International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, April, 2012. ISSN- 0974-2832, RNI-RAJBIL 2009/29954; VoL.

IV * ISSUE-39

Research Paper - Sociology

Rural Women Empowerment in India

* Dr Yogesh Sharma
April , 2012

* Lecturer in Sociology Shri B.D.Todi PG College, Laxmangarh, Sikar ,Raj. Empowerment of women involves many things such as Measures To Strengthen Women's EmpowermentAnd economic opportunity, property rights, political repre- Rural Development: Empowerment of women is the prime objecsentation, social equality, personal rights and so on. Historically the world over, either by law or by custom, tive of all development programmes and polices. These the status of women is undermined by asymmetrical programmes could be planned properly and implepower relationships in decision-making, personal and mented effectively in order to attain self-sufficiency social rights, access to resources and entitlement. and self-reliance. U.N. Commission on Status of Women Women in many countries still lack rights to inherit says: Women constitute half of the world's population, property, own land, get education, obtain credit, earn accomplish about two theirs of its work hours, receive income or work outside home, control their fertility; one tenth of the world's income following measures can they are still widely under-represented in involvement strength self-employment in rural area in the service in decision-making at the household or social level. sector, which will generate additional income leading Empowerment by means of modest income- to economic independence of women: generation projects is clearly insufficient to ameliorate 1. Identification and organization of innovative and high income generating activities suitable for women. the prospects for a high quality of life for women. UNDP Report indicates that while 67 per cent 2. Development of entrepreneurial abilities of women of the world's work is done by women, only 10 per cent by organizing special type of training. of global income is earning by women and a mere 1 3. Encouraging women to take up part-time jobs while percent of global property is owned by women. Ac- being in the house itself, to earn additional income to cording to Amartya Sen, "Women are less likely to support the family. 4. Effective planning at the micro-level. secure favorable outcomes for themselves in house5. Adequate representation of women experts in the hold decision making processes. They feel that their case of women related development planning long term security lies in subordinating their well being 6. Central and State Governments to place more emphato that of male authority figures." sis on untouched areas in the service sector to involve According to Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize women. winner Md. Yunus "Rural Development means devel- 7. Government can establish a separate mechanism opment of weaker sections, low income groups, debar levels to look after women's employment and their probform development, depressed, exploited and livelihood lems. needy like ST/SC, minorities, unemployed and women 8. Development of infrastructure facilities and supare needed sensitive Micro-finance and Micro-credit portive services like land building, transport and also soft loan, without guarantor loan and financial assis- to look after the children. tance to needy person, than they can survive and 9. Encouraging women through formal and non-formal develop." In reality rural farmwomen are invisible in education to involve themselves in the service sector. statistics, they remain unreached and unattended in 10. Organising women service through women's assoplanned development efforts and are with no access ciations, co-operative societies or Mahila Mandals, and control on the resources. self-help groups etc. Rural Indian women are extensively involved 11. Establishment of supervisory bodies to monitor the in agricultural activities. However, the nature and ex- implementation of Constitutional provisions related tent of their involvement differs with the variations in to. agro-production systems. The mode of female partici- 12. Steps to make women aware of technical and finanpation in agricultural production varies with the land- cial assistance available to women entrepreneurs, and owning status of farm households. Their roles range to encourage them through concessions and incentives to enter into the service sector related to women from Managers to Landless labourers.
SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN

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International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, April, 2012. ISSN- 0974-2832, RNI-RAJBIL 2009/29954; VoL. IV * ISSUE-39

13. Government should encourage research and development in the service sector to find out high incomes generating activities suitable for women. 14. Wide publicity to training programmes in the service sector. 15. Creating awareness among educated and uneducated women about the availability of facilities and concessions for entrepreneurs. As per the 2001 census, the total female population of India is estimated at 495.74 million. This is 48.3 per cent of the countries total population. The figure shows that women are vital human resources of the country. Thus they are considered to be the most critical determinant for its overall social-economic development. According this census report, total number of rural working person was 31.06 crore in which male 19.92 crore and female 11.14 crore, where as in urban area total employed male 7.62 crore and female 1.15 crore out of total 9.18, crore working persons. This figure shows discrimination in employment sector. But a fact comes her that more working women are in rural area than urban area. These women are not engaged much paying jobs. Women in India form 89 per cent of informal and unorganized sector. Women's work participation rate is higher in rural areas. Women makeup for onethird of the labour force of India, where 90 per cent rural women workers are unskilled and 10 per cent women in urban area. In this regard 77 per cent women are in agriculture sector and in construction area only 10 per cent. In the organized sector up to 31 March 2002 in public and private both sectors the number of working women was only 49.5 lakh and number of men 6 times to women. It is 18.1 per cent of total employed persons in this sector. After micro analysis of working women, it is found the more women are working in social, service and personnel sector, it is 56.5 per cent in construction sector, 20.6 per cent agriculture and allied activities 9.4 per cent and insurance finance sector 5.2 per cent. Most of the Indian women are working on lower and

general posts like clerks, Nurses and school teachers. Labour Ministry organized survey by National Sample Survey Organisation that calculated that total 11 crore 80 lakh women are working in unorganized sector. They are mostly agricultural labour, Khomachawala, working as casual labour, in construction works and domestic services on lower wages. Most of the key posts of any department in full of with male, very few for women. Women are 14.1 per cent supervisor and medium grade posts and only 4.3 per women are officers here. But only 4 per cent women are on apex posts on various departments. These statistics show the case of discrimination in employment sector not only rural area but urban area also. Poverty distribution in rural area is gender biased because it is growing faster among rural women than rural men. Over the past 20 years, for example the number of women in absolute poverty rose by 50 per cent against 30 per cent of rural men. A poor woman involves herself in house making and rearing of hunger child, she does not spare time for searching the employment. Rural women are subjected to some hindrances, which impose limitations on their potential to play their role effectively. Women are said to have equal status in the society, but when it comes to actual decision-making, men have final say while women have to accept a subservient status. The poverty alleviation programme should form part of sectoral Programmes and area planning. The government agencies should be care on feminisation of poverty in rural areas. In this regard community based micro-enterprises like cotton coir rope making, coconut coir rope making, coconut leaf thatching, pickle manufacture, group leaf plate making, spices production, honey and food processing, agarbatti making etc. have proved to be most viable economic activities for rural women in the country to drive the beneficiaries out of the poverty trap. Here the products are produced according to local demand patterns and are consumed in the same locality.

R E F E R E N C E
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