The importance of women’s emancipation cannot be limited to mere tokenism on a single day. Every day should be a women’s day for putting an end to any sort of discrimination and achieving gender-based equality and women’s emancipation.As the famous Sanskrit sloka says, where women are honored and respected, divinity dwells there and all actions are fruitless where women are not honored. In fact, India is personified as Bharat Mata and rivers have been named Saraswati, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, and Kaveri.
For this, there is an absolute need for change in the mindset of people, particularly men. It is unfortunate that even 69 years after Independence, we are still talking in terms of ending gender discrimination.
For an Indian woman and citizen, freedom does not just mean those guaranteed under the Constitution. It also means more jobs, opportunities for entrepreneurship, increased safety, ease in day-to-day living, and protection of the girl child. In short, the road to women’s empowerment has several factors dotting its path.
The Opportunity
The economic impact of achieving gender equality in India is estimated to be US$700 billion of added GDP by 2025. The IMF estimates that equal participation of women in the workforce will increase India’s GDP by 27 percent. More than half of India’s women don’t have cellphones, and 80 percent don’t use them to connect them to the internet. If as many women as men had phones, it could create US$17 billion in revenue for phone companies in the next 5 years. Globally, women make or influence 80 percent of buying decisions and control US$20 trillion in spending. There are also social benefits to empowering women. Women spend 90 percent of their income on their families, and economically empowered women boost demand, have healthier and better-educated children, and raise human development levels. One in three private sector leaders reported that profits increased as a result of efforts to empower women in emerging markets.
Area of Focus
The private sector and business community will be crucial in helping bridge the gap between skills and jobs and enable access to decent work for women. Vocational and technical training, life skills and financial literacy programmes for women to help them develop marketable skills and better decision-making abilities cannot be undertaken in a meaningful way without the involvement of industry. Companies can also invest in women entrepreneurs through microfinance, and bring their goods and services into supply chains. Enhancing women’s access to the internet and ICT can create a merging market of connected women who can be linked to business opportunities. In addition, as employers, the private sector can invest in women’s security against violence at home and in public spaces, and take steps to ensure their mobility through inclusive transport.
Women play an imperative role in making a nation progressive and guide it towards development. They are essential possessions of a lively humanity required for national improvement, so if we have to see a bright future of women in our country, giving education to them must be a pre-occupation Empowerment means moving from a weak position to execute a power. The education of women is the most powerful tool to change the position of society.