Women Empowerment and Empowered Women

The oxford dictionary meaning of the word empowerment is the act of giving somebody more control over their own life or the situation they are in. The world has always been in the momentum of empowering individuals and sometimes groups in different eras in different capacities. However, the definition of empowered people varies, and the different perspectives have been the driving force for leaders and enablers to ensure the fitment of oppressed or not too empowered groups and bring them in streamline.

In the pace of building an empowered world and in the dream of inviting people to be the citizens of that future world, the definition of feeling empowered should be accepted by the individuals aspiring to live in the future world.

The oxford dictionary meaning of the word empower is to give somebody the power or authority to do something. There is fundamentally something missing in the definition where someone creates a scope of “give and take”. Why does someone need to give someone else that space or power to act something when constitutionally, everyone is free to follow their wishes? Another aspect that is not considered in the definition: Is the individual’s choice considered before giving the authority to do something? and there is absolutely no space for the definition of that something. 

In the context of empowering someone, the oxford dictionary says to give somebody more control over their own life or the situation they are into. Albeit this definition of empowering someone brings more freedom to people, the fundamental debate remains the same: who is giving freedom to whom? And on the first reference under which circumstances do the need arise to let someone know they are free to achieve what they want? Isn’t it should be mutually understood?

From the days of yore to the present era, the fight for empowerment has always been the decisive factor in power shift and revolutionising thoughts. Empowerment is verily the fourth basic necessity of every citizen after food, cloth, and shelter. The undying desire for control over self-decisions is the factor that created hundreds of revolutions, and it will undoubtedly remain the deciding factor for numerous changes in the future.

Women empowerment or empowered women has become the topic of debate since women decided to take charge of their lives and individual decisions. Several stories from epics, sagas, and historical events highlight the active participation of women in varied fields – from domestic to international affairs, from intellectual to physical supremacy. The women have marked their presence in every domain and super-powered their counter participants. But due to various socio-political, geological, and religious differences, women felt many people neglected their opinions. There were many events in history when different radical elements suppressed a voice because it originated from a person belonging to specific gender or identity.

The times have changed, and in this ever-progressing world, when women have decided to break the confinement of walls and drop the veils of superstitious beliefs, the question of a new definition of “empowered women” arose again.

This article was inspired by a simple survey done with a few women from various age groups belonging to different fields to understand the definition of empowered women from their perspectives.

Explorer – A woman who explores her roles in various stages of life and decides her life purpose is empowered. “A woman should know that feminism doesn’t mean the race with masculinity but should be capable of taking decisions for self,” says a young poetess from Noida. She believes a woman should know the true meaning of her roles and act accordingly instead of getting biased based on fake narratives. 

Freedom – Two young executives working in Silicon Valley of India believe that women can be considered empowered when they get the freedom to make decisions in their lives. They vote for freeing women from all patriarchal biases. There should be trust that women are fit to perform in any field. “A woman who has the freedom and ability to choose is empowered,” believes a designer working in Delhi. 

Fearless – A powerful young executive working in an IT giant in India believes that women should be fearless in pointing out their opinions. True empowerment would happen only when women are not afraid of making decisions in their lives – be it emotional, financial, small, or big. “A woman should be confident in conveying her points and be strong to back her own decisions,” says an assistant professor at a fashion institute. “A woman would be empowered if she goes against all odds and opines about the social norms without any prejudices,” adds a senior professional from Mumbai. 

Inspirational – Empowerment doesn’t always mean that a woman should achieve what she dreams of but also set a path for other women to get inspired and motivated to create their own path of success. A senior professional, working in Delhi believes an empowered woman can be an inspiration to many irrespective of gender and identity. 

A better version of self – A young engineer working in a technology company says, “For me, empowerment is nothing but being a better version of myself every day personally, professionally, and emotionally.” Under any circumstances, if a woman improvises and keeps moving, she could break any obstacles. 

Acceptance of Views – A couple of senior executives and successful homemakers believe empowerment shouldn’t be calculated only on the freedom of working or exploring the world. In general, it is the acceptance of varied views and especially counters. An intuitive response to empowerment is freedom, but they should know it is the starting point of a long journey. Empowerment brings a lot of responsibilities, not only professionally but in personal lives too. 

On the Common Ground – Believing in self and not compromising the identity under any circumstances is the true meaning of feeling empowered. Maintaining after earning and not losing the fundamental characteristics of empowerment in any course makes empowerment powerful. “A competition should be on the common ground without any prejudiced and biased opinions,” believes a senior executive in Bengaluru, while another woman says, “A woman should be self-dependent both financially and emotionally.” 

The absolute idea of woman empowerment can be successful only when a woman knows the balance between personal and professional lives. 

“A woman is truly empowered when she knows her rights and duties; she understands the importance of education, and when she never fears raising her voice against wrongfulness. An empowered woman never believes in favoritism and never looks for any reservations to prove her success,” opines a powerful and young poetess from Kanpur. 

An empowered woman can change the world and is the change for the world is waiting. She is the essence of success and the creator of wisdom everyone will learn from in the future.