Women Empowerment: A Myth

April 4th, 2010 | 24 Comments Our first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, once said, You can tell the state of a nation by looking at the status of the women there. Indeed, if you analyze the status of the women in India, we come to see a daunting and pathetic situation. Few statistical data which augment this notion viz the Sex Ratio of India is 933 females per 1000 males. Female literacy rate in India is at present 54.16 %. Representation of women in parliament or legislative assemblies has never been more than 15 %. Female administrators, managers, professionals combined together account for a miniscule 2.3 %. On the other hand, female technicians account for 20 % of the total share. India presently accounts for nearly 25 % of worlds total maternal deaths. Dietary intake of women in lower economic group is deficit by 500 to 600 calories per day. Due to this, in the age group of 1-5 years, almost half, and to be precise 49.1 % of the girls are underweight. According to a latest survey, majority of Indian women are anemic. Domestic violence against women is increasing everyday. Women in India suffer from chronic mental depression and neurosis. Indeed, life of a woman is very tough, torturous and daunting. Women are raped, kicked, killed, subdued and humiliated every day in India. To add to agony, in India a woman is raped after every 54 minutes, such is the intensity of atrocities committed against women in India. Even before their birth , women folk have to bear the brunt of female foeticide, and after their birth, their fight against numerous social evils such as female infanticide, child marriage, early age pregnancy, dowry, sexual harassment, rejection and obstracization at old age by kith and kin. In a nutshell, despite various schemes launched by government and increase in status of few women, there seems no sign of women empowerment as a whole.

STILL MILES TO GO !! The irony is that today, everybody talks about women empowerment but the crude realty is that nobody is willing to take initiative for that as our society is a male-dominant society as males

have framed all rules of our Indian society according to their own convenience, so they are in no way ready to sacrifice their special privileges as per the contemporary scenario is concerned. According to Indian philosophy, women in every stage of life need to be protected by someone and she owes her obligation towards her father in childhood, brother in adolescent age, husband in youth and son in old age. The notion behind this is good, but it is alarming that in implementation of the same notion, the persons who are supposed to take care of women, actually exploit them in one way or the other. The case of domestic violence, denial of good quality food, clothes and education to girl child is direct consequence of the above mentioned illpractice of our society. In short, women are the victims of a whole plethora of violence committed against them such as torture, rape, molestation, battering, trafficking, forced prostitution, forced marriage, dowry death, and custodial violence and so on Even though many initiatives have been taken by government such as Integrated Child Development Scheme, Integrated Women Empowerment Programme, and statutes such as Indecent Representation of Womens Act, Minimum Wages Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Pre-Natal Diagnostic Act, Maternal Benefit Act et al, but proved futile due to lack of implementation skills, lack of monetary support etc. A classic example in this regard is that of Women Reservation Bill for 33% reservation for women in Parliament and other Legislative Assemblies, which despite a lot of hue and cry and cacophony has not been introduced in Lok Sabha till today. Moreover, its passage in Rajya Sabha was also not so smooth as it was contemplated earlier. Furthermore, if we turn the pages of history we will find that even 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment to the Indian Constitution in 1993, provides for reservation of women in local bodies such as Panchayats and Municipalities, but it reality it has not worked as an effective tool because in reality it is not the elected women who takes decision on her own, but it is their husband or brother or father who still remain the real decision maker. As a result of this, even if a women is elected to a local body, she still remains a puppet of her husband and works at her mercy. Even more astonishing is that, even though in Hindu Succession Act, 1956, there is provision for inheritance of ancestral property for women, but in reality ancestral property is most of the time inherited by male child onlykeeping women still at the mercy of males and far away form the state of empowerment. It is true that few women such as Chanda Kochar, Meira Kumar, Kiran Bedi, Pratibha Devi Singh Patil, have reached echelons of success in their life, but we must understand that success is their individual life due to their high standard of merit and hard work. These examples constitute a miniscule percentage of total population of women in India. If women were empowered, then why a highly talented IPS Officer Kiran Bedi was not made Commissioner of Delhi Police, despite unmatched career records? We can say empowerment of women only if there is rise in stature of women in India at a mass scale, not only few examples as mentioned above. At last I conclude that Women Empowerment is totally a MYTH as their empowerment require making women educationally and financially independent which has not been achieved till today as women are marginalized in socially, economic and political participation, denied access to education and quality nutrition etc. Due to all this very figure very low in Gender Equality Index and Gender Development Index-which is an unequivocal proof of empower less state of women in our country.

