Status of women in any
society is a significant pointer to the level of culture of that society. To
achieve the goal of real social development it is essential that women must be
brought into the main stream of national development programmes by empowering
them in the economic, social and political fronts. Empowerment refers to the
enhancement of the intellectual, political, social economic and spiritual strength
of people and communities to make them a part of the main stream of the society.
It implies that empowerment of all sections of the society is a pre-requisite
for the creation and maintenance of a sound society and achievement of
sustainable development.
Gandhian philosophy of Sarvodaya
is regarded as India’s distinctive contribution to the world. It is looked upon
to stand for the welfare of all beings irrespective of age, sex, race, region
and religion. In totality, it covers the well-being of all living beings. It
means making all happy by removing suffering and poverty with the help of
scientific knowledge. It is a vision that looks forward to the creation of a
welfare state and society. In Sarvodaya society there is no scope for
exploitation, discrimination, violence and inequality. Hence Gandhi gave a
totally new perspective regarding the role of women in Indian society. He
wished that in social, economic and political spheres women should be given
full freedom. He believed that in Sarvodaya society women should not regard
themselves as dependent, weak or helpless. Gandhiji wanted men and women to
have equal status with men.
This paper is an attempt to analyze how
far the empowerment of women will help to raise their status in society and
thereby leading to a Sarvodaya society wherein they enjoy an equal status with
men in all walks of life.
Sarvodaya:-
The idea of Sarvodaya is the apex
of Gandhian socialism. It advocates the concept of organic unity where all
individuals have equal importance and the raise of everyone is dependent on the
rise of every other. Gandhiji’s Sarvodaya ideal thus implies the meaning of the
universal welfare and integrated development of all. It can be considered as
the only way to solve the problems of unemployment, unequal distribution of
wealth, growing corruption in public life etc. A study on the nature of
Gandhian Sarvodaya society reveals his clear cut views on social, political and
economical orders, which are closely inter-related and inter-dependent. Status
of women is one of the main tenets of Gandhian scheme of social order. Through
Sarvodaya he wanted to rebuild the nation ‘from the bottom upwards’ and
establish a new social order based on freedom, justice, equality and
fraternity.
Mahatma Gandhi, one of the
greatest votaries of women’s liberty and rights, had deep faith in women’s
power, abilities and their pivotal role in the reconstruction of society. He
believed that the inclusive growth could be achieved only if all sections of
society, including women participate in development. So we can say that in
order to bring about a Sarvodaya society it is highly necessary that position
of women in the society should be enhanced so that they can function as equal
partners with men in the process of development. It was with this aim that many
schemes like that of political reservation, MGNREGA etc were introduced in
India. Through these programmes it was meant that women would be empowered
politically as well as economically. Now let us have a brief look into these
programs to find out how far these programmes have helped in the empowerment of
women so as to bring about a Sarvodaya society.
Women’s Reservation policy as a method of political
empowerment of women
India has been working for
the empowerment of her women ever since independence. The government has been pushing
ahead with programmes and policies aimed at imparting education to women,
giving them better health care and providing them with means of livelihood. Framers
and founders of free India resolved to improve the quality of life of women by
implementing multi-dimensional development projects and policies. Through such
policies they wanted to provide minimum needs of food, nutrition, health,
security, drinking water, sanitation, environmental protection, shelter etc.
They also envisaged the creation of gender equality and a casteless society
where people might live in harmony. The makers of free India dreamt of a
society, which besides keeping its traditional value and practices intact,
accommodated the latest development processes. They tried to create a Sarvodaya
society where nobody is left out of the development process. But despite these
measures in favour of Indian women they continued to bear the brunt of societal
discrimination.
Gandhi strongly favoured decentralization
of power and authority and in this regard he had immense faith in women’s
capacity. And his dream of decentralization of power was also aimed at enabling
rural masses including women to join the main stream and participate in the
process of their own development and governance. In independent India, the
question of women’s limited representation came up for consideration at the
national and state level from time to time. The constitution after guaranteeing
equality to women in all spheres left their political representation to their
own willingness, opportunity and support. The Report of the Committee on the
Status of Women in India (CSWI) stated that “the right to equality has not
enabled women to play their roles as partners and constituents in the political
process. Instead these rights have helped to build an illusion of equality and
power which is frequently used as argument to achieve their just and equal
position in society”1. What is needed is the emphasis on the need to
involve women into the development process, which will strengthen women’s
capabilities and thereby instill a sense of self confidence in them. To raise
the status of women they must be economically, socially and politically
empowered. According to Dr. B. Vanitha, “Women’s empowerment is a process
whereby women become able to organize themselves to increase their own self
reliance, to assert their independent right to make choices and control
resources which will assist in challenging and eliminating their own
subordination”.2 Thus empowering women means to enhance their ability
to influence changes to create a better society.
