“Empowering women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, society with stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as their value system leads to the development of a good family, society and ultimately a good nation.”
~ Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
- Social Challenges
- Every minute of every day, the Girls in some parts of the world are told in various ways that they are unequal to men. Instead of fighting for their equal rights with Men, they should be treating them as superior and do all that they are told to do by Men. Gender inequality is one of the social challenges that needs to be eliminated as soon as possible for the betterment of the society.
- Educating a daughter, especially in a poor family, is perceived not only as an unnecessary luxury but also as a liability. As dowry is still a widely practised cultural norm, the birth of a daughter in the family is, in the first place, a huge financial burden. Secondly, a girl by virtue of her feminine status is expected to marry a man who should be in a better social position and level of education than her. This phenomenon is lucidly explained by Dreze and Sen (1995): ‘If an educated girl can only marry a more educated boy, and if dowry payments increase with the education of the groom, then, given other things, an educated girl is likely to be more expensive to marry off’.For a poverty-stricken family, it is unthinkable to meet the dowry demand of an educated groom
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Exploitation
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Many women face exploitation after their marriage. There can be numerous causes of exploitation. Exploitation because full demanded dowry was not provided. Exploitation because husband is drunkard and quarrelsome. Grieved because husband is not able to support the family and so on
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The patriarchal framework excludes women from taking economic decisions at the family as well as the village level. This is despite the fact that many women in lower socioeconomic groups contribute substantially to family income by working in the fields. It is accepted that women, especially rural women, are the single most economically disadvantaged group in today’s India.
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In a poor family young school-age girls are required at home to help the family with essential household chores or for subsistence wage labor. Boys may be spared from such chores and given the opportunity to go to school.
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