2. Women Empowerment in Bengal: is there any
improvement after Vivekananda & Aurobindo?
What is meant by Women Empowerment?
How could we empower Women?
What is the notion of Women Empowerment as stated
by Sri Aurobindo & Swami Vivekananda
What is the actual picture of Women Empowerment in
Bengal as well as India
3. What is meant by Women Empowerment?
Women empowerment means giving enough power on
the hands of women so that they can be empowered by
preserving their rights of Education, Work & Life.
4. How could we empower Women?
There is no certain straight forward process of women
empowerment. We can just ensure their rights to live,
work & education so that they can feel empowered.
5. Sati Pratha (1829) & Widow Remarriage Act
(1856)
At the nineteenth century, a social custom, namely Sati Pratha,
was popular. At that time, even the 8 years old girl was forced to
marry an 80 years old person. Hence being widow at the tender
age was quite inevitable. These widows were burnt alive along
with the dead bodies of their dead husbands under the social
custom named Sati Pratha so that they cannot claim the
material belongings of the husband. Raja Rammohan Roy, being
pitiful of this devastating condition of women, demolished this
social custom in 1829.
But after demolishing Sati Pratha from Bengal, the number of
widows increased largely and they had to live in an unwelcomed
condition within or outside home.
In 1856, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar tried to improve the poor
conditions of these women by introducing Widow Remarriage
Act of Bengal.
6. Notion of Women Empowerment as stated by Sri
Aurobindo & Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda & Sri Aurobindo wanted to
develop the mass appeal and to broaden mass
consciousness that will slowly but gradually uplift the
status of females in Bengali society instead of
imposing external laws for banning them. They
wanted to change the inner social attitude towards
women which definitely have to convey some crucial
massage towards even today’s Indian society where
women empowerment is still lacking.
7. Notion of Women Empowerment: similarity
between Sri Aurobindo & Swami Vivekananda
Both Aurobindo & Vivekananda accepted that Women are
also the manifestation of the God or Supreme Being. Hence
no differentiation between men & women is ever welcomed
by them.
According to the Vedanta Philosophy, Brahman or Iswara
or God is existent in everywhere and men and women all
are created from the Divine Being.
According to Swami Vivekananda, the same Conscious
Being is existent all where. And this Conscious Being is the
one and only being. This Divine Being manifests himself
into men and women. Instead of changing himself into
men or women.
8. Notion of Women Empowerment: similarity
between Sri Aurobindo & Swami Vivekananda
Sri Aurobindo, in a letter to his wife, Mrinalini Devi, wrote that –
‘we say that the wife is the husband’s Shakti, his strength. This means that the
husband’s strength is redoubled when he sees his own image in his wife and
hears an echo of his own aspirations in her’. [On Women, pp. 236].
Women are considered to be the power source of male. Wives are considered to
be the better halves of their husbands. Most frankly speaking, they were
considered as the better halves of not the body of the husbands, but to their
souls.
Purusha is futile without Shakti. It is also accepted in our Vedas and
Upanishads. Perhaps this is the inherent reason that the entire universe i.e.
Jagat is considered to be combination of Purusha and Shakti.
According to the Samkhya Philosophy, the world is created form the Panca-
Binsati Tattva [25 elements] & Purusha & Prakriti/Shakti are the supreme of
them. World emerges when these two combine & it destroys when they get
separated.
Hence there is no true difference between men and women.
9. Reasons of differentiate between men & women:
Aurobindo & Vivekananda
At the stage of the Supreme Being or God there remains no such
difference. This difference arises at the lower stage.
Swami Vivekananda in his book Swami-Shishya Sambad wrote
that men and women are externally different but internally one,
hence if a man can be fully empowered then why not a woman?
(Swami-Shishya-Sambad, pp. 208).
