Women Empowerment in A Transient Society”

In this everchanging, new and shiny world that we live in, it is easy to look past the true essence of women’s empowerment. The Women’s Empowerment movements printed in middle school textbooks and Wikipedia pages are far different from the Empowerment movement that we need today in a world hindered by differences of caste, wealth, prejudices, and disparities..

We often come across questions like– How free should a woman be to be labelled “empowered”? Is it when she works hard to pay her bills? Or is it when she chooses her outfit without eyes prying on her? It may be when she learns to live by herself without depending on a man, or when she decides to not have a kid against her family’s wishes. The answer is never as simple, and every hassle that women go through is multifaceted.

Access to good quality education? Underestimated to be less intelligent or called ‘beauty with brains’.

Have a voice of opinion? Too bad that you’re labelled emotionally unstable or ‘being hard’.

With the emphasis on education and women joining the workforce, we sure have come a long way from how it was in the past. But the pay differences at work, gender bias, lack of representation, casual sexism and internalised misogyny still persist in our society

Globally, women still earn 23 per cent less than males in the job sector on average, and put in roughly three times as many hours of unpaid domestic and care work. More than 32 per cent of women lack autonomy over their own bodies and reproductive health. Sanitary supplies still cost an arm and a leg for women below the poverty line, thanks to the ‘pink tax’

It is essential to continue advocating for policies, initiatives, and cultural shifts that empower women and create a more equitable and inclusive society for all. It should be more of an evolution of world views rather than a revolution that sparks and glimmers for a moment but dulls until the next trending 15-second video comes through the social media feeds.

An empowered woman embodies self-preservation, while the empowerment of women as a community symbolises the flourishing of our global community. It’s high time the world viewed women as not having to fit into any label or societal norms to exist peacefully.

The journey towards women’s empowerment is ongoing, but with continued effort, collaboration, and commitment, we can shatter the glass ceiling and create a more equitable and prosperous world for all