Why Women's Empowerment is Important for Development?

Women Empowerment and Gender Equality

      Over the last few years, there has been a steady increase in the empowerment of women. Women must have self-confidence, self-esteem, and freedom to choose their needs and life. Classifying people by gender is absurd and has no value. In reality, however, women are paid less, are required to cook, and their activities are restricted by family members. To overcome this situation and to have an independent role in society, empowerment of women is needed.

Empowering women is a fundamental right of every woman. They have the same right to participate in society, education, economy and politics. They were allowed to receive higher education and treated like men.

What Is Women's Empowerment All About?

What is women's empowerment? Empowerment of women or women's empowerment means the process of empowering women. This can be defined in a number of ways, including accepting women's viewpoints or seeking them, enhancing women's status through education, awareness, literacy and training.. (wikipedia.org)

Women's empowerment can be defined as a way to promote women's sense of self-worth, women's rights and abilities to make their own choices, and women's rights to bring about social change for themselves and others.

It is closely linked to women's empowerment – a fundamental human right, which is also the key to achieving a more peaceful and prosperous world.

In Western countries, women's empowerment has often been linked to certain phases of the women's rights movement in history. This movement tends to be divided into 3 waves, the first started in the 19th century and early 20th century where suffrage became its main characteristic. The second wave of the 1960s embraced the sexual revolution and the role of women in society. Third wave feminism has often been seen from the 1990s.

The empowerment of women and the promotion of women's rights have emerged as part of a major global movement, and have continued to pave new avenues in recent years. Days like International Women's Empowerment Day are gaining momentum as well.

However, despite much progress, women face discrimination and violence in every part of the world at times.

In some societies, women still suffer from gender discrimination. Women are not given the same rights as men. Women are still underpaid, their job is only cooking, cleaning, etc. Women are still rigid with their culture and family. Women can't go out at night or with men. Some Asian women's lives are decided by their parents or husband.

They still don't allow women to work or study away from their homes, as they believe that women are weaker than men, and some husbands are jealous. Moreover, some women in Asia marry at a young age, and some are forced into marriage by their parents. Women's empowerment is needed in society. This is very important to a woman's self-esteem and also to society.

Empowering women means providing women's rights. Women have the same right to participate in various fields. Women can be involved in society because they like to choose their religion, language, work and other activities. Women are allowed to get higher education like men. They can pursue higher education, finish school, learn skills, and study whatever they want. Women can also enter politics, because they have the right to vote and carry out several activities in the political field.

Women’s Empowerment Activities Are Essential to Global Progress

Women's empowerment and gender equality are "essential for global progress", UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized in his address for International Women's Day, to place "innovation by women and for women", at the heart of efforts to achieve gender equality.

"Last year, for the first time, we achieved gender equality in the United Nations Senior Management Group and among the United Nations' leading teams around the world", said the UN Secretary-General, adding that the Organization "works to achieve equality worldwide. United States. Unity. The state system in a decade."

The United Nations started celebrating International Day in 1975, which was designated as the International Year of Women. Over the decades it has gone from acknowledging women's achievements to being a focal point for building support for women's rights and participation, in the political and economic arena.

Gender equality is critical to women's work effectiveness, and women should not miss the contribution of half of the world's population.

Moreover, equal participation of women in the workforce would open up trillions of dollars to global development.

Humans cannot build the future that humanity wants and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without the full participation of women,