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women. - Jawaharlal Nehru Empowerment of any section of a society is a myth until they are conferred equality before law. The foundation of freedom, justice and fraternity is based on the recognition of the inherent dignity and of equal and inalienable rights to all the members of the society. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10th December 1948, envisaged in Article 2 that "every one is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind." It has traditionally been accepted that the thread of family weaves the fabric of Indian society. Women are considered as the hub center of the family. Still, in the era of political domination by foreigners, the women in India suffered most. A few social reform measures were taken towards the later 19th and early 20th century during the British regime. The inception of Mahatma Gandhi in the National freedom movement ushered a new concept of mass mobilization. Women constituted about 50% of the country's total population, he, therefore, involved women in the nation's liberation movement. The mass participation of women directly in the freedom struggle was the great divide in the history of (Feminist movement) empowerment of women. They shed age-old disabilities and shared the responsibility of liberation of their motherland with their counter parts. The freedom of India thus became synonymous with the empowerment of women. In this context the date of India's political freedom (August 15, 1947) is a landmark in the history of women empowerment in India. It brought in its wake a great consciousness in our society for human dignity. It was realized that every citizen of independent India be accorded equal treatment under the law. This is the urban age and Women along with men are here to make an impact, let's not ignore them, let's listen and prioritize them. In almost all societies through history, Women have occupied secondary position vis--vis men. Women's rights and issues have always been a subject of serious concern of academicians, intelligentsia and policy makers. From pastoral society to contemporary information and global society, the role of Women has changed drastically. The role of a typical "Grihani" (house wife) who catered to all the requirements of the house holds including the rearing and upbringing of children in various sub roles of daughter, daughter-in-law, wife, mother, aunt etc. has been played quite efficiently. The continuity of changes in socio-economic and psycho-cultural aspects of human living has influenced the role of Women. With the process of Industrialization, Modernization and Globalization showing its deep impact on the human society all over the world, the role and responsibilities of Women has attained new definition and perspective. Further this has also led to addition of responsibilities and widened the role of Women who also shares the financial responsibilities. The Women issues have received tremendous attention in the planning circle and in wide intellectual discussions and forums at national and global platforms. However the existing lacuna in the formulation and execution of the policies has not changed the grass root situation to a great extent. On the encouraging front, in the South Asian countries there have been relatively

increasing economic participation in past one decade. Statistically the rate of literacy among Women has also increased. The educational and occupational patterns have also changed and widened with Women entering the domains, which till decade back was considered to be dominated by men. Further there has been encouraging rise in the percentage of the Women joining service sector especially Banking and Information Technology. In the background of the gigantic transformation, the core issue, which still remains unanswered, is that of Women's right and empowerment. The Women rights are the means by which a dignified living is ensured thereby safeguarding her privileges. Thus the basic fundamental rights of speech, freedom and decision-making are her basic rights as an individual and citizen. The right for education and employment are significant for Women development and national development in the wider sense. The power and freedom to exercise these rights is Women empowerment. Women rights and empowerment are not independent of each other. The Women empowerment can only be facilitated only if she is able to exercise her right in the socio-economic spheres of decision-making. AN OVERVIEW 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." WOMEN ARE MALNOURISHED The exceptionally high rates of malnutrition in South Asia are rooted deeply in the soil of inequality between men and Women. This point is made in the article, The Asian Enigma, published by Unicef in the 1996 Progress of Nations, in which the rates of childhood malnutrition in South Asia are compared with those in Africa. We learn that malnutrition is far worse in South Asia, directly due to the fact that Women in South Asia have less voice and freedom of movement than in Africa despite the fact that in comparison to Africa , Asia is far more better in terms of economy. MATERNAL MORTALITY India's maternal mortality rates in rural areas are among the highest in the world. A factor that contributes to India's high maternal mortality rate is the reluctance to seek medical care for pregnancy - it is viewed as a temporary condition that will disappear. The estimates nationwide are that only 40-50 percent of Women receive any antenatal care. Evidence from the states of Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat find registration for maternal and child health services to be as low as 5-22 percent in rural areas and 21-51 percent in urban areas. Even a woman who has had difficulties with previous pregnancies is usually treated with home remedies only for three reasons: the decision that a pregnant woman seek help rests with the mother-in-law and husband; financial considerations; and fear that the treatment may be more harmful than the malady. JOB IMPACT ON MATERNAL HEALTH "Working conditions result in premature and stillbirths." The tasks performed by Women are usually those that require them to be in one position for long periods of time, which can adversely affect their reproductive health. A study in a rice-growing belt of coastal Maharashtra found that 40 percent of all infant deaths occurred in the months of July to October. The study also found that a majority of births were either premature or stillbirths. The study attributed this to the squatting position that had to be assumed during July and August, the rice transplanting months. WOMEN ARE UNEDUCATED "Women and girls receive far less education than men, due both to social norms and fears of violence." India has the largest population of non-school-going working girls.

