Women empowerment is a process to make every woman feel empowered through self-awareness. It has four dimensions: mental, emotional, physical and spiritual connection with their femininity. There is empowerment when individuals understand that they are unique and that their life is important. The journey of self-knowledge, personal assessment, evaluation and connection with others for common good begins at this point.The keys to women empowerment are equal education, access to work and leadership. Education is indispensable for women. Two-third women in the world cannot read or write. Education enables women to have economic independence. Therefore we must introduce measures for gender mainstreaming at all levels of education. States must ensure equal access to education for girls and boys, regardless of their age, socio-economic status, cultural and religious backgrounds. Curriculum at all stages of education should advocate equality between women and men.
According to available data, female literacy is only 55.1 percent in Nepal. It is important to invest on health and education of women to create strong ripple effects that spread throughout the society. An old African proverb goes: "If we educate a child, we prepare a home. If we educate a woman, we prepare the entire village."
Women have little space in workplaces. Women make up half the world's population, but less than half of them are involved in economic activities. Men dominate the workplaces everywhere. If at all women get involved, they tend to be trapped in under-recognized jobs and low-paid activities. Internationally, women earn only three quarters of what men earn, even with the same level of educational status.
Women in Nepal spend twice as much time as men on domestic chores and four times as much taking care of children. Unsurprisingly, girls and women are main victims of poverty in Nepal.
Nepal must bring policies to eliminate gender disparities in jobs. Let us not forget women account for over 70 percent of global consumer spending. If we are to promote economic growth, we must empower women. Economic policy can be a powerful tool to change existing discrimination, apart from giving them better access to healthcare, education and jobs.
Policies such as maternity care, affordable childcare, credits or tax benefits for low-paid workers need to be promoted. We also need to eliminate macho-mentality that prevails in workplaces.
A woman lacks equal access to political power and physical assets. Yet if she is given leadership role she can perform much better than her male counterpart. Women are less likely to take risky decisions. An experiment with investment firms in the 1990s showed that 45 percent more men, compared to women, are involved with the speculative stock market. Men are also more likely to lose.
Over the years, Nepal has made great strides towards gender equality. But we have miles to go before we achieve true equality. It is time to fulfill the promise and create a world in which every little girl in every corner of our country can live and fulfill her dream, unhindered. If we dare, we can make a real difference.
The author is a social worker and yoga instructor
anu@anitayadav.com
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