Realities and responsibilities of women empowerment
The International Women's Day (IWD) dates to the early 1900's, when oppression and inequality prompted women to become vocal and active and crusade for gender equality. Theresa Malkiel, an American labour activist first proposed the ‘National Women’s Day (NWD).’ Later, Clara Zetkin, a German Marxist theorist, Communist activist and advocate for women’s rights, in 1910 proposed that every year ‘Women's Day’ must be celebrated in every country. Just prior to the First World War, Russian women observed the maiden IWD on February 23.
Eventually, IWD was officially marked by the United Nations, when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming that the ‘UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace’ be observed by all member states in accordance with their historical and local traditions. Consequently, the UN formalized the global observance of IWD, within the international institutional framework. Thus, International Women’s Day has been observed every March 8, since 1975.
The eighth UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, on September 20, 2014, launched the popular ‘HeForShe’ Solidarity Movement for the advancement of gender equality.
As the world prepares for IWD 2026, the UN has unveiled a powerful new theme, ‘Rights, Justice, Action’ for all women and girls, as the focus, targeting the legal gaps that still leave women with only 64 per cent of the rights held by men globally.
Conceptually, empowering women emerged from a long historical struggle for equality across domestic, social, political, and economic spheres. Empowerment implies enabling women to participate fully in decision-making processes that shape their family and community lives, but not namesake awarding few freebies, not to speak of political intentions. The global observance of IWD reflects both acknowledgment of progress achieved and a continuing reminder to rectify structural and cultural inequities that persist across societies.
Men’s support in this process manifested both passively and actively. Passive may include non-obstruction, acceptance of women’s professional aspirations, and private endorsement of equality. Active includes strongly advocating policy reforms, challenging discriminatory practices, sharing domestic responsibilities, mentoring women in leadership, and confronting gender bias within institutional spaces. Progress accelerates only when male allies move towards: ‘Changing from Symbolic Approval to Substantive Partnership,’ especially in societies where men continue to occupy disproportionate positions of authority.
This explains why, despite measurable gains in literacy rates, workforce participation, legal protection and political representation across the globe, disparities persist across several spheres. The phrase ‘And miles to go’ is not rhetorical. It reflects statistical realities and entrenched socio-cultural patterns. Societal apathy appears not as overt opposition but as normalization of inequality, treating imbalance as tradition, private matter, or inevitable condition. Structural inertia and explicit resistance frequently slow reform. These are all ‘harsh realities!’
Women’s own responses to empowerment initiatives, such as prioritizing domestic roles by choice, shaped by cultural values, economic calculation, personal preference, or internalized norms, need subtle and objective analysis. Distinguishing between constrained choice and genuine preference remains analytically challenging in many contexts. Empowerment does not prescribe a uniform life path but seeks to expand real options and capabilities. Whether in domestic management or elsewhere, the presence or absence of equitable opportunity is the crux of meaningful empowerment.
The word ‘Empowerment’ itself stretches far back into the history of language and power. It derives from the old French verb meaning ‘to give power’ or ‘to authorise’. This, in turn, was rooted in a Latin term meaning ‘to be able and powerful,’ which also gave rise to the English word ‘power.’ Long before the English term existed, the underlying idea was present in Roman law and governance.
In ancient India, the Sanskrit word ‘Shakti’ meant ‘power’ or ‘empowerment’ and referred to the ancient cosmic energy representing the dynamic forces, believed to move through the entire Universe in Hindu thought. Shakti was the concept or personification of divine feminine creative power or ‘the great divine mother.’
Empowerment, initially neutral and institutional, transformed into legal terms, development strategy, political demand, and personal aspiration. Kings empowered ministers. Churches empowered bishops. Courts empowered officials. It thus simply denotes authorization within established hierarchies.
Therefore, the concept of empowerment, in its fundamental sense, shall not be confined to women alone. It must be widened beyond gender as an all-pervading principle tied to human dignity, autonomy, and participation. Positively directed, it seeks justice, inclusion, and balanced participation. Negatively applied, power may be misused or concentrated in ways that create new hierarchies and exclusions.
Objectively understood, empowerment involves access to education, resources, legal rights, representation, and economic opportunity. In each case, empowerment signifies strengthening institutional frameworks so that individuals are enabled to participate meaningfully in shaping their environment. Subjectively understood, empowerment concerns perception and internal capacity.
In contemporary global discourse, institutions such as the United Nations have framed empowerment across multiple dimensions. It is an all-pervading concept extending to every marginalized voice, every overlooked community, and every individual whose potential remains unrealized. It is neither exclusively political nor purely psychological, neither solely external nor entirely internal. It represents a dynamic interplay between systems and selfhood, between opportunity and initiative.
There can be no two opinions on the principle of women empowerment in its noblest form globally, nationally, and of course within Telangana State. The moral, constitutional, and developmental arguments stand aligned in their favor. Yet it must also be remembered that empowerment is not entirely a modern concession. Long before contemporary democratic processes, history and tradition recorded women exercising influence, wisdom, and authority.
From Gargi and Maitreyi in ancient Indian philosophical debates, to Rani Rudrama Devi, women demonstrated leadership, intellect, and administrative capability.
In more modern times, Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, Sonia Gandhi, and Nirmala Sitharaman, among others illustrate the continuum of women’s participation in governance and public life.
Their journeys, emerging from different historical moments reinforce that empowerment is not merely aspirational rhetoric, but a lived reality repeatedly affirmed across generations. The final and decisive dimension lies in mindset. Both men and women must consciously tune their attitudes toward constructive partnership rather than competitive assertion. Eventually, empowerment becomes effective when it is internalized as shared social progress.
In tune with UN Themes of ‘HeForShe’ (2014), and ‘Rights, Justice, Action’ for All Women and Girls (2026), the Telangana government appears like earnestly proceeding with the slogan and campaign of ‘men standing with women’ envisaging, structured, year-long, men-led initiative focused on preventing violence against women and girls. Everyday behaviours, silence, and social acceptance that enable harassment, abuse, and harm across public, private, digital, and institutional spaces are likely to be addressed. These are the ‘realities and responsibilities’ of women empowerment.
