Whither Women A Shift From Endowment To Empowerment

Women, who constitute almost half of the world’s population, perform nearly two thirds of all working hours, receives one tenth of world’s income and own less than 1 percent of world’s property are identified as most vulnerable subaltern group. The subordinate status of women as second fiddle to their male counterpart has been legitimized in the psycho-socio-economic-cultural domain/tradition. Women, cutting across caste, class, wellbeing and culture are denied of their own ontology/autonomy, being and becoming, a clear image or self esteem. Back home, in India the position of women in just as an image of domestic doulas, a prisoner of the comfortable concentration camp. The Indian women suffer from lack of self and space, disempowerment, disprivilege, disadvantage, sexist discrimination, gender inequality, invisibility, asymmetries and marginalization. Despite of the principles of gender equality being enshrined in our constitution and despite the state being empowered to adopt measure of positive discrimination in favour of women, still in India they continue to bear the brunt of societal discrimination. It we look at any development parameters say it is health, education, employment, mortality rate; we find the women in India are on very weak footing. The low social status of women in India is clearly visible from global Human Development Index, which ranks India as 118 among 177 nations on gender equality. To address the issue of gender inequality and for attainment of a gender just society, ‘empowerment of women’ appeared to be significant social and political developments of 20th century, marked a turning point in the history of unequal gender relations, paving the way for a major civilizational transformation. Today, in 21st century the concept of empowerment of women has become central to every development received wide acclamation in the 4th World conference on women held in Beijing in 1995, which observed that “women empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the decision making process and access to power, are fundamental for the advancement of equality, development and peace.” However, the campaign for women empowerment became foremost feminist agenda since mid 1980s. The concept of ‘women empowerment’, as looked by Prof. Amartya Sen, is a process by which a woman is ensured with access and choice. It is a process of equipping the women with power, opportunities to assert for her rights and identity in the society. It is against the practice of segregation and subjugation of women and makes an advocacy or the integration of women and identity formation by the women in the local, national and the global forum. However, the entire process of women’s journey from endowment to empowerment, the picture looks quite gloomy, as if their century’s long struggle finds them in whithertheir position. To achieve genuine empowerment, women of India have to swim upstream so as to be able to defeat the traditional forces of logo centrism of the norm-based society. This edited volume is concerned with issues pertaining to gender inequality and women empowerment. One of the most urgent challenges now facing human kind is to halt and reverse the growing deterioration in the gender relations that has augmented social disharmony and imbalances. Every country, large and small irrespective of its richness and culture is confronted with this basic human question of gender equality and gender justice. With the emergence of globalization, with free market economy, gender issues effecting status of women and their empowerment question has taken a changed dimension attracting research concern and scholarly attention. Since many issues and current developments concerning status of women are now in the history of gender relations, more research is needed to unfold the myth and reality. This edited volume, aims at and ready to tell how women empowerment has reached to its present state. This volume also examines the rapid changes in gender relations since the 4th International conference on women at Beijing in 1995 and defines the important shifts in the domain of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Even in India, the elite patriarch monopolizing state power, once considered the driving force for gender equality are moving away from their commitment, which was very much proved with the defeat of the women reservation bill in the Parliament. This exposes the approach of grand Indian political patriarch to the whole question of gender equality and women empowerment leaving the space for civil society to intervene and act towards its defence. In this volume, attempt has been made to include and accommodate various issue and dimensions of gender relations, gender inequality and gender gap, national and international initiative to address growing societal insensitiveness towards the women, the changing realities pertaining gender equality and women empowerment impacting their present status. This volume, however sought response to some fundamental question on the issue such as, Do women adequately figure in the development retaining their identity? Have the women came out of the cultural and environmental constraints to take effective roles in public domain. At this backdrop the editors hope that this volume through empirical findings and theoretical insights of different authors/ contributors may provide answers to some aspects of these questions.

"Empower to Transform" is an in-depth analysis of gender inequality and some of the concepts that revolve around it. This aspect that has received a lot of attention from researchers still remains a mystery to most people. Due to the lack of understanding on the matter, most women find themselves unable to pull through from the chains that oppress and prevent them from achieving success. This analysis starts by exploring the effects and dangers of atrocities on women. It then digs deeper to matters related to equality at home and work, diversity and inclusion, women in leadership, role of men in women empowerment and empower to transform. Other than introducing the society to the merits of women empowerment, this is a guide that will motivate and inspire women of all ages, races and ethnicities to revolt against the social injustice that they face. It's not your ordinary self-help book as it dives into the core issues that need to be addressed when it comes to empowering women. That aside, this book also touches on some of the most sensitive topics such as diversity and inclusion which not only affect women but also people of different races. Full of well-researched and discussed topics, this is a book that will change your perspective towards gender equality. Written for both women and men, "Empower to Transform" leaves you with a lot of valuable information long after you have turned the final page.

