Women EMPOWERED...

EMPOWERMENT has become a fashionable and buzz word. It essentially means decentralization of authority and power. It aims at getting participation of deprived sections of people in decision-making process. In other words giving voice to voiceless. Activists want government to empower poor people including women by legislative measures and welfare programmes. Unless capacity is built in those sections in reality, the power is used by others rather than the sections for which they are meant.

In my opinion, empowerment may mean equal status to women to develop herself. Man should give woman opportunity and freedom to develop herself. Man should control the pleasures of senses and not consider woman just a sex object. Sensual pleasures have no bounds.

Gandhi said.... "The mind is a restless bird, the more it gets the more it wants and still remains unsatisfied. The more we indulge in our passion, the more unbridle they become."

Goal of empowerment I believe, depends on a threefold revolution. First, to change people's heart. Secondly, to create a change in their lives. Thirdly, to change the social structure... I do not aim at doing more act of kindness. I want both man and woman to come out of "psychological trap" in which they have been entangled.

Much more work needs to be done at the grass-roots levels especially in the thousands of Indian villages. The village workers through living and working alongside the villagers, act not merely as advisors or technical assistants but also work to promote a sense of self- reliance and communal responsibility amongst the villagers that transcends divisions of family, caste, class, religion and gender. In working to encourage the participation of villagers in collective decision-making at community level. In encouraging the women to meet together for such purposes where a forum is created wherein they gain confidence in their own abilities and collective strength, and thus begin to make their 'Voice heard' in community affairs and the Panchayat deliberations and the Gram Sabha (usually dominated by men).

The ultimate goal of empowerment of women based on Gandhi's vision is Sarvodaya the welfare of all through cooperation and trusteeship in the economic sphere, equal participation in the political sphere, and mutual aid in the social sphere without regard to caste, or class or gender. Thus, empowerment of village women cannot be imposed from above, it must grow from the bottom upwards.

In brief, empowering women socio-economically through increased awareness of their rights and duties as well as access to resources is decisive step towards greater security for them. Gandhi asserted, "Ganges of rights flow from the Himalaya of duties." The 72nd and 73rd Constitutional Amendments on Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika with 33 percent reservation of seats in Parliament and States legislatures. This will go a long way to have their say. We should be ashamed of ourselves that after more than half a century of freedom we have neither been able to clothe our women nor been able to provide them something as basic as secure and adequate number of toilets and shelter even in the capital city of Delhi.

The paper has five sections. First, deals with the women's influence on Gandhi specially of his mother (Pultibai) and wife (Kasturba). Second, critically examines discrimination and preference for son over daughter. Third, gives glory of Indian women during the Vedic period. Fourth, this is the heart of the paper devoted to Gandhi and the empowerment and conclusion to say we still have miles to go.