Empowerment misunderstood..

Women’s day, the 8th March, a lot is talked about it,  as the Government has set the stage for taking up the long pending Women Reservation Bill in Parliament, a bill which holds many unrealized promises towards women’s political empowerment.    But I am not here to talk on the bill.  I was contemplating on the word ‘empowerment’, which I feel is the most misused word in today’s  world.  ’Empowerment’ has become just a buzzword used to increase the spice while talking and writing.

EMPOWERMENT actually is a process that challenges our assumptions about the way things are and can be. It challenges our basic assumptions about power, helping, achieving, and succeeding.    The essence of empowerment actually depends on the word ‘power’ , secondly if this power can expand or spread or can be passed on, then it is empowerment.   So empowerment is enabling  someone to question the way things are and help them do it differently.  Most places where the word empowerment is used, there exists no power, so where is the question of empowerment.

Before I get into more discussion on empowerment, let me ask you “what do you think is the meaning to the word power?”.  Most answers surely relate to the word control or domination.  So power is something which you do not possess it is something which you impose on the outside world.  If this is the power we are talking about, where is the question of empowerment.

What then is power?  Power should be related to our experience rather than our ability to make others do what we want, regardless of their own wishes or interests.  If we ask a question to ourselves ” when do I feel powerful?”  we get the answer to the meaning of power.   Imposing control or domination actually comes out of non-powerful or cowardice attitude and power is used to camouflage  the truth.

I asked to question to myself  ”when do I feel powerful?”  I realized some habits which i have developed gives me the power.    The power in me does not suppress any human being around me.    I would talk about those habits in the next  posts.

I think with this i would be able to make a small beginning in empowering women.   Be proud to be a Women.  Celebrate womenhood.

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