EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

Empowerment is a process, though the result of the process may also be termed empowerment. More specifically, the outcome of empowerment for women should manifest itself as follows:

1. Having control or gaining further control;
2. Having a say and being listened to;
3. Being able to define and create from women’s perspective;
4. Being able to influence social choices and decisions affecting the whole society;
5. Being recognized and respected as equal citizens in human beings with a contribution to make.

So it can be said that empowerment means a process to establish control over resources and also means to acquire ability and opportunity to participate in decision-making process and its implementation.

If we are serious about promoting gender justice, we must turn political empowerment upside down. Our starting point should be to better understand how women get involved in politics. For a start, it means broadening our understanding of politics to go beyond the nomination for office in legislatures, so that we are able to recognize those women who also engage politically in formal and informal capacities.

Research shows that quotas are not a magic bullet. Their transformative potential is often contingent not only on getting the technicalities right (such as how the system sanctions parties that fail to have women high up on their party lists) but understanding the power configurations in a particular context and how it is likely to influence the political landscape.

There is a major disconnect between how women build up political power in reality and how political empowerment programmes work. Political empowerment programmes' focus on individual women's capabilities, such as on how to run a campaign or speak in public, provide them with useful skills. But this highly individualistic approach is missing out on many opportunities to make a difference by recognizing that political bargaining power and weight is built through alliances, networks and coalitions. Hence, it is important to examine practical ways of supporting this embedded nature of doing politics by working with allies and coalitions, as well as, where relevant, women's families and networks.

Research findings from case studies throughout the world suggest that where women have organized collectively under the banner of promoting gender equality, they have played important roles in influencing the design of electoral laws and in holding the state, political parties and others (such as the media) accountable for their gender-biased policies and practices.