ROLE OF MEN
IN EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
“The
heaven is under feet of mothers”
-Prophet Muhammad
The subject of “Role of men in empowerment
of women” has become a burning issue all over the
world including India since last few decades. Many agencies of United Nations in their reports have emphasized that gender issue is
to be given utmost
priority. It is held
that women now cannot be asked to wait
for any more for equality.
Inequalities
between men and
women and discrimination against women have also been age-old
issues
all over the world.
Thus, women’s quest for equality
with man is a universal
phenomenon. What exists for men is
demanded by women? They have demanded equality with men in matters of education, employment, inheritance, marriage,
and politics and recently in the field of religion
also to serve as cleric (in Hinduism and Islam). Women want to
have for themselves
the same strategies of change
which men folk
have.
The political domain
The empowerment of women has long been a goal of development work and
it results from the respect of women’s rights and also because women’s
political participation, their education, socio-economic status, legal rights
(for example, related to land inheritance), health and welfare are intricately
linked to the survival of children and an improvement in the human condition.
Equality is key to the formation of a democratic society which aspires to
social justice and human rights. It is achieved by addressing imbalances in families,
communities and nations. Thus action is required in political, economic, social
and cultural spheres to ensure that women are not subjected to discrimination.
International
conferences of the last decade such as the 1993 conference on Human Rights, the
1994 International Conference on Population and Development, and the 1995
Fourth World Conference on Women, established that women’s rights are human
rights and that gender equality is key to national development, the
institutionalization of democracy and good governance. Organizations,
communities and governments were required to integrate women’s empowerment in
their activities and to eliminate or modify practices that are discriminatory
of women and that curtail their pursuit of rights and capabilities.
The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) stipulates the urgency of eliminating stereotypes, customs, and norms
that give rise to the many legal, political and economic constraints on women.
Article I of CEDAW defines discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion, or
restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of
impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women,
irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women,
human rights, and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social,
cultural, civil or any other field.” Discriminations contribute to the
perpetuation of gender inequalities.
For
instance, when women are not adequately represented in decision-making levels,
their rights and freedoms may be violated. Notice that equality relates to the
dignity, rights, opportunities and worth of men and women to participate in
different spheres of life (Kameri-Mbote, 2002). Empowerment demands political
participation, civil rights and reproductive rights for all women and a review
of constitution, laws, policies that inhibit equality would be necessary.
Equally, an enactment of women friendly statutes and policies would be a
prerequisite for gender
Steps of
women
Group 1: Women
should not waste a lot of time being behind men when men are not supporting
women. Women need to be proactive—if men don’t take responsibility, women
shouldn’t wait for them. Women create a challenge for men when they take
action, are constructive, don’t argue and show men that women are capable of
achieving results.
Group 2: Women trade
unionists should seek allies among men, seek out an individual who seems
sympathetic, speak to him outside the union, then speak to two or three more
men, and then these men will go back to the group and begin to sow the seeds
for change.
Group 3: Hold union candidates to their campaign
promises regarding gender equality. Hold gender awareness trainings. Develop
gender policies and codes of conduct. For example, during meetings, men need to
start listening more and talking less.
Group 4: Include men in trainings on gender and
gender violence. Hold mixed and single sex trainings so men can be more open in
all-male groups. Set rules so that any union leader involved in sexual
harassment is removed from positions of power. When creating committees, ensure
they are equally composed of men and women.
Men are
essential for empowering women
Empowering women to know and exercise their
rights, training them to be assertive, to be vigilant enough to claim what
belongs to them will never bear the real outcomes that we anticipate as long as
men are left out of the conversation and allowed to perpetuate patriarchal
practices. Women’s empowerment is indeed a man’s issue too.
The quotes are from the former president of
the World Bank Group, Robert B. Zoellick, which states that, “Gender and women
empowerment are also at the core of what we need to do in development. It is
not just a women’s issue. Improved economic opportunities for women lead to
better outcomes for families, societies and countries.”
We know that women’s empowerment, the
unveiling of economic opportunities for women, is fundamental to our quest to
transform societies and nations. Zimbabwe is one nation that has seen many
structural re-organizations, including the formation of gender-related organizations
and government ministries to foster the advancement of the interests, rights
and wills of present day women. But Zoellick made one observation that might
have been missed in the whole gender discourse; that it’s not just a women’s
issue.
And this omission has led many men of today
to view the whole gender agenda with corrupted and distorted mindsets.