‘One of the most powerful books in the social sciences ever written. ... A must-read’ Thomas Piketty 'The twentieth century's most prophetic critic of capitalism' Prospect Karl Polanyi's landmark 1944 work is one of the earliest and most powerful critiques of unregulated markets. Tracing the history of capitalism from the great transformation of the industrial revolution onwards, he shows that there has been nothing 'natural' about the market state. Instead of reducing human relations and our environment to mere commodities, the economy must always be embedded in civil society. Describing the 'avalanche of social dislocation' of his time, Polanyi’s hugely influential work is a passionate call to protect our common humanity. ‘Polanyi's vision for an alternative economy re-embedded in politics and social relations offers a refreshing alternative’ Guardian ‘Polanyi exposes the myth of the free market’ Joseph Stiglitz With a new introduction by Gareth Dale

"DLP, Developmental Leadership Program; Australian Aid; Oxfam."

Offers a groundbreaking analysis of the distinctive substantive, theoretical and methodological contributions of subnational research in the field of comparative politics.

This book maps the process and political economy of policy making in Africa. It's focus on trade and industrial policy makes it unique and it will appeal to students and academics in economics, political economy, political science and African studies. Detailed case studies help the reader to understand how the process and motivation behind policy decisions can vary from country to country depending on the form of government, ethnicity and nationality and other social factors.

The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Feminist Movements explores the historical, political, economic and social contexts in which transnational feminist movements have emerged and spread, and the contributions they have made to global knowledge, power and social change over the past half century. The publication of the handbook in 2015 marks the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations International Women's Year, the thirtieth anniversary of the Third World Conference on Women held in Nairobi, the twentieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the fifteenth anniversaries of the Millennium Development Goals and of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on 'women, peace and security'. The editors and contributors critically interrogate transnational feminist movements from a broad spectrum of locations in the global South and North: feminist organizations and networks at all levels (local, national, regional, global and 'glocal'); wider civil society organizations and networks; governmental and multilateral agencies; and academic and research institutions, among others. The handbook reflects candidly on what we have learned about transnational feminist movements. What are the different spaces from which transnational feminisms have operated and in what ways? How have they contributed to our understanding of the myriad formal and informal ways in which gendered power relations define and inform everyday life? To what extent have they destabilized or transformed the global hegemonic systems that constitute patriarchy? From a position of fifty years of knowledge production, activism, working with institutions, and critical reflection, the handbook recognizes that transnational feminist movements form a key epistemic community that can inspire and provide leadership in shaping political spaces and institutions at all levels, and transforming international political economy, development and peace processes. The handbook is organized into ten sections, each beginning with an introduction by the editors. The sections explore the main themes that have emerged from transnational feminist movements: knowledge, theory and praxis; organizing for change; body politics, health and well-being; human rights and human security; economic and social justice; citizenship and statebuilding; militarism and religious fundamentalisms; peace movements, UNSCR 1325 and postconflict rebuilding; feminist political ecology; and digital-age transformations and future trajectories.

In recent decades, the conduct of international relations among and within states has been very considerably altered. Today, the content of these relations relies as much on international professional and civil society networks as it does on state-to-state transactions. The role of the Internet has been fundamental in widening communications opportunities for citizens and civil society, with a profound effect on democracy transition. In consequence, diplomacy has taken on a much more human and public face. Twenty-first century ambassadors and diplomats are learning to engage with civil societies, especially on the large themes of democratic change — an engagement that is often resisted by authoritarian regimes. A Diplomat’s Handbook for Democracy Development Support presents a wide variety of specific experiences of diplomats on the ground, identifying creative, human and material resources. More broadly, it is about the policy-making experience in capitals, as democratic states try to align national interests and democratic values. The Handbook also documents the increasingly prominent role of civil society as the essential building block for successful democratic transitions, with each case study examining specific national experiences in the aspiration for democratic and pluralistic governance, and lessons learned on all sides — for better or for worse. While each situation is different — presenting unique, unstructured problems and opportunities — a review of these experiences bears out the validity of the authors’ belief in the interdependence of democratic engagements, and provides practitioners with encouragement, counsel and a greater capacity to support democracy everywhere.