Darakshan Hassan Bhat
Discussing women’s empowerment is a long-pending issue that civilized societies are dealing with. We often discuss women’s empowerment in terms of education, employment, political participation, leadership, and representation. However, the foundation of genuine empowerment begins much closer to home, where she needs real representation and encouragement. A woman who is respected, heard, trusted, and given meaningful decision-making space within her family is better positioned to participate confidently in society. If women are empowered at home, they are more likely to be empowered everywhere.
The idea of empowerment should also be understood within the cultural and religious context of a society. In Kashmir, where family, community, tradition, and faith remain deeply connected, discussions about women’s rights cannot be separated from these realities. Kashmiri feminism, therefore, needs to engage with the region’s social and religious traditions while addressing practices that may restrict women’s dignity and opportunities. Feminism, in its broadest sense, seeks equality, dignity, justice, and freedom from discrimination. Different forms of feminism approach these goals differently, but the central concern remains the recognition of women as equal human beings with rights, choices, responsibilities, and agency.
In an Islamic context, women’s empowerment also has a significant foundation in religious principles. Islam recognised women’s rights to property and inheritance at a time when such rights were largely denied in many societies. Yet the question today is not merely whether these rights exist in religious texts or law, but whether women actually receive and exercise those rights at home. In many families, daughters may be given gold, household goods, or financial assistance at marriage, while their rightful share of inheritance is overlooked or consciously avoided. Such practices raise an important question: Are we giving women gifts instead of giving them their rights? So, discrimination starts at home, and spaces are given at home, while violations occur at home too.
True empowerment is therefore much more than providing material support. It means ensuring that a daughter has the same dignity as a son, that a wife has a voice in family decisions, and that a mother is respected not merely for her sacrifices but as an individual with aspirations and opinions. Empowerment means allowing women to pursue education, develop skills, manage property, make informed choices, and participate in decisions concerning their own lives.
At the same time, women’s empowerment should not be presented as a struggle between women and men. Men have an equally important role in creating an empowered household. Fathers can encourage daughters to study and inherit property; brothers can willingly recognise their sisters’ rights; husbands can treat wives as partners rather than dependants; and sons can learn to respect women from an early age. Empowerment becomes sustainable when men and women work together to create families based on mutual respect and responsibility; only we can build a progressive society.
Perhaps the most neglected dimensions of empowerment are moral and emotional dignity. A woman may have education, income, and property, yet still feel powerless if she is constantly silenced, humiliated, controlled, or emotionally neglected at home. Real empowerment gives her the confidence to express herself without fear and the assurance that her dignity will not be compromised.
Ultimately, the first institution of empowerment is the family. A home where women are respected, educated, heard, protected, and trusted becomes the foundation of an empowered community. When a Kashmiri woman knows her rights, receives them in practice, and enjoys moral and emotional dignity at home, she carries that confidence into education, work, community leadership, and public life. Empower the woman at home, and you empower her everywhere.
(The author can be reached at darakshanhassanbhat@gmail.com)