Although substantial progress has been achieved since India won its independence in 1947, when less than 8 percent of females were literate, the gains have not been rapid enough to keep pace with population growth: there were 16 million more illiterate females in 1991 than in 1981. WOMEN ARE OVERWORKED "Women work longer hours and their work is more arduous than men's. Still, men report that "Women, like children, eat and do nothing." Women work roughly twice as many as many hours as men. Women's contribution to agriculture - whether it be subsistence farming or commercial agriculture - when measured in terms of the number of tasks performed and time spent, is greater than men. "The extent of Women's contribution is aptly highlighted by a micro study conducted in the Indian Himalayas which found that on a one-hectare farm, a pair of bullocks works 1,064 hours, a man 1,212 hours and a woman 3,485 hours in a year." THE INVISIBILITY OF WOMEN'S WORK Women's work is rarely recognized. Many maintain that Women's economic dependence on men impacts their power within the family. With increased participation in income-earning activities, not only will there be more income for the family, but gender inequality should be reduced. This issue is particularly salient in India because studies show a very low level of female participation in the labor force. This under-reporting is attributed to the frequently held view that Women's work is not economically productive. Women's employment in family farms or businesses is rarely recognized as economically productive, either by men or Women. And, any income generated from this work is generally controlled by the men. Such work is unlikely to increase Women's participation in allocating family finances. In a 1992 study of family-based texile workers, male children who helped in a home-based handloom mill were given pocket money, but the adult Women and girls were not. WOMEN ARE ILLTREATED "Violence against Women and girls is the most pervasive human rights violation in the world today." "Opening the door on the subject of violence against the world's females is like standing at the threshold of an immense dark chamber vibrating with collective anguish, but with the sounds of protest throttled back to a murmur. Where there should be outrage aimed at an intolerable status quo there is instead denial, and the largely passive acceptance of 'the way things are." Male violence against Women is a worldwide phenomenon. Although not every woman has experienced it, and many expect not to, fear of violence is an important factor in the lives of most Women. It determines what they do, when they do it, where they do it, and with whom. Fear of violence is a cause of Women's lack of participation in activities beyond the home, as well as

inside it. Within the home, Women and girls may be subjected to physical and sexual abuse as punishment or as culturally justified assaults. These acts shape their attitude to life, and their expectations of themselves. In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in atrocities against Women in India. Every 26 minutes a woman is molested. Every 34 minutes a rape takes place. Every 42 minutes a sexual harassment incident occurs. Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped. And every 93 minutes a woman is burnt to death over dowry. One-quarter of the reported rapes involve girls under the age of 16 but the vast majority are never reported. Although the penalty is severe, convictions are rare. WOMEN ARE POWERLESS Legal protection of Women's rights have little effect in the face of prevailing patriarchal traditions. Be it in the case of Marriage: "Women are subordinate in most marriages." Child Marriages "Child marriages keep Women subjugated." Dowries: Women are kept subordinate, and are even murdered, by the practice of dowry. Divorce: Divorce is not a viable option. Divorce is rare - it is a considered a shameful admission of a woman's failure as a wife and daughter-in-law. In 1990, divorced Women made up a miniscule 0.08 percent of the total female population. Maintenance rights of Women in the case of divorce are weak. Although both Hindu and Muslim law recognize the rights of Women and children to maintenance, in practice, maintenance is rarely set at a sufficient amount and is frequently violated. Inheritance Women's rights to inheritance are limited and frequently violated. In the mid-1950s the Hindu personal laws, which apply to all Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, were overhauled, banning polygamy and giving Women rights to inheritance, adoption and

divorce. The Muslim personal laws differ considerably from that of the Hindus, and permit polygamy. Despite various laws protecting Women's rights, traditional patriarchal attitudes still prevail and are strengthened and perpetuated in the home. EMPOWERMENT AND WOMEN: VARIABLE IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT The World Bank has identified empowerment as one of the key constituent elements of poverty reduction, and as a primary development assistance goal. The Bank has also made gender mainstreaming a priority in development assistance, and is in the process of implementing an ambitious strategy to this effect. The promotion of Women's empowerment as a development goal is based on a dual argument: that social justice is an important aspect of human welfare and is intrinsically worth pursuing; and that Women's empowerment is a means to other ends. A recent policy research report by the World Bank, for example, identifies gender equality both as a development objective in itself, and as a means to promote growth, reduce poverty and promote better governance. A similar dual rationale for supporting Women's empowerment has been articulated in the policy statements put forth at several high level international conferences in the past decade (e.g. the Beijing Platform for Action, the Beijing declaration and resolution, the Cairo Programme of Action, the Millennium Declaration, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Yet to date neither the World Bank nor any other major development agency has developed a rigorous method for measuring and tracking changes in levels of empowerment. In the absence of such measures, it is difficult for the international development community to be confident that their efforts to empower women are succeeding and that this important Millennium Development Goal will be achieved. Thus, this review attempts to the following: 1. An indication of the different ways in which empowerment has been conceptualized; 2. A critical examination of some of the approaches that have been developed to measure and track changes in Women's empowerment; 3. An examination of some of the ways in which the effects of policies and programmatic interventions to promote Women's empowerment have been measured; 4. A summary of the evidence on how Women's empowerment affects important development outcomes such as health, education, fertility behavior, income levels, etc. How Should Empowerment be Operationally Defined? "Empowerment" has been used to represent a wide range of concepts and to describe a proliferation of outcomes. The term has been used more often to advocate for certain types of policies and intervention strategies than to analyze them, as demonstrated by a number of documents from the United Nations, the Association for Women in Development, the Declaration made at the Micro-credit Summit, and other organizations. Feminist activist writings

