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The empowerment of women can be defined in very simple words that are making women powerful so they can make their own decisions about their lives and well-being in the family and society. It is empowering women to be able to obtain their real rights in society. As we all know that India is a country dominated by men where men are dominated in all areas and women are forced to be responsible for family care and live in the Home including many other restrictions. Nearly 50% of the population in India is covered by women only so the full development of the country depends on half the population means women, who are not empowered and still restricted by many social taboos. In such a condition, we can not say that our country would be developed in the future without the empowerment of its average population means women. If we want to make our country a developed country, in the first place it is very necessary to empower women for the efforts of men, government, laws and women as well.
The need for women's empowerment arose due to gender discrimination and male domination in Indian society since antiquity. Women are repressed by their families and society for many reasons. They have been targeted by many types of violence and discriminatory practices by male members in family and society in India and other countries as well. Wrong and old practices for women in society since antiquity have taken the form of well-developed customs and traditions. There is a tradition of worshiping many female goddesses in India including honoring the forms of women in society as mother, sister, daughter, wife and other female relatives or friends. But that does not mean that just respecting or honoring women can meet the need for development in the country. It needs the empowerment of the remaining half of the country's population at every step of life.
India is a famous country that proves the common proverb as "unity is diversity", where people of many religious beliefs are in Indian society. Women have been given a special place in every religion that is working as a great curtain that covers the eyes of the people and helps in the continuation of many unhealthy practices (including physical and mental) against women as a norm from the Ages. In ancient Indian society, there was a custom of sati pratha, nagar vadhu system, dowry system, sexual violence, domestic violence, female infanticide, partha pratha, wife burning, sexual harassment in the workplace, child marriage, Child labor, devadashi pratha, Etc, including other discriminatory practices. All this kind of sick practices is due to the complex masculine superiority and patriarchal system of the society.
Socio-political rights (right to work, right to education, right to decide for themselves, etc.) for women were totally restricted by male members of the family. Some of the bad practices against women have been eliminated by the open-minded Indians and great people who raise their voices for discriminatory practices against women. Through the continued efforts of the Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the British were forced to eliminate the malpractice of Sati paratha. Later, other famous social reformers of India (Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Swami Vivekananda, etc.) had also raised their voices and worked hard to raise women in Indian society. In India, the Widow Marriage Act of 1856 was initiated by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's ongoing efforts to improve the conditions of widows in the country.
In recent years, the Indian government has implemented various constitutional and legal rights to eliminate bad practices and gender discrimination against women. However, in order to solve such a large problem, the continuous effort of all, including women is required. Modern society is becoming more aware of women's rights, resulting in the growing number of various self-help groups, NGOs, etc. Working in this direction. Women are being more open and break down social barriers to achieve their rights in all dimensions even after the crimes go hand in hand.
Some of the acts approved by Parliament are the Equal Remuneration Act-1976, the Bend Prohibition Act-1961, the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (1956), the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act-1971, the Act Of Maternity Benefit-1961, Act-1987, Child Marriage Prohibition Act-2006, Diagnostic Techniques Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse), Sexual Harassment Act of Place of Work (Prevention, Protection and) In order to empower women with legal rights.
In order to provide security for women and reduce crime against women in India, the Government has approved another Youth Justice Bill (Child Care and Protection), 2015 (especially after the Nirbhaya case when an accused Juvenile was released). This act is the previous replacement of the Indian Juvenile Delinquency Act 2000 (Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children), 2000) in order to reduce the age of children under 18 to 16 in cases Of atrocious offenses.
In order to truly empower women in Indian society, it needs to understand and eliminate the root cause of sick practices against women who are the patriarchal and male-dominated system of society. It should be open-minded and change the old mindset against women along with constitutional provisions and other legal provisions.