Dialogue and collaboration between men and
women is essential for the fulfillment of the rights of women. An end to GBV, a
social illness that has plagued our societies for decades and centuries to the
point of even being tolerated, necessarily involves men; men like the one, for
it is they that perpetrate the violence.
Inclusion of men at all levels in the fight
means that they begin to understand that the rights of women are not a
privilege, that they are entitled to them as equal human beings, equal partners
and equal participants in all matters of the state.
Four of the main processes that
could lead to women's empowerment, as defined by the IFAD evaluation, were:
·
Changes in women's mobility and
social interaction;
·
Changes in women's labour patterns;
·
Changes in women's access to and
control over resources; and
·
Changes in women's control over
decision-making.
Changes
in women's mobility and interaction.
The
evaluation found that women had become more mobile and begun to have new
interactions with a range of officials. There was even a growing willingness on
the part of group members to approach the Panchayats and Collectors with
petitions or grievances. In all, the evaluation found that:
·
50% of women group members had
visited new places and travelled longer distances; and
·
94% had experienced new
interactions with staff of institutions such as banks, district and block
development organizations, NGOs and the project itself.
The study observes that this type
of change was most likely to occur among women group members when:
·
the women involved were heads of
households or were older;
·
the women involved had participated
in training;
·
their group members had accessed a
bank loan;
·
their group had undertaken
community action initiatives; or
·
their group had been organized into
a federation and encouraged to participate in special events (such as Women's
Day, Rural Women's Day)
Changes
in women's labour patterns.
The evaluation did not find any major changes
in gender division of labour. However, there were indications of such changes
beginning. For instance, the group meetings themselves forced some of the
husbands to look after children and feed themselves while their wives attended
the meetings. The evaluation found that the extent to which men helped in reproductive
tasks was related to the health of the woman (men helped more if women were
sick), the type of household (men helped more in a nuclear household), and the
gender and age of the children (men helped less if girl children were present
to help).
There was comparatively greater
change reported in non-domestic productive tasks. Not all the changes in such
labour patterns can be viewed as beneficial to women.
·
Fully 30% of women who had taken
bank loans reported a marked change in gender roles, and 70% reported a small
change. (Greater change was reported by women heads of households, which
implies that changes in the division of labour were not always involved, but
that the women themselves adopted new productive roles.)
·
However, the income-generating activities
of the majority of women in male-headed households (for which loans had been
taken) continued to be managed by men (presumably, the women's husbands).
·
The workload of 94% of the women
who had taken loans increased compared with their previous workload (many had
been wage labourers).
Therefore, the changes in women's
labour patterns were mixed, and not as positive as along other dimensions.
There was little indication that women's control over their labour had
undergone a marked change, and the evaluation noted that many women may simply
have gone from undertaking paid work outside the home to becoming unpaid family
labourers (in male-managed enterprises). At least self-employment allows women
the possibility to have better working conditions, save on travel time, and be
able to more effectively combine reproductive and productive roles.
Changes
in access to and control over resources.
The
evaluation also looked into women group members' access to non-loan-related
resources and benefits, and particularly to common resources. It seems that a
number of the groups undertook activities that would give their communities
better infrastructure or services, for instance in water supply, child-care
facilities, health care services and improved roads. In this sense, they played
a key role in promoting changes in collective access to resources.
Changes
in intra-household decision-making.
The
evaluation concluded that there seemed to be a slight improvement in women's
involvement in household decision-making in male-headed households, on such
issues as credit, the disposal of household assets, children's education, and
family health care. However, the traditional gender-based divisions persist in
intra-household decision-making. Women basically decide on food preparation,
and men make the financial decisions. But group members had become more aware
of their property and political rights (which was part of group training). As
in the case of mobility and social interaction, the evaluation again found
greater improvements among women heads of households, older women, and more
educated women.
Importance of women
If we want to see a more equal playing field
for both women and men on an international scale, we need to include both
parties in the process.
What we'll see further is that the men who
lost their jobs then experienced extreme pressure to find another job or
occupation to support their families, which is why so many men then joined the
Extremist rebel groups that went on to carry out the genocide. What this gender
perspective gives us is a more in-depth understanding of one of the factors
that played a role in why the conflict rose to such extremes.
It gives us
an idea of how important not just a women’s or men’s perspectives is, but how
both perspectives are necessary in understanding why certain events occur and
what can be done to bring about change.
