Empowerment of Women for Improved Quality of Life

Technological developments and information technologies are rapidly changing the economy and lifestyle. However, women in many developing countries are still deprived of their rights and needs. Over time women in India have faced many problems of inequality and deprivation, which have also been a cause of illiteracy and poverty. A focused attempt to empower women through sensitization of the community, reduction of hardship, improved health care, development of various skills, and support for promoting several income generation activities along with necessary policy support, can improve the status of women within 3-5 years, even in the backward regions. While saving time on their routine household duties and improving their health status of themselves as well as that of their children, they have been happy to take up the additional workload for food security and income generation. The initial preferences of rural women for income generation were agriculture and livestock husbandry over non-farm activities because of inherent skills and high demand for the produce. Suitable policy support through legislation and development programs accelerated the process and reduced the resistance of male-dominated societies in many communities. The development of local organizations and regular guidance was very critical for the successful empowerment of women. There was a direct link between women’s development and the reduction in poverty. The sustainability of women’s local organizations like Self Help Groups needed proper planning and support from development organizations