often promote empowerment of individuals and organizations of Women but vary in the extent to which they conceptualize or discuss how to identify it. Relevant studies describe empowerment as "the enhancement of assets and capabilities of diverse individuals and groups to engage, influence and hold accountable the institutions which affect them." In general, Women do not take a central place in much of the literature on social inclusion or empowerment. The Process of Empowerment There are various attempts in the literature to develop a comprehensive understanding of empowerment through breaking the process down into key components. MEASURING WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT Measuring Empowerment from a Universalist Perspective As we move from a discussion of conceptualizing empowerment to measuring it, it is important to note that measures of empowerment must involve standards that lie outside localized gender systems and a recognition of universal elements of gender subordination. As we move from a discussion of conceptualizing empowerment to measuring it, it is important to note that measures of empowerment must involve standards that lie outside localized gender systems and a recognition of universal elements of gender subordination (Sen and Grown 1987; Bisnath and Elson 1999; Nussbaum 2000). It is clear from the literature on gender and empowerment that the role of gender in development cannot be understood without understanding the socio-cultural (as well as political and economic) contexts in which development takes place. The concept of empowerment only has meaning within these specific contexts. At the same time, operational definitions (e.g. definitions embodied in indicators to be applied in the context of development assistance policies, programs, and projects) should be consistent with the spirit of international conventions to which countries providing international development assistance have been signatories. The approach based in universal human rights offers the best operational framework for this task. Because empowerment is multi-dimensional, researchers must use care in constructing index or scale variables relating to empowerment Such variables may mask differential effects of interventions on distinct aspects of empowerment. Inappropriate combining of items relating to gender and empowerment may also mask differential effects of the component variables on outcomes of interest. CHALLENGES TO MEASURING EMPOWERMENT Empowerment is Context Specific One of the major difficulties in measuring empowerment is that the behaviors and attributes that signify empowerment in one context often have different meanings elsewhere. For example, a

shift in women's ability to visit a health center without getting permission from a male household member may be a sign of empowerment in rural Bangladesh but not in, for example, urban Peru. Context can also be important in determining the extent to which empowerment at the household or individual level is a determinant of development outcomes. CRITICAL PARADIGMS There are certain critical paradigms, which need to be examined from the point of view of women issues. 1. Constitutional Provisions and Policies: The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Constitution of India (in the Preamble and fundamental rights) where by the constitution upholds and grants the equality to women. The National commission for women, which was set up in 1990 through an Act of Parliament to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women, is considered to be the apex body to ensure rights and work towards the women empowerment. In terms of five-year plans the fifth five-year plan (1974-78) is considered to be very crucial from the point of view of women development with 1975 being declared as International Year of Women. The 73rd and 74th Amendments of constitution of India in 1993 are landmarks to ensure political empowerment of women. These provisions surely ensure of legal protection of women's rights, but socio-economic rights of freedom and decision-making is still not realized to the extent of social empowerment. One of the reasons is the rigid patriarchal structure of the Indian Society. National Policy for the empowerment of women (2001): The goal of the National Policy for the empowerment of women is to bring about the advancement, development and empowerment of women. Some of the specific objectives of this policy are: a) Creating an environment through positive economic and social policies for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential, b) Equal access to health care, quality education at all levels, career and vocational guidance etc, c) Elimination of discrimination and all forms of violence against women and girl child. The policy also provides for economic empowerment through poverty eradication, micro credit programmes, training of women to facilitate them in playing efficient role in agriculture and industry. The social empowerment of women is facilitated through effective provisions of Education, Health, Nutrition, Drinking water and Sanitation, gender sensitization etc. Elimination of all forms of violence against women, physical and mental, whether at domestic or societal levels, including those arising from customs, traditions and accepted practices. The effective implementation of the policy at all levels can be a gigantic step for women development and can set an example for other countries in South Asia. WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT ISSUES AND REMEDIES IN INDIA Empowerment of women is a gradual and complicated process. It involves changing the way of thinking of the whole society. From long time it has been stamped on the minds of the people

that women are inferior to men. It is not easy to change the stubborn attitude of the people. In rural India, Women have inadequate access to education, health facilities, healthy diet etc. In India gradually the percentage of working women is rising. Only by contributing towards income of the family the women can get rid of the status of "burden". Entrepreneur women can positively contribute to attain the goal of women empowerment. Entrepreneurship provides women for what she is longing for - control over the resources and power of decision making. Such women can help in poverty alleviation by providing job opportunities for many other deserving women. Surveys have proved that a large percentage of educated but not trained women are present in the country. Such women can be given training in a specific field like making homemade papads or pickles, handicrafts and many such things and can start their own small enterprise. Self-employment is a blessing for poor and deserving women as sufficient job opportunities are not available in the country. In small sector, the women may be owner of the enterprise may be a manager or controller or may be a worker in the enterprise. Tenth plan is initiating women empowerment by implementing specific strategies like such social environment would be created by providing necessary services so that women would be proficient to utilize their potential, To make the women economically self-reliant, proper training would be provided to them. Equal rights for the women would be provided so that there is no social, political discrimination against her. In the present scenario, where phenomenal advancements are occurring in each and every sphere, women empowerment has become crucial for alleviating poverty and procuring over all growth. We can not abscond the fact that Women's rights are human rights and should be treated as such. .The fact that women's rights need to be safeguarded in every country of the world cannot be overemphasized. In a historic decision, the Rajasthan government is changing the service rules to punish employees who are found guilty of torturing their wives. As reported in a national daily, the punishment could involve sacking and action would correspond the crime, with punishments including suspension and stoppage of increments. A small step forward in terms of marriage was taken when the Hindu Marriage Act was enacted in 1955. The term Hindu in this case includes Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and their denominations. Several laws have been enacted including the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 and the current Special Marriage Act,1954 which governs civil marriages. In this Act, for a boy and girl to get married they must have completed 21 and 18 years of age respectively. Bigamy is prohibited in this Act and each party is expected to give consent to the marriage. For a civil marriage, three witnesses are necessary. Progressive laws such as these protect the woman. Under the Islamic law, marriage is considered a contract and a nikaah is performed with several do's and don'ts. The Parsis are governed by the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936. Christians are governed by the Christian Marriage Act, 1872 and the marriage usually takes place in a church.

