The Power in Women Empowerment

In the current times of secularism, nationalism, communalism, and all -isms, we have Feminism. The idea behind feminism is fairly simple. It's all about equality and acceptance. Nature has obviously made men and women as different beings, with their own set of traits (exceptions are always beautiful). Feminism is basically a fight that women seek to achieve equality, a fight for acceptance for who we are. Women have to shout out louder for them to be heard. Through the past decades, women empowerment has come out as a basic strategy and obligation for all the nations around the world. But really like all the other agendas and movements, has the fight and ideas behind women empowerment been misunderstood and misguided?

In developing countries like India, most of our movements, our fights for righteousness are inspired by developed countries. Though we do have our own set of problems and demands to be fought for. Similar to all the other movements, India came to realize the idea of women empowerment after it gained sensation in other countries like the US. But here, the idea has been molded, destroyed, and basically only affected women who were definitely not the intended audience. Let me make the goals clear. The movement in our country is sought to empower women through equal rights of education, healthcare, career pursuits, and marriage decisions. But also and most importantly, it seeks to demand the respect that every woman deserves. The movement is intended to ensure that a woman who acts as a homemaker is respected equally to how a woman who works to earn money is respected.

But the hooligans of this movement in the spotlight have not realized that this has actually been disadvantageous for the women who act as homemakers. The entire idea of women empowerment is being portrayed as women doing everything that men do to ensure equality. This includes portraying women as important people going to work, or not staying at their home to take care of their children because this is certainly not what a woman of the 21st century would choose to do.

We are doing it because the men do it and that is our idea of equality.

I agree that a woman is capable of doing everything that a man can do. And we have been proving it since time immemorial but is it all that we women need? For how long should we keep proving our power? Its time to be in our own shoes and do what we love. The movement aims to make sure that the women who choose to not work outside and instead WORK at their homes and raise children are not discriminated against and are respected as much as women who choose to work outside are. We only want to be respected, appreciated, admired, and be treated equally for all that we do.

The empowerment will only be powerful when there will be equality. For men who choose to become housemakers or for women who choose work for their careers.

After all these years of the struggle that we have been fighting for, the change can definitely be seen in terms of basic amenities that girls are been provided with which they were deprived of earlier. But also, we need to ensure that no women, even if she chooses not to work for a livelihood outside is not subjected to disrespect or not made to be felt dependent. Or if a woman chooses to do a job she is not stopped.

Feminism wins when the women and the men walk shoulder to shoulder together and are treated equally. Women empowerment would be powerful when all the women will not feel this need to constantly prove themselves as better or if not better than equal to men; no matter if she raises children or does a job.

It is definitely a time to rethink our motives and ideas and make sure that what we shout for is worth it.