Sri Aurobindo also shared the same point of view. In On Women
he wrote –
‘It is the recognition of this fundamental spiritual equality that
can be found the only serious and lasting solution for this
problem of the relation of the sexes. It is in this light that it must
be placed, it is at this height that must be sought the focus of
action and new life, around which will be constructed the future
temple of harmony’. (On Women, pp. 43)
10. Way of Women Empowerment: Aurobindo &
Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo both accepted that
education is the only medium of achieving women
empowerment.
We cannot make the conditions of women better by
imposing external laws over our Indian society. According
to the Bible, females are born from the ribs of the males.
“Women were created from the rib of man to be beside
him, not from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be
trampled by him…”. [Mattew Henry, An Exposition of the
Old & New Testament]
We need to bring social change in our mentality towards
women. And this change in mentality can be brought by
education as the only prominent medium.
11. Notion of Women Empowerment: dissimilarity
between Sri Aurobindo & Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda ignored the use of practical knowledge in the
female education. Women should become master of cooking, singing,
weaving etc as these responsibilities are solely female responsibilities.
They are not meant to learn practical sides of learning i.e. for learning
games & sports. Women are meant to be mother. Child’s education
starts at home, more precisely speaking, starts with his mother. So if
the mother remains illiterate then how can children be literate at all?
This is the main intention of Swami Vivekananda for preaching for
women education.
However Sri Aurobindo did not convey similar opinion regarding
female education. In his view if men are educated for the sake of their
separate identity then why should not women? Why should we treat
women just for the sake of motherhood? It is true that motherhood is
the most sacred thing of life. We cannot deprive the right of education
from the women. So females are encouraged to learn not only theory
but also gather practical knowledge of games & sports in Pondicherry
Ashram.
12. Importance of Women Empowerment:
Aurobindo & Vivekananda
Women empowerment or Nari Saktir Udbodhan seems mandatory for
both Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo. According to Swami
Vivekananda, we have to revive the old glory of womenfolk in this
modern century and in this way we could achieve the true sense of
women empowerment –
‘The ideal of education…would be that which should best enable every
woman, in time to come to resume into herself the greatness of all the
women of the Indian past.’ [The Master as I saw Him, pp. 239].
Sri Aurobindo also conveyed strong views in the favor of women
empowerment. Almighty has to be manifested into many forms over
the earthen level, one of them is men, and another one is women. To
him, everything is the ultimate form of the Same Supramental
Consciousness and women have the same level of consciousness like
that Divine Being. So she should have got enough opportunity to be
empowered.
13. In recent times when we look at the idea of women empowerment in
Indian context (also in Bengal) then there arise several questions
complex to be answered – e.g. if women empowerment includes
nesting rights in the hands of the women and these rights include
autonomy, equality, dignity and solidarity then do women are free to
enjoy them even though living within the realm of patriarchy? In its
answer different aspects has to be explored by us thoroughly.
The question of women empowerment is closely related to the
opportunities given to them in the different fields of literacy, health
and sanitation, employment and political participation. We have
gathered several data showing this ratio prominently.1
1 XII Five Year Plan: Report of the Working Group on Women’s Agency and Empowerment
15. Selected Indicators on Status of Women empowerment in India
Indicator s Male Female
Literacy Rate (%) Census 2011 82.14 65.46
Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 100,000 live
births) 2009-2010
- 212
Sex Ratio Census 2011 1000 940
Child Sex Ratio (0-6 years) 1000 914
Worker Population ratios (Per 1000) 819 336
MPs in Lok Sabha (%) 89.18 10.82
16. Now let us concentrate our discussion in the context of
West Bengal. West Bengal is now the third most populated
state in India. West Bengal’s population growth rate during
1991-2001 has been 1.8 per cent per year, lower than the all-
India annual growth of rate of 2.1 per cent. Similarly, levels
of infant mortality, maternal mortality and total fertility
are also well below the respective national averages.
However, though the state’s female literacy rate at 60 per
cent is appreciably higher than the all-India proportion of
54 percent, its worker-population ratio for women at 18 per
cent is substantially lower than the all-India figure of about
26 percent.