The report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) released by the Government recently mentions the steps taken by it to contain the negative impact of restructuring of the economy that India has embarked upon. The Government of India made special efforts to increase its support for social sectors and started a number of schemes aimed at the poor, particularly poor women and women in the informal sector. These include the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh and the Mahila Samakhya programs. Keeping in line with the governments policy on equal opportunity, there are 65 women in senior positions in the Indian Foreign Service around the world. For the first time after Independence the highest post in the Foreign Service, is to be occupied by a female foreign secretary, Chokila Iyer. It is commendable that despite various hurdles and mindsets, the Government has managed to ensure equal career opportunities for women. The government has taken a number of steps and enacted a number of legislations to protect and safeguard women and ensure that their rights are not abused. One such measure is the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961. RECOMMENDATIONS We propose the following next steps for moving forward the agenda on measuring women's empowerment: 1. Development of a framework of domains or dimensions that can be applied across settings would be the natural next step for building on the strengths of the existing literature on the conceptualization of empowerment. Procedures for determining indicators for each domain, at different levels of aggregation, and across contexts, should also be developed. This effort would move the measurement of women's empowerment agenda forward considerably by allowing for greater specification of exactly what aspect of empowerment-i.e. which dimension-is of interest, and realistic specifications of the type of change that can be expected over a specific period of time, and given specific interventions. It would also move forward efforts to develop contextspecific measures that more closely resemble what they are meant to measure and reduce the reliance on proxy measures. 2. Better, more coordinated efforts at data collection are needed. For example, the process component of women's empowerment cannot be effectively captured in any measurement scheme without the availability of data across time. Attention to process also requires a discussion of the appropriate time periods for data collection of various types of indicators. At the aggregate level, a broader range of more sophisticated, gender- disaggregated data are needed with regard to the labor force, market conditions, legal and political rights, political and social processes. At the household level, data need to be more frequently collected for important, but relatively under-utilized indicators such as time use or violence against women. 3. Greater attention to measuring women's empowerment at "meso" levels is required along with efforts at documenting the impact of program and policy interventions. For programmatic and policy evaluation, existing models of monitoring and evaluation that are effective need to be tapped, and their adequacy for women's empowerment as an outcome or intermediary process

should be assessed. At a minimum, quasi-experimental evaluation designs and the collection of baseline and endline data must be considered in implementing programs aimed at empowering women. Measurement of institutional and normative change in communities requires new and innovative approaches. One approach to consider is the business school model of case studies. Documentation through narratives which are then analyzed using qualitative techniques would be another option. Exploration of the work on collective action may also provide further guidance. This is clearly an area where a review of lessons learned from related efforts and cross- disciplinary approaches would be helpful. 4. Greater interdisciplinary engagement is necessary to develop indicators and approaches that capture the key elements of women's empowerment, have scientific merit, and acceptability among important stakeholders. Although at this stage we have drawn only from literature that has been at the core of the discourse on women's empowerment, it is clear that continued efforts at moving this work forward would benefit from drawing on a wide range of disciplines. Moreover, based on what we reviewed from sociology, demography, economics, and anthropology, it is clear that there is overlap, but not much interaction across disciplines. Further interdisciplinary engagement would greatly facilitate the task of translating the current consensus on conceptualization to the actual measurement of women's empowerment. CONCLUSION As UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has stated, "Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance." In a globalizing world, gender equality and empowerments of women are vital tools-to achieve sustainable developments of societies, and are even admitted by the fools! Still, the violence towards women is an epidemic against which no country is immuneAnd today, we face the greater challenges of human rights and a non-melodious tune! In the arena of politics, the poor are excluded from governance, regardless of the gender- And women are victims of other people's decisions 'Cause they are assumed to be tender! So the entire spectrum of women's roles to combat poverty, hunger, and disease- Need to be reexamined under the new Millennium lights before the roles decease! Impacts of modern conflicts now affect the global women and girls without a doubt- But they're neither initiators nor prosecutors of conflicts, or matching game of shout! Determined efforts must be taken to end the impunity surrounding this lamentable claw- And the perpetrators must be brought to justice, and told that they are not above the law! Only through action to remedy discrimination against women can the vision of India's independence - an India where all people have the chance to live health and productive lives - be realized. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ashok_Priyadarshi_Nayak