The 73rd
Amendment of our Constitution in 1993 was a major milestone which ensured
reservation of not less than 1/3rd of the seats for the women. The
impact of reserving 1/3rd seats for women in the PRI’s has been fruitful
to some extend. The Women’s Reservation Bill 2010, approved by the Upper House
of Parliament is another major step which aimed at giving more political space
to women and ensures their active participation in the developmental process.
If this bill is implemented the number of women representation would increase
three times. There is no doubt that democracy will be strengthened with the
presence of more women through reservation. The lack of female representation
is a failure of democracy, and a proper implementation of seat reservation will
establish equality between men and women over time. Since women look at
development in a different way they must be involved in the planning and
implementation of all developmental programs. However it needs to be examined
whether this massive rise in the numerical strength of women has brought about
substantive changes in the status of women in India.
With the introduction of
reservation or quota system in the Panchayati Raj Institutions, a great
beginning has been made in the direction of legislative empowerment of women.
As it is written by Ms. Sangeetha Krishana, “Panchayati Raj can be the best
system for empowering women and marginalized communities given the facts that
it is at the local level that many women are able to function without upsetting
their house hold responsibilities.”3. Generally, whenever women are
in positions of power, there is considerable improvement in governance in terms
of efficiency, transparency, planning and accountability. It is observed that
the representation of women had resulted in greater priority for issues such as
drinking water supply and installation of pumps, the construction of wells,
playground, roads, public toilets, health, sanitation and other community infrastructure.
But there are so many
constraints- social and institutional like caste and class inequalities,
gender-based discrimination, family and social outlook, violence, lack of
political experience, lack of knowledge and skill, lack of community support,
bureaucratic apathy and so on which disturb the process of participation and
level of performance of women. Hence we are forced to say that the
implementation of the Act alone cannot bring wonders by effecting change
overnight. However, we see that reservation has provided an opportunity for
women’s entry into non-traditional space and possibility for erosion of
traditional gender, caste -class roles and hierarchy. Women are generally doing
well, leaving aside a few exceptions.
MGNREGA as a method of economic empowerment of women:-
The 1920s and 1930s represent a
transition in Gandhi’s views on women from the concept of women’s rights to the
far more dynamic one of role. Because of his immense faith in women’s power, he
stated that “the economic and moral salvation of India thus rests mainly with
you (women). The future of India lives on your knees, for you will nurture the
future generation…”4 Hence it can be said that Gandhiji helped to
change the path of Indian women through his peaceful yet firm ways. He included
women in his activities to bring about social, political and economic changes.
The basic aim of Gandhian
economics is to provide full employment for the poor, really for all potential
members of the work force, so that these workers can provide for their own
necessities by their own efforts, in dignity, without depending on charity. It
envisages the key role of manual labour and labour intensive modes of
production. In a market economy, the basic requirement for poverty eradication
is to ensure that the poor have the purchasing power. This is not to be
achieved by distributing cash to those who need it, because what people need is
not cash as such, yet goods and services and these needs are to be produced.
The way out, therefore, is to provide employment to any one who needs it at a
reasonable wage rate, to ensure that such employment generates goods and
services that will come to be demanded by those who are employed newly. Thus,
in a basically market-driven economy, productive employment for the masses is
the most reasonable and surest way to lift everyone to a tolerable level of
living.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act:-
The main aim of National
Rural Employment Guarantee act enacted in September 2005 was to enchase the
purchasing power of the rural people. It addresses mainly the rural poor and
their right to work with dignity. It also aims at enhancing the livelihood
security of people in rural areas by generating 100 days of wage employment in
a financial year to rural household who volunteer to do unskilled manual work. NREGA
was renamed as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
on 2.10.2009. The work guarantee also serve other objectives like generating
productive asserts, protecting environment, empowering rural women, reducing migration
to urban areas and fostering social equity. Thus MGNREGA is a significant step
towards realizing the right to work, which has been one of the goals of our
constitution.
MGNREGA, as said
earlier, aims to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment every
year for at least one adult member of a household at the stipulated minimum
wage rate of each state. But this minimum of 100 days is the current maximum.
