College, Madurai        

 

            It is necessary to establish some more universities and colleges for women in India. Education is a solution for any type of problem in the society. Education gives strength, power and character. Education helps to improve economic position also in the society.

            The number of women job seekers has increased from 99.3 lacs in 1999 to 106.1 lacs in 2004. Thus the percentage of women job seekers to the total job-seekers has also increased from 24.6per cent in 1999 to 26.2per cent in 2004.

Table 1: Number of Women Job Seekers

Year

Number of Women (in lacs)

Percentage to total

1999

99.3

24.6

2000

104.5

25.3

2001

108.8

25.9

2002

106.0

25.9

2003

107.5

26.0

2004

106.1

26.0

      Number of Educated Women Job Seekers as on December 2004 was 7537.7 thousand. Educated Women at the end of 2004 accounted for 25.8per cent of the total educated job-seekers.

Table 2: Number of Educated Women Job Seekers

Year

Number of Women

Percentage to total

2000

7911.7

27.1

2001

8525.6

28.1

2002

7921.4

26.8

2003

8032.4

26.6

2004

7537.7

25.8

 

Vision of National Commission for Women

 

            Dr.( Miss. ) Girija Vyas took over as Chairperson of the National Commission for Women on 16th February, 2005.

            The Indian Women of Today Culturally rooted, Globally oriented Healthy, Educated, Self Reliant Secure in her Home and Safe Outside With Access to all the Rights of a Citizen With Opportunity to Contribute in all walks of life.

 

MODERN INDIAN WOMEN

 

            The status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. If on one hand she is at the peak of ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the violence afflicted on her by her own family members. As compared with past women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way. Their path is full of roadblocks. The women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armored with their talent. They had proven themselves. But in India they are yet to get their dues. The sex ratio of India shows that the Indian society is still prejudiced against female. There are 933 females per thousand males in India according to the census of 2001, which is much below the world average of 990 females. There are many problems which women in India have to go through daily. These problems have become the part and parcel of life of Indian women and some of them have accepted them as their fate.

FIRST WOMAN OF INDIA

            Women had played an important role in the Modern World. Here are some of the most successful & first women of the world, who lead a Nation, a Party, a State, etc.

·        First woman President of Indian National Congress -- Annie Besant (1917)

·        First Indian woman President of Indian National Congress -- Sarojini Naidu (1925)

·        First woman Ambassador from India -- Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (to USSR from1947-49)

·        First woman Governor of an Indian State -- Sarojini Naidu (UP from 1947-48)

·        First woman Minister of an Indian State -- Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (UP)

·        First Mayor of Delhi -- Aruna Asif Ali (1958)

·        First woman Central Minister -- Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

·        First woman Film star to be a member of Rajya Sabha -- Nargis Dutt

·        First woman Chief Minister of an Indian State -- Sucheta Kriplani (UP from 1963-67)

·        First woman Prime Minister of India -- Indira Gandhi (1966-77 & 1980-84)

·        First woman Speaker of an Indian State -- Shano Devi

·        First woman winner of the Bharat Ratna -- Indira Ghandi (1971)

·        First woman Judge of the Supreme Court -- Justice M Fatima Bevi (1989)

·        First woman Chief Justice of a High Court -- Leila Seth (CJ of Himachal Pradesh 1991)

·        India's officially recognized billionth citizen -- Aastha (Born on May 11, 2000 at ND)

CONCLUSIONS

            Indian women have mastered anything and everything which a woman can dream of. But she still has to go a long way to achieve equal status in the minds of Indian men. The desire of Indian women can be best summed up in the following lines of 'Song of an African Women':

I have only one request.
I do not ask for money
Although I have need of it,
I do not ask for meat . . .
I have only one request,
And all I ask is
That you remove
The road block
From my path.

            Educate all the children in the family. Education is the most powerful instrument for the development of women and children in the society.8th March is observed as International Women's Day. It is necessary to celebrate International Women's Day every year in a grand manner. Our present president Pratibha Patil is also a woman. It is the power and credit of woman. It is also very important to celebrate Children's Day on November 14th and Mother's day.  

Reference:

1.      National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2001). The National Reading Panel: Reports of the Subgroups.

