WOMEN DEVELOPMENT OR WOMEN LED DEVELOPMENT

Swami Vivekananda's said  that “The idea of perfect womanhood is perfect independence”

 In February 2018, Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Damodar Das Modi stated that the country is moving from women's development to women-led development and emphasized that the dream of New India is where women are empowered, strong, and an equal partner in the nation's overall development. He further stated that "Today, Citizen has to ensure the participation of women in every field of human life, whether it social or economic life, it is our fundamental duty. We are part of a cultural tradition where men were identified due to women-Yashoda-Nandan, Kaushalya-Nandan, Gandhari-Putra, these were identities of a son”.

But, Is there a need for Women's development or Women-led development? What all are the initiative taken by the government? How our nation is moving toward women-led development?

Let's discuss how India is moving toward women's development? The answer is interesting!!

Women development is an approach of development projects that emerged in the 20^th century, calling for treatment of women's issues in development projects. It is the integration of women in the global economies by improving their status and assisting in total development. While women-led development focuses on "development taking place, with the help of women". 

On 15^th August, 2020, Indian Prime Minister addressed the nation. Many a female politicians & activists who study each program launched by Government from the lens of gender justice have found peace in the unabashed support of the Prime Minister to the national purpose of women led development. Our PM, from the ramparts of the Red Fort also lead a eye on view of building toilets to facilitate the lives of women especially school going girls. From toilets to sanitary pads, a public declaration of services, support and a promise that women’s issues need to be discussed threadbare, has become the mainstay of this central government. The fact that it is under his leadership that the Nation’s first ever Menstrual Hygiene Protocol, was shared to aid administrative endeavours, does not find a mention in narratives that critique gender issues is not surprising. Neither is his decision to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act which aligns reproductive rights of Indian women with 21^st century medicine oft spoken of. He further assured that no longer will women in our Nation be looked upon as hapless counterparts waiting to be administratively and socially rescued.

Other programme which is launched within 6 year of his tenure and How Government initiative is helping in a women-led development? Are explained here:-

·       Jan Aushadi Kendras also focus on menstrual hygiene products. These Kendra have sold more than 5 crore sanitary pads at the cost of rupee 1 each.

·       For decades, Indian polity refused to provide to legislative solutions to married Muslim women who are abandoned under the pretext of Triple Talaq as the cost of delivering justice was hefty considering its impact on an electorally profitable vote bank. Today, new law to banish the injustice of triple talaq.

·       It is proclaimed that amongst the 25 crore MUDRA loans given, 70% of our beneficiaries are women and till now 40 crore Jan-Dhan accounts have been opened in which 22 crores belong to women.

·       NITI Aayog launched the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEFP). The main aim of the initiative is building an ecosystem across India to realize for women across India their entrepreneurial aspirations, scale-up innovative initiatives, and chalk-out sustainable, long-term strategies for their business.

·       The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana launched in 2015 under which small affordable deposits are made in the bank accounts of girls, with the benefit of a higher rate of interest, and the amount can be withdrawn by a girl on reaching 18 years of age, giving her a fund for higher education. This will provide huge assistance to the girls.

·       The Maternity Benefit Act has been amended to extend the period of mandatory paid maternity leave for working women up to 26 weeks. This empowers working women as they need not fear a loss of salary or job due to childbirth.

·       The Ujjawala scheme has been introduced, to empower women and protect their health. This scheme provides free LPG cylinders to women from BPL families to replace unclean cooking fuels.

·       GOBAR-Dhan Scheme— under this scheme, our Indian farmer brothers and sisters will be encouraged to consider dung and other waste not just as a waste but as a source of income. Government emphasis has been laid on turning ‘waste to wealth’ and ‘waste to energy’ through bio-gas. The main aim of the GOBAR-Dhan scheme is to ensure cleanliness in villages and generating wealth and energy by converting cattle dung and solid agricultural waste into Compost and Bio Gas,” This may become the source of income for rural women.

·       Mahila E-haat-  It is a direct online marketing platform launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to support women entrepreneurs, Self Helf Groups (SHGs), and Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to showcase products made and services rendered by women. This is a part of the ‘Digital India’ initiative.

