TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Realities
and Responsibilities of Women Empowerment
‘Changing from Symbolic Endorsement to
Substantive Partnership’
Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
{{The Hans India (March 8, 2026)}}
{{As the world prepares for IWD 2026,
the UN has unveiled a powerful new theme, ‘Rights, Justice, Action’ for all
women and girls, as the focus, targeting the legal gaps that still leave women
with only 64 per cent of the rights held by men globally. Conceptually,
empowering women emerged from a long historical struggle for equality across
domestic, social, political, and economic spheres}}-Synoptic Note by Editor
The ‘International Women's Day (IWD)’
dates to the early 1900's, when oppression and inequality prompted women to
become vocal, active, and crusade for gender equality. Theresa Malkiel, an
American Labor Activist first proposed the ‘National Women’s Day (NWD).’ Later,
Clara Zetkin, a German Marxist Theorist, Communist Activist, and Advocate for
Women’s Rights, in 1910 proposed that every year, Women's Day must be
celebrated in every country. Just prior to the First World War, Russian Women
observed first IWD on February 23.
Eventually, IWD was officially marked
by the United Nations, when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution
proclaiming the ‘UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace’ to
be observed by Member States in accordance with their historical and national
traditions. Consequently, UN formalized the global observance of IWD, within
the international institutional framework. Thus, International Women’s
Day has been observed every March 8, since 1975.
The Eighth UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-Moon, on September 20, 2014 launched the popular ‘HeForShe’ Solidarity Movement
for the advancement of gender equality. As the world prepares for IWD 2026, the
UN has unveiled a powerful new theme, ‘Rights, Justice, Action’ for All Women
and Girls, as the focus, targeting the legal gaps that still leave women with
only 64% of the rights held by men globally.
Conceptually, empowering women emerged
from a long historical struggle for equality across domestic, social,
political, and economic spheres. Empowerment implies enabling women to
participate fully in decision-making processes that shape their family and
community lives, but not namesake awarding few freebies, not to speak of
political intentions. The global observance of IWD reflects both acknowledgment
of progress achieved and a continuing reminder to rectify structural and
cultural inequities that persist across societies.
Men’s support in this process
manifested both passively and actively. Passive may include non-obstruction,
acceptance of women’s professional aspirations, and private endorsement of
equality. Active includes strongly advocating policy reforms, challenging
discriminatory practices, sharing domestic responsibilities, mentoring women in
leadership, and confronting gender bias within institutional spaces. Progress
accelerates only when male allies move towards: ‘Changing from Symbolic
Approval to Substantive Partnership,’ especially in societies where men
continue to occupy disproportionate positions of authority.
This explains why, despite measurable
gains in literacy rates, workforce participation, legal protections, and
political representation across the globe, disparities persist across several
spheres. The phrase ‘Miles and Miles to Go’ is not
rhetorical. It reflects statistical realities and entrenched socio-cultural
patterns. Societal apathy appears not as overt opposition but as normalization
of inequality, treating imbalance as tradition, private matter, or inevitable
condition. Structural inertia and explicit resistance frequently slow reform.
These are all ‘Harsh Realities!’
Women’s own responses to empowerment
initiatives, such as prioritizing domestic roles by choice, shaped by cultural
values, economic calculation, personal preference, or internalized norms, need subtle
and objective analysis. Distinguishing between constrained choice and genuine
preference remains analytically challenging in many contexts. Empowerment does
not prescribe a uniform life path but seeks to expand real options and
capabilities. Whether in domestic management or elsewhere, the presence or
absence of equitable opportunity is the crux of meaningful empowerment.
The word ‘Empowerment’ itself stretches
far back into the history of language and power. It derives from the Old French
Verb meaning ‘To give Power’ or ‘To Authorize.’ This, in turn,
was rooted in a Latin Term meaning ‘To be able and Powerful,’
which also gave rise to the English word ‘Power.’ In 14th-15th
Centuries Middle English, ‘Empower’ was used primarily in legal and
political sense, meaning to ‘Grant Authority, Rights, or Official Permission’
within institutions. Eventually ‘Empowerment’ became more common in the
17th Century. Long before English term existed, the underlying idea
was present in Roman law and governance.
In ancient India, the Sanskrit word ‘Shakti’
meant ‘Power’ or ‘Empowerment’ and referred to the ancient cosmic
energy representing the dynamic forces, was believed to move through the entire
Universe in Hindu thought. Shakti was the concept or personification of divine
feminine creative power or ‘The Great Divine Mother.’ This resonates
with modern psychological interpretations of empowerment. The philosophical
ancestor of the idea evolved organically through linguistic transitions across
Sanskrit, Latin, French, and English Traditions. It gradually expanded into a
value-laden social and psychological ideal across civilizations.
Empowerment, initially neutral and
institutional, transformed into legal term, development strategy, political
demand, and personal aspiration, each carrying layers of objective structure
and subjective experience shaped across centuries of human thought. Kings
empowered ministers. Churches empowered bishops. Courts empowered officials. It
thus, simply denoted authorization within established hierarchies.