 

2.      UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Literacy rates, youth (15-24) and adult (15+), by region and gender (September 2006 Assessment).

 

3.   Heilbroner, R. L. (1995) Visions of the future: the distant past, yesterday, today,      

     and tomorrow (New York: Oxford University Press).

 

4.   Child and Women Development Report, (2006), Ministry of Women and Child  

      Development, Government of India, New Delhi.

 

5.    National Family Health Survey, (2006), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

6.    National Crime Records Bureau, (2007), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

7.   Census of India, (2001), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

 

.

 

*****

Women Face Unique Financial Challenges. If you were to guess which issue women worry about most, would you guess family, health, time, stress, or maybe equal rights? According to a March 2000 gallop poll, the answer is their finances. This response may surprise you now, but consider the following list of financial issues unique to women.

Consider these results from a women-and-money incubator, and research by Bruce W. Most and William L. Anthes:
- "Women are more intimidated than men about financial issues
- Women earn less money than men
- Women are less prepared for retirement
- Women receive smaller retirement benefits
- Women live longer than men
- Women are poorer in retirement than men
- Women are more conservative investors than men"

We would also add
- Special difficulties for single mothers
- Women caring for elderly parents
- High-deductible health insurance plans cost women more
- Women may defer to men regarding financial decisions
- More women manage daily family finances
- Retirement issues because of divorce agreements
- Male-dominated financial services industry

Earnings Differences
It is a well-documented fact that women earn less than men do. A study by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation as reported by Ellen Simon {AP}:"Women make only 80 percent of the salaries their male peers do one year after college...10 years after college, women earn only 69 percent of what men earn...Even after controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors known to affect earnings," the study found that one-quarter of the pay gap remains unexplained.

Most and Anthes report that "According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women working full-time, year-round, earn roughly 74 percent of what men earn... (and) workers in the age category of 45

On May 10, 2009, the whole nation will kick off the week long celebration and observance of women's health – the National Women's Health Week. This week will be all about women and how they can all take simple steps in order to improve their lives: healthier, happier, and longer. The US Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health makes it their thrust to encourage women to prioritize their health, above anything else.

Various activities and contests will be launched and set up to get women involved and excited about this weeklong event. Some of the activities include the National Women's Check-Up Day which will be launched on May 11, and the eight-week Women Challenge, which is an online physical activity program that begins on May 10. Various other organizations will participate as well, to get women educated and involved in the move towards a healthier life.

Simple Steps to Improve Health

Simple steps are being promoted and encouraged among women in order to bring about significant changes in their health and lifestyle. Some of these include:

1) Getting at least 2 hours of moderate physical activity, or an hour of intense physical activity

2) Eating a healthier, more nutritious diet

3) Getting regular check ups and screenings

4) Discarding or avoiding risky, unhealthy habits such as smoking, excessive drinking, and not wearing a seatbelt

5) Giving importance to mental health; this is addressed by getting enough sleep and managing stress

By effecting some simple changes in your lifestyle, you'll be able to drastically improve the quality of your living and more importantly, your health. This is the change the National Women's Health Week is striving to increase awareness of.

Registering Your Organization

Many organizations have signed up and have become a part of the participation with the National Women's Health Week. Organizations may register online and post their events and proclamations for this week long celebration. Not only does this give a chance for organizations to promote their activities, it also provides a feedback form for attendees to answer and evaluate the event hosted. For more information, log on to www.womenshealth.gov.

Provision of Health Resources

The National Women's Health Week is also a good resource for information related to health. Their website provides general links and resources to some of the most common health concerns such as cancer, menopause, HIVs, and STIs. Log on to their website for quick and easy access to their information.

All in all, the National Women's Health Week is an effort towards awareness, education, and improvement of women's health. In the world today, women are at terrible risk for all sorts of diseases and health problems, and it's about time to combat this.

Normal 0 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT





ABSTRACT



Women constitute almost 50% of the world's population. As per as their social status is concerned, they are not treated as equal to men in all the places. Empowering may be understood as enabling people, especially women to acquire and possess power resources, in order to make decision on their own or resist decisions that are made by others that affect them. A person may said to be powerful when he/she has control over a large portion of power resources in society. The extent of possession of various resources such as personal wealth, such as land skills, education, information, knowledge, social status, position held, leadership trains, capabilities of mobilization.