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/916590

Multi-media

It was a special time: five exhilarating years from 1987 to 1992. The Apple Multimedia Lab inspired new visions for learning with digital media and generated new products to realize its visions. The technologies were ripe. Optical media videodiscs and then CD-ROMs provided sensory-rich displays, movies, and sounds, that could be controlled interactively using computers. The Macintosh computer could deliver direct-manipulation interfaces at scale. The capability for movies, publishing, and computers to converge once imagined in labs and discussed among professionals was now flowing over into the mainstream. Experimentation and exploration in the Multimedia Lab were dynamic; the possibilities were endless. Basic questions about how learning happens were in the air, and major new digital businesses were beginning to create buzz. Much as cubism or impressionism gave way to modernism and other artistic movements, the focus on multimedia computing has given way to other digital media fascinations and merged into the general digital experience of the 21st century. Yet the lessons of the Golden Age of Multimedia are perhaps even more relevant today, as technologies continue to mature and make the visions of this explosive time more and more accessible. Then is Now. The visions of those early days are now realities. The tools that were clumsily mocked up then are now easily and economically available. Hyper-linking and the use of casual media are now routine. Now there is access to an actual magic box the internet where images, sounds, and content are always at hand. The key now, as it was then, is to connect the technological possibilities with visions of powerful new kinds of learning and to take advantage of these opportunities in the world of education as has already happened in entertainment and in business. It is time to revisit these ideas in the new context, to remember the basis for the instinct that the interlinking of sights and sounds could enhance learning and expression, and that it could be done routinely by anyone. The technological hurdles have been overcome. Now it is time again to consider the human side the issues and the practicalities of new kinds of learning practice that were considered futuristic and impractical just a decade ago.

Multimedia Journalism: The Age of New Technology and New Opportunities

By Lorraine Lee Published: August 22, 2008 at 4:26 PM (MST) Part one: The Future of Print Readership: Following Cultural Trends Part two: The Future of Print Readership: The Role of Story Content/Presentation A. INTRODUCTION For my third research paper I will focus on how new technology has paved the way for multimedia journalism, and examine the changing relationship between reporters and readers resulting from this development. This topic naturally follows the subject of my second paper story content/presentation. My second paper analyzed the effect which story content and presentation have on readership, and looked at how to draw in readers with the way in which a story is written or presented. My third paper takes my research one step further, by exploring how multimedia journalism (through enhanced content and presentation) can increase readership and reader engagement by appealing to their visual as well as auditory senses. I further discuss what technology has done not only for journalism, but also for reporters and readers.

Multimedia journalism which often includes a print or online story supplemented by some other form of media that is more interactive than just text is becoming a prevalent way to do journalism. New technologies will solidify this trend. Multimedia stories require additional skills from journalists, but provide readers with more choices to interact and be informed. If they choose to do so, readers can only read the article; however, they can also watch the supplemental video and be on-the-scene with the reporter, or listen to sound clips taken at the scene. The stories become more enjoyable and may help some readers better understand an issue if they are aural learners, for example. In addition, readers may save time by watching a two-minute video clip instead of taking five minutes to read an article. Multimedia journalism, enabled by new technologies, has provided readers and journalists alike with new opportunities, as well as transformed how they interact with each other.
B. CHANGING RELATIONSHIPS Multimedia journalism holds great promise in helping journalists do their job more effectively and in

engaging readers. This potential partly lies in multimedia journalism s ability to generate more direct interaction, discussion, exploration and analysis of issues among journalists and readers. According to the Future of Newspapers (2006, p. 5), Today, more and more online newspapers are offering distinctive features that are not and could not be published in print editions. The same source reported that newspapers sites usually include interactive features that allow readers to comment on issues from the serious to the mundane and unlike letters to the editor to participate in ongoing dialogues with other readers, and perhaps reporters and editors as well (2006, p. 5) This is a highly significant development, highlighting the fact that online journalism is not simply a more timely supplement to print, but offers independent value to readers in its ability to present content that cannot be conveyed in print.

Online interactions based on articles published on the Internet have become instant, paving the way for a changing relationship between journalists and readers, and offering opportunities for readers to be more engaged with what they are reading. Print journalists used to have very little interaction with readers. Journalists would write the story, and readers would read it and then move on to another article, as did the journalists. If a reader had something to say, she would write a letter to the editor and hope to get her comment published. Today many reporters have their contact information at the end of online articles, opening up the lines of communication. It is no longer just a one-way conversation, but a dialogue. The ability to more easily communicate with editors and reporters is important to online users, according to Online Public Attitudes (2006) 47 percent said its very important for news sites to provide readers with e-mail addresses to contact the sites editorial staff, (2006, p. 1) an increase from 36 percent in 2002. Readers dont want to feel like theyre being force fed information, but they want to give their input and share ideas. They also like the feeling of instant gratification, or rather, feeling good about doing something on the spot, knowing their voices will be heard. Informing versus Marketing The newspaper industrys need to stabilize the decline in print and grow online readership has intensified the focus on readership behavior and preferences, changing the relationship between reporters and newspapers. The transition to multimedia journalism, like most significant transformations, poses its share of potential problems. For example, unresolved tension exists between those journalists who think they should be the gatekeeper of information and arbiters of what is newsworthy, and those journalists who think readers should to a large extent define what is to be reported, while staying true to immutable journalistic principles of integrity, accuracy and fairness. According to an unpublished research paper written by Shera Balgobin, a Medill graduate student, journalists differ in how they think this tension should be resolved and fall into three general groups. The first group of journalists is called critical skeptics. These include the journalists who think focusing on marketing newspapers to increase revenue has lowered the quality of journalism and has not improved newspapers. They also believe that journalism should lead public opinion rather than follow it (2007, p. 3).