Currently, Rwanda’s post-genocide
government is run by an elected majority of women, who now all have access to
bank loans, land ownership, education, and the formal workforce. One of the
many reasons Rwanda's gender equality movement has been so successful is that
it hasn't excluded men. Men's Resource Centre’s are set up
throughout Rwanda's capital city, and offer interactive sessions on stress
management, gender-based violence, and promoting equality in the home. It's not
the only step Rwanda has taken in progressing gender equality, and it certainly
won't be the last, but it's important and it's making a difference.
Women take on the a security role
"One of the major ways that Islam is
'othered'— one of the major stereotypes — is how they treat women," said
Ruqayya Khan, chairwoman of Islamic studies at Claremont Graduate University.
"But there is a rich history of women in Islam, and it's often kind of
sidelined or buried."
Both Muslim women and men can work to
reclaim the importance of those female figures, she said. Female empowerment is
an important step, Khan said, because it is not an "in-your-face,
radical" move, yet it still supports female Muslim leaders.
"Maybe out of this space we could find
a woman who is able to think in terms of reform in Islam," she said.
"Maybe we could get a female Luther out of this. Wouldn't that be
exciting?"
For, Ani Zonneveld, head of Muslims For
Progressive Values, the new mosque presents an opportunity to help women feel
more comfortable and set an example for future generations.
"It's about spiritual
leadership," Zonneveld said. "When women bring their young boys and tSShey
see women leading the prayer, they can initiate change as they grow up."
The position
and status of women all over the world has risen incredibly in the 20th century.
We find that it has been very low in 18th and 19th centuries in
India and elsewhere when they were treated like ‘objects’ that can be bought
and sold. For a long time, women in India remained within the four walls of the
household. Their dependence on men folk was total.
A long
struggle going back over a century has brought women the property rights, voting rights, an equality
in civil rights before the law in matters of marriage and employment (in India women had not to
struggle for voting rights as we find in other countries).
In addition
to the above rights, in India, the customs of purdha (veil system), female
infanticide, child marriage, sati system (self-immolation by the women with
their husbands), dowry system and the state of permanent widowhood were either
totally removed or checked to an appreciable extent after independence through
legislative measures.
Two Acts
have also been enacted to emancipate women in India. These are: Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the Compulsory Registration of
Marriage Act, 2006. The Domestic Violence Act recognizes that abuse be physical
as well as mental. Anything that makes a woman feel inferior and takes away her
self-respect is abuse. Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act can be beneficial
in preventing the abuse of in sti tuition of marriage and hindering social
justice especially in relation to women.
We all know
that girls are now doing better at school than boys. The annual results of
Secondary and Higher Secondary Board examinations reveal this fact. More women
are getting degrees than men, and are filling most new jobs in every field.
There was a
time when women’s education was not a priority even among the elite. Since the
last quarter of the 20th century and more so after the opening up of die
economy, post1991, a growing number of women have been entering into the
economic field, seeking paid work (remunerative jobs) outside the family.
Women are
playing bigger and bigger role in economic field: as workers, consumers,
entrepreneurs, managers and investors. According to a report of The Economist,
‘Women and the World Economy’, in 1950, only one third of American women of
working age had a paid job.
Today, two
thirds do, and women make up almost half of American’s workforce. In fact,
almost everywhere, including India, more women are employed, though their share
is still very low. Manufacturing work, traditionally a male preserve, has
declined, while jobs in services have expanded, reducing the demand for manual
labour and putting the sexes on equal footing.
We can now
see women in almost every field: architecture, lawyers, financial services,
engineering, medical and IT jobs. They have also entered service occupations
such as a nurse, a beautician, a sales worker, a waitress, etc. They are
increasingly and gradually seen marching into domains which were previously
reserved for males (police, driver’s army, pilots, chartered account tants,
commandos). In spite of their increasing number in every field, women still
remain perhaps the world’s most underutilized resources. Many are still
excluded from paid work and many do not make best use of their skills.
Conclusion
The rapid
pace of economic development has increased the demand for educated female
labour force almost in all fields. Women are earning as much as their husbands
do, their employment nonetheless adds substantially to family and gives family
an economic advantage over the family with only one breadwinner. This new
phenomenon has also given economic power in the hands of women for which they
were earlier totally dependent on males. Economically independent women feel
more confident about their personal lives.
Hence, they
are taking more personal decisions, for instance, about their further
education, marriage, etc. More and more women want freedom of work and control
their own reproduction, freedom of mobility and freedom to define one’s own
style of life. It is contended that freedom leads to greater openness,
generosity and tolerance.
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