It is now widely believed that empowerment of women i.e., providing equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities to women, will go a long way in removing the existing gender discrimination. Women empowerment in contemporary Indian society in forms of their work, education, health and media images in the forms of

their work, education, health and media images in the context of lineage, rule of residence and household chores, their context of lineage, rule of residence and household chores, their participation in social and political activities, their legal status in terms of marriage, divorce and inheritance of property, seeking wealth care should be taken into consideration. Empowerment in terms of knowledge and awareness of ones own life and society including legal raise their status with regarded to the lives. While empowerment deals with her or his expectation arising out of the situation. Similarly, a role deals with duties and obligations wile empowerment deals with rights. For instance, it is commonly assumed that the most is a woman, a wife a cook, a teacher of her children and daughter-in-law and so on.



Introduction





Women constitute almost 50% of the world's population. As per as their social status is concerned, they are not treated as equal to men in all the places, through in the western countries women are treated on par with men in most of the fields, their counterpart in the east suffers from many disabilities. The disabilities on the one hand and the inequalities between men and women on the other, have given rise to what is known "Gender problem". All one the world and particularly in South and East Asia and Africa the gender problem has assumed importance during the recent years the gender issue has become virtually a crucial point of argument. It is now widely believed that empowerment of women i.e., providing equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities to women, will go a long way in removing the existing gender discrimination. Women empowerment in contemporary Indian society in forms of their work, education, health and media images in the forms of their work, education, health and media images in the context of lineage, rule of residence and household chores, their context of lineage, rule of residence and household chores, their participation in social and political activities, their legal status in terms of marriage, divorce and inheritance of property, seeking wealth care should be taken into consideration. Empowerment in terms of knowledge and awareness of ones own life and society including legal raise their status with regarded to the lives.





Meaning



Before thinking about the empowerment of women, one needs to understand the exact meaning of the word empowerment. According to Cambridge English Dictionary empowerment means "to authorize". In the context of the people they have to be authorized to have control over their lives. When applied in the context of development the particular segment of population, the poor, the women, the vulnerable, the weak, the oppressed and the discriminated have to be "empowered" to have control over their lives to better their socioeconomic and political conditions,. But the questions raised are, who empowers them and how to empower them? Ideally speaking no one empowers any one, the best way us 'self empowerment', by the segments of population mentioned above are handicapped both structurally and culturally to empower themselves without any outside help and affirmative action by the State and others. But still as long as these segments of population does not make any effort at self employment. It would be long and arduous task and process for the outsiders to empower them.

Role of women in development process

The principal of gender equality was recognized in the United Nations Charter in 1945 and the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the majority of development planners did not fully address the role of women in development process. In 1975, the first UN Conference of Women and Development was held

at maxico city under the motto, "Equality, Development and peace". The need to integrate women into development was internationally proclaimed in the 1995 Bejing Conference. The Economic Survey (1999-2000) used an entire section on

gender inequality. It began with a reminder of the commitment made in the ninth plan document of allocating 30 per cent of resources for women's development schemes through "Women's Component Plans". According to Menon and Probhu (2001), there was a strong plea for investing in women's equality on the ground that this made economic sense and spoke of "the social rate of return on investment in women" being greater that the corresponding rate for men. According to Paten (2002), women's development can be attained by improving here status and bargaining power in the economy.





Sushma Sachay (1998) argues that approaches and strategic for women

empowerment could be possible by outlining the mechanisms and tools that till

influence for women empowerment. Decisions making process, multidimensional

process that are enable worn to realize their full identity and powers in all walks

of life.



Concept of Women Empowerment



Empowering may be understood as enabling people, especially women to acquire and possess power resources, in order to make decision on their own or resist decisions that are made by others that affect them. A person may said to be powerful when he/she has control over a large portion of power resources in society. The extent of possession of various resources such as personal wealth, such as land skills, education, information, knowledge, social status, position held, leadership trains, capabilities of mobilization.



