Wempowerment, Empowerment & You

In a society which is patriarchal in nature, it is a difficult proposition for a woman to make her mark and do what she wants to do. Yes, women in the metropolitan cities have progressed a lot, and to a certain extent in other cities and towns. However, there is still a lot to improve.

I hear many such incidents of women being strategically forced to get married even if they want to build a career in a particular field. Discrimination is seen in situations of promotions and increments. Go to the villages and the discrimination becomes more prominent. We are well aware about this.

This is where a question keeps hitting my mind. Is reservation of seats for women the right approach, or is there a better way? Personally I feel reservation hints at weakness and inability to compete by themselves. However, I do not believe that women are so. Women are mentally strong, and have the capability of handling difficult situations. With better skills and knowledge, women can perform at par with men. There are many such examples that have already been set. But reservation may not be the best answer.

For the last 6 years, I have been working on "Wempowerment" - a term I have coined for Empowerment of Women. In my own little way of contributing towards this, I have been training women on various aspects of will, skill and knowledge. Empowerment is way better than a lazy solution like Reservation. I call it lazy because it does not really help women to progress. On the other hand, empowering women requires planning, effort and investment, which I feel the government is not ready to do, whatever be the excuses.

We can all make a difference if we chip in, even by trying to empower one person. By the way, I am not discriminating against any gender here, and so would like to clarify that my efforts are also equally strong in empowering men, society in general. Equality must be maintained if we want to build a balanced and empowered society.

I am no Anna Hazare to begin an "Anti-Corruption" movement across the country. But I feel all of us have it in us to start our own small movements of Empowerment. So, just do it!