18. Crimes against women includes rape, gang-rape, marital
rape, domestic violence, demand of dowry, dowry death,
female infanticide, molestation of teenage girls, sexual
harassments of females in workplaces or public places etc.
This rate is fiercely increasing. A study of the data from
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that the
crime against women is increasing day to day. The total
number of crime took a sudden jump and increased to
29.6% within 2006 to 2010. However in this respect we have
to keep in mind that many crimes against women are not at
all reported. Hence the actual number is still unknown to
us.
19. Rate of Crime against Women in India
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
[2006 = 1.65%, 2007 = 1.85%, 2008 = 1.96%, 2009 = 2.04%, 2010 = 2.14%]
20.
21. If we go through the previous Map depicting the rate
of crime against women in India then we can see that –
West Bengal has 70-90% rate of crime against women
and stands one among the provinces with the highest
rate of crimes in 2012. Its really a shocking revelation
indeed.
26. LEB
Let us start with the Life Expectancy at Birth Rate [LEB].
This variable is an important component of human
development indices. Recent projections have shown that
for both women and men, LEB in West Bengal have been
rising steadily during the past few decades, though the
female LEB continued to trail behind the male LEB. This
situation changed during the 1990s when both converged
and the female LEB overtook its male counterpart in 2001
by a significant margin, as shown in Table 1. For India as a
whole, the trends were similar, but the gain in female LEB
was smaller. In 2001 female and male LEB for the state were
estimated at 69 and 65 years respectively, both higher than
the respective all-India levels of 65 and 64 years.
30. In the 1991 census very few persons were married in the age
group of 0-14 years (only 0.3 per cent among males and 0.6
per cent among females); but in the next age group of 15-19
years, over one-third of women were married in both West
Bengal and India. In this group, marriage was rare among
men in West Bengal but not so in India as a whole. In the
age group 20-29 years, almost 90 per cent of all women had
been married in the state as well as in India though more
than half the men were still unmarried in West Bengal, a
substantially higher figure as compared to the national
average. As expected, a much higher proportion of urban
women aged 20-24 remained unmarried in 1991 (37
percent) as compared to rural women of the same age
(about 12 per cent).
31. Distribution of male and female population by age-
group and marital status: W. Bengal and India: 1991
Never Married Married Widowed
Age Group Men Women Men Women Men Women
[15-19 years]
West Bengal
India
96.3
90.0
66.3
64.3
3.6
9.4
33.0
35.3
0.03
0.02
0.2
0.2
[20-29 years]
West Bengal
India
55.0
42.8
13.0
10.8
44.6
56.4
84.9
87.7
0.2
0.5
1.1
0.9
[30-49 years]
West Bengal
India
7.7
4.6
2.1
1.2
91.0
93.3
89.4
92.5
0.9
1.8
7.5
5.6
[50-69 years]
West Bengal
India
3.0
2.3
0.9
0.7
91.0
88.9
55.5
66.5
5.7
8.4
43.1
32.4
32. This most clearly shows how below 15 years girls are
married. In West Bengal the ratio is 33.0% than men
3.6%. The ratio of never married girls is 66.3% than
men 96.3%. Men are at marriageable age between 30-
49 years [91.0% percent than girls 89.4%] but women
are thought to be in marriageable age between 15-19
years [33.0% than men 3.6%].
35. Women’s literacy rates in West Bengal and India:
1951-2001
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
West Bengal
India
36. Let us now look at the literacy and educational status for women. West
Bengal has made remarkable strides in the sphere of literacy and
education – as evidenced by the following Table. The literacy rate for
rural men went up by 12 percentage points from 62 to 74 percent
between 1991 and 2001 that for rural women rose from 38 to 54 per cent
during the same period - a gain of 16 percentage points. Urban literacy
rates were noticeably higher. Male literacy rates in urban West Bengal
was equal to the all-India average of about 86 per cent in 2001; but the
73 per cent literacy level for urban women was higher than the
comparable all-India figure of 73 per cent. Chart 2 shows clearly that in
West Bengal women’s literacy rates have been consistently higher than
the national average, right from 1951. However, according to 1991 census
data, adult literacy achievements left much to be desired as this figure
for rural women in West Bengal was lower than the over-all state figure
by several percentage points, though that for men remained the same.