The National Policy on Education (1986) suggested certain strategies to empower women. Accordingly, women become empowered through collective reflections and decision making enable them to become agency of social change.

The global conference on Women Empowerment (1988), highlighted empowerment as the best way of making own partners in development the development of women and children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) program was initiated as a sub scheme of the national wide poverty alleviation program i.e., the Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP). It aims at imparting self reliance to rural areas through income generating skill s along with group organization skills. Keeping this in view the year 2001 was celebrated as "The Women's Empowerment Year". Human resource development and empowerment of women unlock the door for modernization of society,. Instated of remaining as passive beneficiaries, women must become active partner. Participation and control over resources of power are considered as the critical indicators in the process of development discharged women especially in rural areas, possess the least proportion of these resources and as a result they are powerless and dependent on the powerful and wealthy.



Role and Empowerment



We will now realize the vital importance of the terms such as role, empowerment and function for an understanding of society. These terms tell us how individual and groups organize themselves as well as relate to each other. Very simple, role tells us about what is expected from individuals in a particular situation. While empowerment deals with her or his expectation arising out of the situation. Similarly, a role deals with duties and obligations wile empowerment deals with rights. For instance, it is commonly assumed that the most is a women, a wife a cook, a teacher of her children and daughter-in-law and so on. What happens when the mother is also the principal of the local village school? Not only does she have to deal with a range of roles and empowerments, but also with he tensions that may raise out of her ole s mother and her role as an administrator.

"Woman reposes more closely on the central surface of life, while man hunts it in the boundaries of existence, always concerned to overcome, and in the last analysis, to kill. A woman has a secret alliance with eternal life and man with the principle of death. Woman wants to embrace the contradiction of life and to reconcile them in the act of degree so. Man on the other hand release the tension between opposites by annihilating one of the sides, the one he finds unpleasant. He seeks the solution not in love and reconciliation, but in over coming and annihilation. He has a militant and not an erotic manner. The male principle borne of isolation, makes solitude thermal, seeks being in itself and disturbs life as a wholes his being is battle and self service, his willto- life is concerned with ascertaining his own person or overthrowing that of the stranger until the motive of salvation kindles with in him. Woman with her sustaining constitutions is at one and is harmony with the basis of the world. But man wants to change the world to bring it forward to overcome it".



Women's Empowerment in Contemporary India



Contemporary Indian society has been exposed to the broad processes of social transformation, agricultural modernization and economic development, urbanization and globalization. However, these processes have generated regional imbalances, sharpened class inequalities and augmented the gender disparities. Hence, women have become critical symbols of these growing imbalances. All these have affected adversely the various aspects of women's empowerment in the contemporary Indian society. The family and women's work is not enough to say that any society consists of men and women. It is equally important to look at how the two groups of people interact, as well as at the role and exceptions each group has of the other. Such roles and exceptions are a product of the stereotypes of each gender. By gender stereotype we mean attributes and qualities commonly associated with a gender. Thus, the first idea on gender role differences, which a child acquires, is that of women of one's family marrying and leaving their homes to leave with different groups of people. Secondly, men appear to exercise far greater influence in decision making and are far more visible and audible than their wives. Third most of the tasks within the home are done by the mother, grandmother, sisters and so on. At meal times they carry food to the fields for the men. All these tasks, which consume time and energy, are not counted as work and there is no payment involved. In western countries, women's groups, politicians and other concerned individuals have been arguing for payment for house work and childcare. In India, the question of payment for household jobs has not really been an important issue or demand. As we shall see, there are many other issues, which require urgent attention. At the same time, it is important for us to remember that non-payment should not also mean non-recognition. The fact that women are expected to perform all these tasks as a part of their conventional roles and on special merit is awarded to them for these tiring and tiresome jobs.

