Status of Women in India

Women’s empowerment is a socio-political goal envisioned for the larger framework of women’s rights. It’s a path that leads to women realising their full potential, including their rights to opportunities, resources, and choices, as well as the ability to make decisions both inside and outside the house. The National Policy for Women will only be successful if it provides a permanent opportunity for equal chances and opportunities for empowerment to the women using this women’s policy. The Indian union government released the Draft National Policy for Women in 2016 to ” re-script” women’s empowerment through a “socially inclusive rights-based approach.” The Ministry of Women and Child Development released the report (MWCD).

Status of Women in India

• In ancient India, women were supposed to have held roughly equal status as men, especially during the early Vedic Period.
• Women’s status was degraded to that of second-class citizens with the introduction of Manusmriti in Hindu mythological pedagogy.
• During the mediaeval period, when Muslim emperors arrived in India, women’s status deteriorated.
• The Indian Constitution has emphasised the needs of Indian women, allowing them to exercise their rights on an equal footing with men and contribute to the country’s prosperity.
• Much work remains to be done in terms of human development criteria, legal rights to life and freedom from violence, economic and social inequality, and women’s rights to equality and equity.
• As a result, supporting and empowering the rights-based notion is critical to establishing a conducive atmosphere for women to exercise their rights freely.

Highlights of the National Women’s Policy 2016

The National Policy for Women, 2016, serves as a broad policy framework for various sectors to release more detailed sector-specific policy texts.

This strategy aims to create a society where women may reach their full potential and participate as equal participants in all aspects of life and influence societal change.

Furthermore, the objective is to establish an effective framework to facilitate the development of policies, programs, and practices that ensure equal rights and opportunities for women in the home, community, workplace, and governance.

Areas of Priority

Women’s different needs are addressed in the draught policy through designated priority areas, which include:

• Food security and nutrition are essential parts of health.
• Education
• Poverty, Raising Visibility, Agriculture, Industry, Labour and Employment (Skill Development, Entrepreneurship), Service Sector, Science and Technology)
• Decision-Making and Governing
• Women’s Victimisation
• Creating an enabling environment (includes Housing and Shelter, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Media, Sports, Social Security, and Infrastructure)
• Climate Change and the Environment

Welfare Schemes for Women in India 

Welfare schemes for women in India are the need of the hour and are one of the most important aspects of empowering women in India. Some of the welfare schemes for women in India are as follows-

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is one such scheme of women’s policy that attempts to secure the girl child’s survival, safety, and education.

Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP)

It is a Central Sector Scheme launched in 1986-87 to improve the skills of women living in poverty and provide long-term employment by mobilising them into viable cooperative groups. This will strengthen marketing links and support services and provide access to credit.

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) – ‘SABLA’

It is a government-sponsored program that aims to address nutritional requirements and provide job skill training to females over the age of 16 to help them gain economic independence.

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh – (National Credit Fund for Women)

The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (National Credit Fund for Women) was established in 1993 with a corpus of Rs. 31 crores in response to the socio-economic barriers that impoverished women encounter in obtaining micro-credit from the official financial system in India, particularly in rural and unorganised sectors.

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) – Conditional Maternity Benefit (CMB) Scheme 

It is a Conditional Cash Transfer program for pregnant and breastfeeding women that aims to offer monetary incentives to pregnant and nursing moms for better health and nutrition.

Ujjwala Scheme

Ujjwala is a comprehensive program that began in 2007 to prevent human trafficking and rescue, rehabilitate, and reintegrate victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

SWADHAR (A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances)

Its goal is to protect women, notably widows, destitute and abandoned women, women ex-prisoners, victims of sexual violence and crimes, even those trafficked and rescued from prostitutes, and migrant or refugee women who natural disasters have displaced.

Conclusion

Gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution’s Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, and Directive Principles. The Constitution guarantees women’s equality and authorises the government to take affirmative discriminatory measures in their favour. According to the National Women’s Policy for Empowerment, adopted in 2001, “Whether at home or in society, all types of physical and emotional violence against women, including those arising from customs, traditions, or accepted practices, must be effectively addressed to eliminate their occurrence. Institutions and aid mechanisms/schemes must be built and improved to prevent such violence, such as workplace sexual harassment and dowry customs, rehabilitate victims of violence, and take proper punishment against those who perpetrate such abuse. Women’s and girls’ trafficking programs and initiatives will receive much attention.”