·       STEP- The Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) Scheme aims to provide skills that give employability to women and to provide competencies and skills that enable women to become self-employed/ entrepreneurs. A particular project will be for a duration of up to 5 years depending upon nature, kind of activities and the number of beneficiaries to be undertaken. Sectors include Agriculture, Horticulture, Food Processing, Handlooms, Tailoring, Stitching, Embroidery, Zari, etc, Handicrafts, Computer & IT enable services along with soft skills and skills for the workplace such as spoken English, Gems & Jewellery, Travel & Tourism, Hospitality, etc.

There are a series of the initiative taken by the government which plays a significant role in women empowerment. Women have also played an immense role in the success of government schemes like 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’, ‘Ujjwala Yojana', and National Rural Livelihood Mission among others. The effect of this policy can be seen through the following example.

Examples highlighting the developments in the area of women empowerment are:

·       The first female fighter pilots have recently been appointed in the Indian Air Force. The participation of women in combat roles in the Army is also strongly under consideration.

·        India's successful launch of the Mangalyaan and the record-breaking 104 Nanosatellites launched into orbit onboard a single rocket had a team of women scientists behind them.

·        India has been successful in achieving gender parity in school education. The literacy rate of women has risen from a mere 9 percent in 1951 to 65 percent in 2011.

·       Today, every fourth worker in India is a woman. One-third of all certified engineers are now women and over three-fourths of all health workers at the primary level are women.

·       In a country bursting with an entrepreneurial spirit, today almost every fifth entrepreneur is a woman.

·       In politics too, the figures are more encouraging than ever before. Elected women representatives now make up about 46 percent of our panchayat members. With these 1.3 Million + women in positions of power at the village level, the landscape of our country is changing from the ground up. For instance, wherein the 1957 elections only 45 women had contested general elections, in the last election, 668 women candidates contested.

·       On the health front, improvements have been noted with the average life expectancy of women has risen from 31.7 years in 1950-51 to about 70 years in 2016.

·       Institutional births have risen to an all-time high of 79 percent in 2014-15. The maternal mortality rate has dropped by half in the decade between 2001-03 and 2011-13.

·       The number of women with a bank or savings account, which they operate themselves, Has increased from just 15 percent in 2005-06 to 53 percent in 2015-16.

Criticism

What is the main problem which is related to women's Development?

Women should get equal opportunities with men’, appears to be a general idea, although no one seems to be able to define what they say. For example, we always hear ‘ladies First’, if there is equality and women should be provided with equal treatment then why women are privileged over others?

To be honest, physically, Women can't match men. Men are physically stronger, similarly, men can't give birth. Men and women are not equal to each other. But we can say that they are fulfilling each other. No Gender can survive without the support of others or we can say they are complementary to each other. Nature has created men and women in such a way that mankind will only survive if both genders coexist. Thus, the genders complement each other. I think in this definition the term ‘Gender equality’ makes more sense.

Some privileges are given to women because they are not able to match the physical level of men. Despite physically weaker compared to men, they are looking for a foothold in outdoor work.

Women are given opportunities (by the government) to uplift themselves? At school, work, sports, and every other field. They are in the Reserved category. We uplift the inferiors who are oppressed by a superior. Right? Does it mean that women are inferior?

Indian society is patriarchal. Women faces day-to-day problem related to financial instability, Domestic violence, sexual abuse, oppression, homicide, emotional abuse, etc. Government schemes are an affirmative initiative to uplift the women's status as they have long been suppressed by the so-called male-dominated society. As already mentioned they are not inferior, women and men are complementary to each other.

Conclusion

Women make up nearly half of India’s population. Within her, there is the power to create, nurture, and transform. The modern woman is no longer confined in the four walls of the house. Women are now realizing their worth every single day and demanding gender equality and justice both at home and in the workplace. They have broken the glass ceiling barrier in almost every field within human reach. Almost every fifth woman of India is an entrepreneur- both in urban and rural India. These changes are positive and it is happening at a faster pace than ever before. They need a safe and enabling environment that encourages their empowerment. As India looks forward to reaping benefits from the demographic dividend, the role of empowered women becomes all the more important who would in turn help in contributing to nation-building. 

 

 Rishita Pandey

BBA LLB (H)

ICFAI UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

Disclaimer: This article is the personal opinion of the author. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any Indian Government or any other Government of the world.