Democracy enabled activism, civil rights,
and feminist movements. UN initiatives, further transformed ‘Empowerment’ from
institutional authorization into personal and collective self-realization. Viewed
from positive and negative perspectives, empowerment reflects humanistic
psychology. Yet, it may also become rhetorical, shifting responsibility onto
individuals without altering structural inequalities.
Therefore, the concept of Empowerment,
in its fundamental sense, shall not be confined to women alone. It must be
widened beyond gender as an all-pervading principle tied to human dignity,
autonomy, and participation. Positively directed, it seeks justice, inclusion,
and balanced participation. Negatively applied, power may be misused or
concentrated in ways that create new hierarchies and exclusions.
Objectively understood, empowerment
involves access to education, resources, legal rights, representation, and
economic opportunity. In each case, empowerment signifies strengthening
institutional frameworks so that individuals are enabled to participate
meaningfully in shaping their environment. Subjectively understood, empowerment
concerns perception and internal capacity.
A person may possess formal rights yet
may lack confidence, awareness, or social support to exercise them.
Psychological empowerment includes self-belief, critical awareness, and courage
to make responsible decisions.
In contemporary global discourse,
institutions such as the United Nations have framed empowerment across multiple
dimensions. It is an all-pervading concept extending to every marginalized
voice, every overlooked community, and every individual whose potential remains
unrealized. It is neither exclusively political nor purely psychological,
neither solely external nor entirely internal. It represents a dynamic
interplay between systems and selfhood, between opportunity and initiative.
There can be no two opinions on the
principle of women empowerment in its noblest form globally, nationally, and of
course within Telangana State. The moral, constitutional, and developmental
arguments stand aligned in its favor. Yet it must also be remembered that
empowerment is not entirely a modern concession. Long before contemporary
democratic processes, history and tradition recorded women exercising
influence, wisdom, and authority.
From Gargi and Maitreyi in ancient
Indian philosophical debates, to Rani Rudrama Devi who ruled the Kakatiya
dynasty in the Telangana region, women demonstrated leadership, intellect, and
administrative capability.
In more modern times, Sarojini Naidu,
the prominent voice in India’s freedom movement, Indira Gandhi the Prime
Minister who shaped national policy during decisive years, Sushma Swaraj known
for her diplomatic outreach and public connect, Sonia Gandhi who played the
central role in national political leadership, Nirmala Sitharaman who handled
key defense and economic portfolios, and many more, further illustrate the
continuum of women’s participation in governance and public life.
Their journeys, emerging from
different historical moments reinforce that empowerment is not merely
aspirational rhetoric but a lived reality repeatedly affirmed across
generations. The final and decisive dimension lies in mindset. Both men and
women must consciously tune their attitudes toward constructive partnership
rather than competitive assertion. Eventually, empowerment becomes effective
when it is internalized as shared social progress.
In tune with UN Themes of ‘HeForShe’
(2014), and ‘Rights, Justice, Action’ for All Women and Girls (2026), TG
Government appears like earnestly proceeding with the slogan and campaign of ‘Men
Standing with Women’ envisaging, structured, year-long, men-led initiative
focused on preventing violence against women and girls. Everyday behaviors,
silence, and social acceptance that enable harassment, abuse, and harm across
public, private, digital, and institutional spaces are likely to be addressed. These
are the ‘Realities and Responsibilities’ of women empowerment.
POST SCRIPT:
Launching ‘Stand with Her,’ a Campaign
of Men Standing for Women, on March 7, 2026, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth
Reddy urged every youth to be a brand ambassador for women's protection in the
state. ‘Women should not confine themselves to the kitchen and the state
government wants women to excel in all fields. We should develop the philosophy
of supporting women against gender discrimination and protect their rights’ he
observed.
The initiative launched by the Women
Safety Wing of TG Police is a prevention-focused campaign that frames violence
as a continuum beginning with acts of disrespect, such as staring, sexist
remarks, stalking, online harassment, and groping, which can escalate into more
severe forms of violence. The campaign seeks to shift the narrative from women
being responsible for protecting themselves to recognizing that women’s safety
is a collective social duty. (Hans India and The Hindu News Reports).
A Panel Discussion with the Theme: ‘Shared
Responsibility for Everyday Respect and safety’ was part of the launch program.
The participants were: Hyderabad City Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar;
Additional Director General of Police Women’s safety Wing Charu Sinha; UNICEF
India Head Zelam Taffesse; Brand Ambassador for the Campaign and Cine Artiste
Sai Durgha Tej; Writer, Publisher, and Producer Venkat Siddha Reddy; Advocate
and Founder Yugantar Tejaswani Madabhushi; Singer, Dubbing Artiste, and Women
Rights Activist Chinmayi Sripada; and Singer and Composer Hemachandra.
Independent Journalist Prema Malini was the Moderator.
No comments:
Post a Comment