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You are at : Home >> Our Projects >> Women Empowerment Programme
 
 

Jawaharlal Nehru said :
“You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women”.

India, with a population of 989 million, is the world's second most populous country. Of that number, 120 million are Women who live in poverty.
India has 16 percent of the world's population, but only 2.4 percent of its land, resulting in great pressures on its natural resources.
Over 70 percent of India's population currently derives their livelihood from land resources, which includes 84 percent of the economically-active Women.
India is one of the few countries where males significantly outnumber females, and this imbalance has increased over time. India's maternal mortality rates in rural areas are among the worlds highest. From a global perspective, Indian accounts for 19 percent of all lives births and 27 percent of all maternal deaths.
"There seems to be a consensus that higher female mortality between ages one and five and high maternal mortality rates result in a deficit of females in the population. In the year 1990 it was estimated that deaths of young girls in India exceed those of young boys by over 300,000 each year, and every sixth infant death is specifically due to gender discrimination." Of the 15 million baby girls born in India each year, nearly 25 percent will not live to see their 15th birthday. 
The Indian constitution grants Women equal rights with men, but strong patriarchal traditions persist, with Women's lives shaped by customs that are centuries old. In most Indian families, a daughter is viewed as a liability, and she is conditioned to believe that she is inferior and subordinate to men. Sons are idolized and celebrated. May you be the mother of a hundred sons is a common Hindu wedding blessing.

The origin of the Indian idea of appropriate female behavior can be traced to the rules laid down by Manu in 200 B.C.: "by a young girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house". "In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent."

One of the major aspects of women empowerment in India is to change the attitude of society towards women. The problem in India is that the society never worked on the premise of gender equality from a long-long time. Atrocities and discrimination against women is a way of daily life in Indian society. There is an attitude which still prevails in India where women are considered to be only worthwhile of household activities and managing the children. The veil system, child marriage and dowry are testimonies to this truth. Women have never been part of the mainstream society in India and they are still considered as a great liability. If we just look at the sex ratio it will show the plight of women in India. It is the lowest at around 933. Female literacy is just 54.16 % as per 2001 Census. In Indian parliament and assemblies women have never represented more than 10%. Most of the women workers in India are outside the organized sector. Administrators, managers, professionals combined together and technical workers on the other hand are the lowest at 2.3% and 20 % respectively. Now these figures gives the real truth of the actual mentality of the society which has restricted women, marginalized women and discriminated against women quite openly. Can we achieve women empowerment in India with these alarming and dismal figures?

Women have always been marginalized and relegated to the status of subjugated class in the Indian society. Due to lack of specific implementation of plans, local communities especially women have remained outside the scope and benefits of government schemes and program.

Women have not actively participated in their emancipation due to their lack of economic independence and illiteracy. There is a need to address the issue by raising the status of women. The key lies in women empowerment through economic self-sufficiency and higher awareness levels on social, political and legal issues through mobilization. There is also a need to recognize and emphasize the diverse roles of women such as reproductive, productive and community management. Women should be organized and strengthened at the grass root level to end their subordination. All India Muslim Youth Majlis is making an attempt in that direction to make rural women self sufficient through various skills training program.

Skill training program for Women:
The main aim of this program is to enhance the quality of life of women through increased knowledge and skills. The Majlis also realized that merely imparting literacy would not be sufficient .The women need vocational training or skills also to uplift their status. They should be able to stand on their feet and provide for their families. 

The discussions with women revealed that they are also interested in learning some skill to supplement their household income. They showed interest in learning stitching and tailoring. Foundation opened six vocational training centers on experimental basis. In a very short duration of six months most of the women have become proficient in basic cutting and stitching. The credit goes to the students and the teachers who again from the community are taking tremendous interest and teaching with their full dedication. After successful completion of the course, they will be encouraged to get bank loans to start their own business. AIMYM has given sewing machines to  women from its own resources to start small tailoring unit.

Employment to Rural Women:
All India Muslim Youth Majlis has provided employment to the 10 rural women who work as literacy teachers and health animators in non-formal centers. This has led to enhance confidence level among them.

Promotion of entrepreneurship among women:
The Majlis has provided two non-formal centers at Sigauri and Natwar with plastic chairs and tables to be rented out in the marriages and village functions to bring out the entrepreneurship among women. These women keep the account and share the money among themselves.

 

 
 
   
 

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