The second group, which consists of resigned pragmatists, believes that some sort of change in the news industry is necessary, but are wary of marketings impact on good journalism (2007, p. 3). Despite this, they actively solicit reader feedback, (2007, p. 3) although they are cautious when reviewing the results. The last group, the change agents, is completely behind the idea of marketing newspapers and allowing it to inform content to better serve newspapers readers. This is one of the ways in which multimedia journalism has presented challenges as well as opportunities. Journalists must now find the balance between keeping up with the changing industry while maintaining journalistic values and enhancing journalism through multimedia. Stories are now being written differently, perhaps using a feature style or being written shorter, and the journalists and designers need to work together to find a way to report the news while making it interesting. Multimedia journalism poses another challenge for journalists. Diana Day, who created the blogs BeTwinned and inSierra Madre, wrote in an email interview about the challenges and the ways in which multimedia journalism can be counterproductive: The worst quality of multimedia journalism is when the multimedia aspect is trivial or is done just to fit a trend or just to go multimedia for its own sake. When the story is primary and when the storytelling medium chosen fits the story that is being told, that's when multimedia is at its best, Day wrote.
C. NEW TECHNOLOGY Blogs

Blogs have been around for about ten years and become more popular over time, becoming almost an expected presence in many newspapers. Blogs present another opportunity for increased reader engagement and satisfaction, giving reporters another outlet for reporting the news or expressing their informed opinion on a topic, while allowing readers to comment and read others comments. Most online newspapers have official blogs, but blogs can be created by anyone who has Internet access. In The New York Times, blogs range from The Caucus, in which the Times politics staff covers the latest news in the presidential election, to The Pour, in which Eric Asimov discusses the pleasure, culture and business of wine, beer and spirits.

The following 2007 Bivings Report graph shows the percentage of newspapers that have various online features, including reporter blogs and reporter blog comments:

Monitoring blogs There are difficult issues though regarding the most effective way to monitor blogs. The opportunities offered by blogs are severely limited by the bookend problems of too much or inappropriate censorship, on the one end, and senseless ranting, on the other end. Even with blogs on news sites there is usually some sort of comment filtering system to avoid people breaking out into fights and to maintain a level of civility. When dealing with blogs, newspapers are facing three main problems: 1) how to make sure the most opinionated people commenting arent turning off more moderately opinionated people; 2) how to most effectively filter comments; and 3) whether comments should be filtered at all. The major problem, according to Mark Glaser in the article Traditional Media Ready to Elevate the Conversation Online with Moderation (2008), is: How do you harness the audiences knowledge and participation without the forums devolving into a messy online brawl that requires time-intensive moderation? Currently there is no set or uniform way in which newspapers are dealing with this issue, although some have come up with various techniques. The New York Times, for example, has a feature in which readers can recommend other readers comments. There are also Editors Selections, which allow editors to choose which comments they think are worthy of being profiled in some way. By doing this, the New York Times is letting readers decide what they think are the best comments. If readers are skeptical about allowing other readers decide what is good, they can also look at Editors Selections or just look through all the comments themselves.

In the same article, Jonathan Landman, deputy managing editor for digital journalism at the New York Times, said positive and negative reinforcement is the way to make blog-commenting successful. This suggestion makes much sense, as it is human nature for people to want to feel special or feel that they may be more knowledgeable about certain subjects than another person. People and in this case it becomes especially true for readers like to be rewarded for their hard work and the time they took to comment. Blog comments should absolutely be monitored using technological tools and also human intervention. Trash (i.e. slander, hatred, etc.) should not be published, Day wrote. For my blogs, I generally do not allow comments to run until I have moderated them. Obviously I do not edit comments. They either run or they don't. Newspapers need to work towards having comments of quality. Although newspapers are seeking high-quality comments, who has the right to decide which comments are appropriate or of high quality? The who usually consists of editors or readers who provide rating feedback. However, when deciding what is high quality, there is always the risk of too much censorship. Readers may rate others comments poorly because they disagree with others views, or the readers themselves dont understand the issue and thus cant grade appropriately. On the other hand, the potential for inappropriate censorship existed even with print. Readers never knew how many comments may have been submitted but not published. Chances are that if a comment shows understanding of the issue at hand and is written in a logical, balanced and convincing manner, then it will be viewed that way by other readers. If a standard is set, then a majority of those who comment will match that standard. If someone doesnt adhere to the standards, readers will be able to notice them right away. Also, readers have to have some faith in editors ability to view the comments in a balanced way (or objectively) and that any comments theyre filtering are probably best for the reader, either because the comment is illogical, the person doesnt understand the issue, or there is unnecessary profanity. An example of high quality commenting is seen with the blog IndyMoms, which targets moms in Indiana. According to the article IndyMoms Draws Busy Parents with Discussion, Niche Content by Rich Gordon, 10 discussion leaders were hired, or rather, moms who were paid $25 a week to initiate and participate in discussions on the site (p. 2). In the article, Jennifer Gombach, a brand manager in the Indianapolis Stars marketing department, was quoted on the role of these discussion leaders: They often start discussions that are at a higher sophistication level than some other posters. They kind of set the tone from the get-go. In addition, Elpha Riche, who was hired by the Star, was quoted in the article saying that knowing which topics are heated or controversial helps beforehand. She said in the article: Sometimes Ill go in and say, OK, everyone, lets take a breather. Step away from the computer and think before you type. If its not something you would say to a room full of people you just met, you should twice about posting it to our forum.

