Concept Of Empowerment

Concept of empowerment

In order to explain female empowerment, we should firstly conceptualize the term empowerment. Kabeer’s notion of empowerment is especially helpful; firstly she argues that to be disempowered means the absence of the ability to make choices; from which she deduces that to be empowered is to be able to make choices (436). She sees empowerment as a process, in which the person to be empowered should have previously been disempowered (437). Kabeer argues that the type of choices leading to empowerment are strategic life choices (such as decisions about marriage, whether or not to have children, where to live etc) (437). Then, she goes on to argue that in order to make choices, people firstly need human, social and material

These four aspects have been identified by Mosedale (244).

Academics agree on the notion that, for a woman to be empowered, she must have experienced disempowerment before, for instance, in her relations to men.

Also, empowerment is something that has to be claimed by the woman itself; it cannot be brought upon them by other parties such as agencies engaged in social change. The role of these agencies lies in assisting women, through the creation of more favourable circumstances in order to bring about female empowerment.

Moreover, while there has been found proof that women attempt to empower themselves through joint efforts, development agencies are rather intervening on an individual basis.

And lastly, empowerment should not be seen as an end product; it is a continuous procedure. Empowerment should be measured in relationship to other people, or to people themselves in comparison to a point of time in their past.

Conceptualization of female

For this ability to exist, alternative options should be available to choose from (425).

As a third factor the writers mention the availability of crucial resources. Governmental policies of both the public and private sector could play a meaningful role here. The writers mention resources such as the availability of legal assistance, access to a salary and healthcare, and several types of training (426)

A fourth factor consists of the ability of women to address their complaints and to make themselves be heard within the public realm (426).

Another factor contributing to female empowerment is when women find themselves in a position in which they can exercise power. In this case, what is being meant is, for example, women starting a business, an education, or women deciding to refuse something they do not want such as a marriage (426).

The last factor mentioned entails the notion of women being considered fully equal to men, “at all levels where decisions are made about their lives’’ (p.427).

Malhotra, Schuler and Boender, as mentioned in Almeida et al (9), have created a framework in which they explain the several dimensions of female