1. The document discusses rural women empowerment in India and measures to strengthen their economic opportunities and development. 2. It notes that historically, women have had lower status than men and lacked rights to inherit property, education, credit, and decision making. Empowerment programs alone are not enough to improve women's quality of life. 3. The document proposes several measures to promote rural women's empowerment through self-employment opportunities and generating additional income, including identifying suitable income-generating activities, training to develop entrepreneurial skills, encouraging part-time work, and establishing support services.

1. International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, April, 2012. ISSN- 0974-2832, RNI-RAJBIL 2009/29954; VoL. IV * ISSUE-39
Research Paper - Sociology
Rural Women Empowerment in India
* Dr Yogesh Sharma April , 2012
* Lecturer in Sociology Shri B.D.Todi PG College, Laxmangarh, Sikar ,Raj.
Empowerment of women involves many things such as Measures To Strengthen Women's EmpowermentAnd
economic opportunity, property rights, political repre- Rural Development:
sentation, social equality, personal rights and so on. Empowerment of women is the prime objec-
Historically the world over, either by law or by custom, tive of all development programmes and polices. These
the status of women is undermined by asymmetrical programmes could be planned properly and imple-
power relationships in decision-making, personal and mented effectively in order to attain self-sufficiency
social rights, access to resources and entitlement. and self-reliance. U.N. Commission on Status of Women
Women in many countries still lack rights to inherit says: Women constitute half of the world's population,
property, own land, get education, obtain credit, earn accomplish about two theirs of its work hours, receive
income or work outside home, control their fertility; one tenth of the world's income following measures can
they are still widely under-represented in involvement strength self-employment in rural area in the service
in decision-making at the household or social level. sector, which will generate additional income leading
Empowerment by means of modest income- to economic independence of women:
generation projects is clearly insufficient to ameliorate 1. Identification and organization of innovative and
the prospects for a high quality of life for women. high income generating activities suitable for women.
UNDP Report indicates that while 67 per cent 2. Development of entrepreneurial abilities of women
of the world's work is done by women, only 10 per cent by organizing special type of training.
of global income is earning by women and a mere 1 3. Encouraging women to take up part-time jobs while
percent of global property is owned by women. Ac- being in the house itself, to earn additional income to
cording to Amartya Sen, "Women are less likely to support the family.
4. Effective planning at the micro-level.
secure favorable outcomes for themselves in house-
5. Adequate representation of women experts in the
hold decision making processes. They feel that their
case of women related development planning
long term security lies in subordinating their well being
6. Central and State Governments to place more empha-
to that of male authority figures." sis on untouched areas in the service sector to involve
According to Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize women.
winner Md. Yunus "Rural Development means devel- 7. Government can establish a separate mechanism
opment of weaker sections, low income groups, debar levels to look after women's employment and their prob-
form development, depressed, exploited and livelihood lems.
needy like ST/SC, minorities, unemployed and women 8. Development of infrastructure facilities and sup-
are needed sensitive Micro-finance and Micro-credit portive services like land building, transport and also
soft loan, without guarantor loan and financial assis- to look after the children.
tance to needy person, than they can survive and 9. Encouraging women through formal and non-formal
develop." In reality rural farmwomen are invisible in education to involve themselves in the service sector.
statistics, they remain unreached and unattended in 10. Organising women service through women's asso-
planned development efforts and are with no access ciations, co-operative societies or Mahila Mandals,
and control on the resources. self-help groups etc.
Rural Indian women are extensively involved 11. Establishment of supervisory bodies to monitor the
in agricultural activities. However, the nature and ex- implementation of Constitutional provisions related
tent of their involvement differs with the variations in to.
agro-production systems. The mode of female partici- 12. Steps to make women aware of technical and finan-
pation in agricultural production varies with the land- cial assistance available to women entrepreneurs, and
owning status of farm households. Their roles range to encourage them through concessions and incen-
from Managers to Landless labourers. tives to enter into the service sector related to women
SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN 53

2. International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, April, 2012. ISSN- 0974-2832, RNI-RAJBIL 2009/29954; VoL. IV * ISSUE-39
13. Government should encourage research and devel- general posts like clerks, Nurses and school teachers.
opment in the service sector to find out high incomes Labour Ministry organized survey by National Sample
generating activities suitable for women. Survey Organisation that calculated that total 11 crore
14. Wide publicity to training programmes in the 80 lakh women are working in unorganized sector. They
service sector. are mostly agricultural labour, Khomachawala, work-
15. Creating awareness among educated and ing as casual labour, in construction works and domes-
uneducated women about the availability of facilities tic services on lower wages. Most of the key posts of
and concessions for entrepreneurs. any department in full of with male, very few for women.
As per the 2001 census, the total female population of Women are 14.1 per cent supervisor and medium grade
India is estimated at 495.74 million. This is 48.3 per cent posts and only 4.3 per women are officers here. But
of the countries total population. The figure shows only 4 per cent women are on apex posts on various
that women are vital human resources of the country. departments. These statistics show the case of dis-
Thus they are considered to be the most critical deter- crimination in employment sector not only rural area
minant for its overall social-economic development. but urban area also.
According this census report, total number of rural Poverty distribution in rural area is gender biased be-
working person was 31.06 crore in which male 19.92 cause it is growing faster among rural women than rural
crore and female 11.14 crore, where as in urban area men. Over the past 20 years, for example the number of
total employed male 7.62 crore and female 1.15 crore out women in absolute poverty rose by 50 per cent against
of total 9.18, crore working persons. This figure shows 30 per cent of rural men. A poor woman involves herself
discrimination in employment sector. But a fact comes in house making and rearing of hunger child, she does
her that more working women are in rural area than not spare time for searching the employment. Rural
urban area. These women are not engaged much pay- women are subjected to some hindrances, which im-
ing jobs. Women in India form 89 per cent of informal pose limitations on their potential to play their role
and unorganized sector. Women's work participation effectively. Women are said to have equal status in the
rate is higher in rural areas. Women makeup for one- society, but when it comes to actual decision-making,
third of the labour force of India, where 90 per cent rural men have final say while women have to accept a sub-
women workers are unskilled and 10 per cent women in servient status. The poverty alleviation programme
urban area. In this regard 77 per cent women are in should form part of sectoral Programmes and area plan-
agriculture sector and in construction area only 10 per ning. The government agencies should be care on
cent. In the organized sector up to 31 March 2002 in feminisation of poverty in rural areas. In this regard
public and private both sectors the number of working community based micro-enterprises like cotton coir
women was only 49.5 lakh and number of men 6 times rope making, coconut coir rope making, coconut leaf
to women. It is 18.1 per cent of total employed persons thatching, pickle manufacture, group leaf plate making,
in this sector. After micro analysis of working women, spices production, honey and food processing,
it is found the more women are working in social, ser- agarbatti making etc. have proved to be most viable
vice and personnel sector, it is 56.5 per cent in construc- economic activities for rural women in the country to
tion sector, 20.6 per cent agriculture and allied activities drive the beneficiaries out of the poverty trap. Here the
9.4 per cent and insurance finance sector 5.2 per cent. products are produced according to local demand
Most of the Indian women are working on lower and patterns and are consumed in the same locality.
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