This mindset needs to become the norm among bloggers. By having this mindset, readers can present more logical comments that dont yell out you have to believe what I believe, and Im going to keep arguing until you do. However, some blogs are not worth monitoring. Cher Coen, who was Readership Editor at The Bakersfield Californian and whose job was to make the newspaper more reader-friendly, wrote in an email interview about unofficial blogs: Now, blogs are another story. As a journalist, I cringe when I hear about people accepting things like blogs and unofficial stories as news, she wrote. One big difference is you know you're getting some form of professionalism with print as opposed to sites that aren't part of the mainstream media. Videos Videos have become an important storytelling tool of multimedia journalism and have potential for growing readership. They are visually stimulating and bring people in a story to life. Use of news videos has grown significantly over the past 12 to 18 months, according to the American Journalism Review (2008). In addition, video consumers which can include those who visit sites like YouTube generally tend to be younger than the overall population. According to The Video Explosion (2008) in the American Journalism Review, the audiences attracted to videos have higher incomes and more education (2008, p. 5). The article reported that the Nielsen Co. reported that 129 million Americans have access to broadband, and that a report made by the Pew Internet and American Life Project in July shows that 57 percent of all online viewers watch or download videos. The number increases to 74 percent for broadband users. Based on these numbers, it seems that having videos accompanying articles is bound to attract more readers, especially the younger generation, which is crucial in contributing to increased newspaper readership. In the same article, an author named Gene Weingarten (Washington Post) wrote a story about Joshua Bell, one of the world's most esteemed classical violinists (2008), impersonating a street performer, whom the public ignored. The article ran in the print version of the paper with photos, but video clips were added to the online version of the story. Weingarten was quoted in the article saying that his story was more effective online with the video, although this isnt necessarily always the case. His definition of effective seemed to stem from the fact that the story reached more people than it would have without the video, including those in Beijing. Frame grabs are also a new part of journalism and have arisen from video. Frame grabs are still shots taken from a video camera, able to be put on print as seen with the San Jose Mercury News or the Detroit Free Press, or online. They serve as a new, creative way to display information and add to multimedia journalism. David Leeson, who was interviewed in The Video Explosion (2008), started shooting video for the Dallas Morning News in 2000, and said in the article that he believes a journalist will soon win a Pulitzer Prize in photography from frame grabs. Videos play an important role in journalism, in particular online journalism, and are becoming a form of interactivity that is continually gaining popularity.

Other interactive features Although videos are one of the most prominent forms of multimedia, others include sound clips, timelines, maps, and whatever else newspapers can create. Interactive features like maps are another way to attract readers to a story while having readers read the actual story is ideal, as researched in my first two papers, they often dont have the time. Interactive features accompanying articles allow the reader to get quick information about what happened and help grab their attention. A good example of an interactive map was seen in the New York Times regarding the Virginia Tech tragedy; the map had 16 slides that showed different areas of campus and the killers path, as well as descriptions of different scenes and facts.
D. JOURNALISTS CHANGING ROLE These new ways of storytelling are pushing journalists beyond reporting the story in the conventional way. They now must add whatever supplemental material they can gather, as well as present the story in such a way that all the multimedia aspects of the story mesh together well. Also, stories do not have to be just an article anymore they can be things like graphics or slideshows that stand alone. Integration of multimedia features requires tighter integration and smoother transition from text to multimedia features to sidebars to pull-out boxes, and more. This is all very taxing on the people who have to layout and design the online page, as well as gather the information, and journalists have to coordinate more closely to enable this.

Multimedia journalism has created opportunity for journalists, but it requires them, no matter what age, to learn new skills. Not everyone is adept with all the new storytelling tools, so sending reporters out into the field with videocameras [sic], for example, may or may not be helpful if the reporter is not a visual person, Day wrote in an email interview. Reporters have to want to use new tools and have to understand how these many new tools can add to a story. It's challenging to use multimedia tools in an additive fashion rather than in a subtractive fashion. It takes practice to shoot good video, to record compelling sound. If you asked a journalist ten years ago what their job was, they could respond with Im a print journalist or I do broadcast. Today, though, a journalist has to be multi-skilled to keep up with the changing world. They need to know how to write the story and also supplement it and perhaps take video or record sound clips. Not only that, but once the story has been uploaded or printed, they now have a responsibility to lead discussion and to actively engage in it. Journalists can no longer sit idly after reporting a story, expecting readers to read it and then move on. Readers want to talk about what they read and engage with people all over the world. Journalists need to embrace this new movement and serve as leaders and role models.