Darakshan Hassan Bhat
Every year, the world hears loud discussions, debates, and celebrations on the idea of women’s empowerment. The word “empowerment” seems to be the buzzword in conferences, offices, educational institutions, and community gatherings. On the 8th of March, International Women’s Day becomes the center of such discussions. Seminars are organized, speeches are given, awards are handed over, and women are put on the center stage for discussions on empowerment, progress, and opportunities.
However, the question remains: Is a woman being empowered, or is she just becoming the face of the discussion on empowerment? Is she a representation or just a representative?
During my interaction with women from various walks of life through my professional and social circle, I have tried to comprehend this question at a deeper level. I have interacted with women who are homemakers, professors, scientists, pilots, women from the informal sector of society, women who have dedicated themselves to serving society, and women who have only one aspiration: to find a good husband and live a good married life.
Despite their varying backgrounds of profession, education, or status, there is a common underlying theme of struggle that is evident throughout their lives. Their lives appear to be an ongoing struggle of identity – of being a woman in a world where vulnerability exists.
In all of these spaces, women often talk about a shared concern: the awareness of being easily susceptible to misconduct or dismissal. Even when women have accomplished great things, there is an unspoken skepticism about their success. One may even observe a gesture of a smile or a comment that indicates an underlying belief that she may not be able to sustain her success, a belief that she may be pulled back by situations such as marriage or other pressures of domestic responsibility. This makes empowerment conditional, vulnerable, and constantly negotiable for women.
Women who work at home, the homemakers who work tirelessly at nurturing families and raising future generations, often talk about other issues of struggle. There is often a sense of isolation, lack of recognition, financial dependency, and even domestic violence or trauma. Yet, there is often an unspoken desire to work not only to escape economic dependency but to find dignity, independence, and self-identity.On the other hand, women who are professionally employed face another reality that is no less challenging. Many of these women describe how they face the burden of having equal responsibilities in their respective work environments with men. Yet, when they come home, nothing seems to have changed in terms of responsibilities at home. They face the burden of responsibilities at home and at work. This is not empowerment; it is exhaustion.
Women working in informal sectors and some formal sectors often describe another major issue: workplace harassment. Many young girls and women describe how they face the burden of being harassed in public transportation and public spaces. Safety is another burden for women. In contrast, women confined to their homes talk about experiences of domestic violence, emotional manipulation, and/or social restrictions that undermine their autonomy. Whatever their location, whether at home or outside in their workplaces, there is evidence that many women are dealing with some kind of politics—home politics, office politics, or societal politics.
These realities force us to think again about the story we are so fond of celebrating, women’s empowerment. After serious reflection on these experiences, I came to the simple and profound realization: Empowerment is a peaceful mind in a peaceful body.
Empowerment cannot be defined by the number of women occupying offices and political positions, or by their presence on the public stage. Nor is empowerment defined by their economic contribution. Empowerment is defined by whether the woman has inner peace and personal dignity.
A homemaker who derives satisfaction and honor from caring for her own and building the next generation is empowered as long as her choice is honored and her dignity is upheld. A professional woman who pursues her work with passion and without the weight of discrimination, fear, and exhaustion is empowered. A woman who chooses social service over marriage, or marriage over career, or a balance between both, is empowered when her decision is accepted without judgment. Empowerment is being in a place where she is safe, being heard when she speaks, being respected as she is, and being valued as she contributes. She should not live with fear in her own body, and she should not live with constant anxiety in her own mind. Only then can she know empowerment.
This concept is more significant if considered in terms of those societies that have gone through experiences of violence and instability. For example, in Kashmir, decades of violence have caused significant psychological impacts on the population, especially women. Women have had to live under conditions of uncertainty, the fear of conflict, and the fear of losing their loved ones. Women have had to live under conditions of instability and have had to suffer from mental illness caused by decades of violence. Under these conditions, discussions about women’s empowerment do not consider the most important condition necessary for empowerment, which is peace.
How can empowerment occur in an environment where there is only fear, where women are worried about whether their husbands, fathers, and children will return home safely in the evening? Peace on the streets, peace in the air, and peace in the social environment are not just political concepts; they are necessary conditions for human dignity, and they are necessary conditions for women’s empowerment. When societies choose the path of peace in their development, women are sure to receive their own quota of the same. When homes are free of violence, workplaces are free of harassment, and streets are free of fear, women start to experience true empowerment.
The journey towards empowering women, therefore, has to be more than just the celebration of the word or the crafting of the phrase. It has to be the journey towards creating a space where women can be, without the need to navigate their self-worth, without the need to be fearful, and without the need to be pressured.
(The author can be reached at darakshanhassanbhat@gmail.com)