Women's work participation

As per to 1981 figures 19.7 per cent Indian women were recorded as paid workers. Of whom over 87 per cent were in the unrecognized or informal sector of the economy. The work participation rate woman in 1991and 2001 was 22.3 and 25.7 per cent respectively. The increase in the work participation of women during the decade 1991-2001 is mainly due to the increase in the proportion of marginal workers (6.3 per cent to 11 per cent) in total female work force. It is held

by many observation of Indian economy that without women's paid or unpaid labour the Indian agricultural economy would not be able to function. In the informal sector, there is no legal redressal for problems; no maternity or other leave benefits and little security of service. Working long hours as domestic servants, stitching clothes for the garment export industry, working on the assembly line of small electronics manufacturing units or the beedi, tobacco, cashew nut factories. A woman lives in fear of retrenchment, exploitation and low

wages.



Women's Self-perception



According to Maithreyi Krishna Raj that though women were concerned about continuing their jobs, they were not looking for better prospects nor have they begun with a long-range carrier strategy. Once in a job, women rarely attempted to acquire further qualifications was by no means clear-cut. T.S. Papola's study of workingwomen, which covered a range from those in supervisory post in industrial establishments to unskilled workers, showed that women were more different than men in respect of their promotion prospects.



Employer's Attitude



Papol's study showed that women were discriminated against at the time of promotions tended to be crowded into lower status electrical and primary school jobs. They were rarely promoted to executive and supervisory posts. As regards employment and promotion to supervisory category, male employers defend themselves by pointing out that women did not come forth to be recruited or promoted.



Traditional Positions of Authority in Urban Areas



In the urban areas, the working class, and men in particular have a wide range of job options available to them. The study by Leela Kasturi shows that when unemployed weavers from Tamil Nadu migrant to Delhi, the women folk found jobs only as domestic servants. While men become mechanics, cooks or drivers. The shift in residence meant a severance with an established way of life and the support of the extended family.





Working Conditions



For the majority of working class women, a job is essential. In relation to the limited chances for occupational mobility, when men and women work in the same occupation, female tasks are often the more arduous and time consuming. For instance, in paddy cultivation they spend long hours in sowing, weeding transplanting. In Kerala the extraction of the cashew seed from a corrosive liquid is women's work. Again when both sexes do identical jobs, women often get paid

less than man. Protests are rare, apart from ignorance of legal and other rights; there is a fear of exploitation and sexual harassment by the landlord or contractor.



Traditional Role Expectations



Irrespective of social class there is at the level of belief, widespread commitment to the nation that a women's job just not interfere or compete with her primary role of wife and mother. There is also concern with her physical safety and the respectability of the occupation. Clearly, working class familiar are far less able to ensure circumstances. NGO's SHGs have been working to promote women more viable towards social, political, economic and cultural development micro finance is a significant factor and accessible to small and micro enterprises, socio-economic progress of poor women. Education and training also plays a major role in changing the life of poor women. The several institutions have been extending all types of vocational training, income generating activities and self-employment activities for poor women.



Empowerment of women is mainly related to their participation in decision making with regard to raising and distribution of resources i.e., income, investments and expenditures at all levels. Even though the Government of Karnataka has formulated and implemented various schemes of the social economic and overall development of the rural women, when the present position

of women is taken into account these schemes do not appear effective in enhancing the confidence and capability of the women. Empowering the poor women in rural areas to sustain their surrounding ecology is a necessity not only to stoop the ecological degradation but also for the physical survival of poor people. Almost every village in India has what is called "Common Property Resources (CDPs). Common Property Resources can be defined as "those resources, which are exploited by all people in the village free of cost by expending their labour.













References:





1. Chiranjeevulu, T. (2003). Empowering Women through Self-Help Groups - Experiences in Experiment, Kurukshetra, March.



2. Gopalan, Sarala (2002). Towards Equality - The Unfinished Agenda. Status of Women in India, National Commission for Women, New Delhi.



3. Kapadia, Karin (2002). The Violence of Development: The Politics of Identity, Gender and Social Inequalities in India. Kali for Women, New Delhi.



4. Krishnaraj, Maithreyi (2002). Growth and Rural Poverty. Economic and Political Weekly, September 21.



5. Manohar, Sujatha (2002). Women's Empowerment - Law and Gender Justice. Paper Presented in the International Women's Day, 8th March 2001. Department of Women and Child Development, New Delhi.



6. Sarkar, C.R. (2004). Poverty, Education and Economic Development.