The intention is to create durable assets and livelihood resource bases on which
the poor can rely upon.
MGNREG scheme has several
gender dimensions such as one-third of the beneficiaries are to be women, ensuring
of locally available employment, equal pay for men and women and space for
child care at the work site. Women’s participation in the scheme is over 40% at
the national level with the southern states accounting for very high rates. In
some state like Kerala, MGNREG works have come to be stigmatized as women’s
jobs unworthy for men. As it is pointed out by Dr. John Moolakkattu, “Gender in employment guarantee schemes as
focused on two areas. The first relates to women’s equitable access to jobs…
The second relates to the design services delivered are focused on poor women”5.
All these are implemented because the earning of women are critical not only
for her but also for her family.
The Act stipulates that
priority shall be given to women. In terms of implementation it mandates that a
minimum of one-third of the beneficiaries are women who have registered and
have requested for work. The highest women participation for the financial year
2008-09 was reported in Tamil Nadu 80% and in Kerala 84%. According to Dr. S.
Vijay Kumar “MGNREGA is yielding better results compared to earlier poverty
eradication programs… while the targets of this Act is to provide employment
for 1/3rd (33%) of women in the country, it exceeded this target and
it is close to 50%”.6 The
scheme thus has become beacon light in the empowerment of rural women and
contributed substantially for the increased living and economic conditions by
creating equal wages to male and female workers and increasing the minimum
wages.
Even though the scheme has
now emerged as one of the important tools for rural development and for
combating hunger and unemployment, now it faces various challenges and
criticisms. There are some shortcomings pointed out like misappropriation of
funds and that most of the works are confined to paper only and quality is not
being maintained. But if it is implemented transparently, corruption will be
eradicated and it will certainly enhance the standard of living of the rural
people and become a real boon to them. I am sure that MGNREG scheme has the
potential to lead to the economic empowerment of women and usher in greater
democratization, if the opportunities thrown up by the scheme are put to
effective use. When implemented properly, it can strengthen Panchayati Raj,
lead to women empowerment and to contribute to democratic deepening.
Conclusion:-
From the above account I would
like to conclude that what Gandhi had envisioned about a Sarvodaya society
which seems to be partly translated into reality through the participation and
empowerment of women in the political sphere through the Reservation policy and
in the economic sphere through the MGNREG scheme. The need for the hour is the
establishment of Sarvodaya society in the full sense of the term. For this, I
think there is an urgent need to adopt the Gandhian model of development and to
ensure that the development programmes should be need-based rather than
greed-based. Women are capable of managing these kinds of Gandhian programmes
of development. Gandhian vision of development and approach to rural uplift
thus can provide a more humane and equitable model of development thus leading
to a Sarvodaya society.
References:-
1. Govt. of India: Report
of the Committee on the Status of Women, Govt. of India (CSWI) N.Delhi, 1974
p.32
2.Vanitha.B.Dr
‘Microcredit and Women’s empowerment with
special reference to Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana’- Social Welfare
March 2010.p.20.
3. Sangeetha Krishna, Ms , Gandhi, Women and Rural Development: An
Empirical Exploration Gandhi Marg, Vol. 33, No: 3, Oct-Dec 2011, p.363.
4. Gandhi. M.K. “To the Women of India” Young India, 11.8.1921, CWMG, Vol.20
pp.495-99.
5. Moolekkattu John, Dr. NREGA: Issues and Implications, Gandhi
Marg April-June 2008 Vol.3.No.1 p.11
6. Vijayakumar, Dr. S MGNREGA:
A Review, ‘Kurushshetra’ ,Jan 2011,p.32.
Dr.P.I.Devaraj & Dr. Syamala.
The Neo-Vedanta philosophy assimilates, comprehends and synthesizes
the truth and principles of ancient Vedanta and western scientific thought in a
comprehensive manner. The new profile given to the ancient Vedanta by Swami
Vivekananda has come to be known as Neo-Vedanta. A humanistic interpretation of
the traditional philosophy constitutes one of the most important features of
Neo-Vedanta. Vedanta stands out as the most significant and clear philosophy of
India.
It answers at once the strict demands of metaphysics and the deep requirements
of a sound religion. However, the system of Vedanta derives its doctrines from
the Prasthana traya which comprises
the three great text books namely the
Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita and Brahma
Sutra. Vedanta is the clearest and most comprehensive summary ever made of
the perennial philosophy; hence its enduring value is meant not only for Indians,
but for all mankind.