37. Progress of Literacy in West Bengal
Districts: 1981-2001
Sl.
N
o.
States 1981 1991 2001
Male Female Male Female Male Female
1. West Bengal 50.5 30.3 67.8 46.6 77.6 60.2
2. Darjeeling 51.6 32.4 67.1 47.8 81.3 63.9
3. Jalpaiguri 40.0 19.3 56.0 33.2 76.6 52.9
4. Koch Behar 40.0 19.3 57.4 33.3 76.8 57.0
5. Uttar
Dinajpur
36.1 17.1 45.2 22.9 59.3 37.2
6. Dakshin
Dinajpur
--- ---- 56.8 35.3 73.3 55.1
7. Malda 31.5 14.2 45.6 24.9 59.2 41.7
8. Murshidabad 32.4 17.3 46.4 29.6 61.4 48.3
38. Progress of Literacy in West Bengal
Districts: 1981-2001
Sl.
N
o.
States 1981 1991 2001
Male Female Male Female Male Female
11. Nadia 43.7 29.4 60.1 44.4 72.7 60.1
12. North 24 Pgs 55.4 35.4 60.1 58.0 84.4 72.1
13. South 24 Pgs - - 68.5 40.6 83.1 59.7
14. Hooghly 57.9 38.8 75.8 56.9 77.2 67.7
15. Bankura 49.4 23.1 66.8 36.6 74.2 49.8
16. Purulia 45.6 13.3 62.2 23.2 85.3 37.2
17. Midnapore 55.3 29.7 81.3 56.6 83.7 64.6
18. Howrah 60.7 40.8 76.1 57.8 79.9 70.9
19. Kolkata 73.2 63.1 81.9 72.1 84.1 78.0
40. Indicators of nutritional status of ever-
married women of West Bengal
Variable West
Bengal
India Position of
West
Bengal
Best
Performing
States
Poorest
Performing
States
1. Mean Height
[NFHS – 2]
150 cm 151.2 cm 23 Punjab Bihar, Assam
2. % below 145
cm [NFHS – 2]
19.2 13.2 23 Punjab Bihar, Orissa
3. Mean Weight
[NFHS – 2]
19.7 20.8 22 Delhi Bihar,
Orissa
4. % with BMI
less than 18.5
[NFHS–2]
43.7 35.8 24 Delhi,
Arunachal
Pradesh,
Sikkim
Orissa
5. % with chronic
energy
deficiency II
plus III [NNMB-
2002]
19.9 18.5 8 Kerala Maharashtra
41. Indicators of nutritional status of ever-
married women of West Bengal
Variable West
Bengal
India Position of
West
Bengal
Best
Performing
States
Poorest
Performing
States
6. % with
moderate and
severe Anemia
[NFHS–2]
62.7 51.8 20 Kerala,
Mizoram
Assam, Bihar,
Rajasthan
7. Protein plus
calorie
adequacy
status
87.1 87.8 4 Gujarat Tamil Nadu
8. % with 70% or
more RDA of
Iron intake
[NNMB – 2002]
10.7 14.7 5 Gujarat Andhra
Pradesh
42. The deprivation of proper medical support of young
women of West Bengal helps to spread malnutrition
among infants and new-borns. Let us see the Map.
43.
44. Conclusion
Unfortunately, as our above given data shows, women
empowerment still remains in its utopian level.
Women empowerment is still in its primary stage. But
we should not lose hope. The first step has been taken
up in the 19th century. We just have to follow them and
let’s hope for the bright future of the women in the
upcoming future.
