“Women empowerment means all benefit”
January 29th, 2018
Empowerment of women has a strong association with strengthening males, writes Asim Nawaz Abbassi, 30, a Commonwealth alumni from Islamabad, Pakistan, because it encourages women to live better and brings benefits to all.
Strengthening women lets men have the courage to speak up. That strengthening is shown by allowing all people to be selfless, hardworking, multitasking, caring, strong, and able to learn how to nurture.
Women empowerment is never about comparing the strength of women and men, but it is all about seeing strengths in a different light while acquiring a point of view that women are equally as important as men. Empowering women thus means not making a woman feel vulnerable and volatile, but rather that a woman is capable of doing everything that requires human and mental strength.
Women empowerment, as the name suggests, is also about disseminating power to all the women of the world and enlightening women about their rights and responsibilities, which are invested upon them by law.
Women urgently need to be aware about their due rights, because women empowerment is too commonly mistaken to prejudice to men. However, the fact is that women even now are not aware of the undue responsibilities they are burdened with, and take them as normal. When law is formulated and rights are legislated for the good of people, it becomes essential for all to be vigilant and know their privileges or prerogatives.
It’s true that some women have used gender for their benefit. A women is unambiguously not allowed to take favours in the name of women empowerment, rather it is about taking pride in their responsibilities. It is certainly a gesture of being a gentlemen for men who give up to privileges for the good of women, but it is on a women’s part to act as well brought-up by limiting such favours and working to meet their end in any task, be it in a work place or a house chore.
The acknowledgement towards women development lets the women perform and do well in all fields of the life. The housewife performs household chores and consistently proves to be the fundamental of existence in any house. Her contribution towards multidimensional work life at home leads the male to value her more on how she does things.
When professional women are competitive in the work environment, it encourages the men competing the same way to excel. It tends to be a perfect method to ask for reducing the glass ceilings that lowers the expectation for women in organizations. That glass ceiling erodes self-confidence until it is almost equivalent to non-existent. Women quit more productive ideas rather than speak up. The worst of all is that opportunities are grabbed away an not given to women.
The men, in contrast, are expected to be more productive, creative, innovative and competitive by the organisations with glass ceilings. The differences between the wages of males and females is a strong reflection of the weakest notion about women empowerment. As we proceed to grow, we need to omit the fine line between any differences between males and females or the capacities they have. But we instead drag them to the furthest possible lengths, which indicates how poorly we think about this issue.
Amongst the worst of conditions prevailing against women’s empowerment are the mental and physical ailments which women go through. In a country like Pakistan, women are kept unaware about Sexual Reproductive Health Rights. Social and cultural barriers are the foremost hurdle to this basic right of understanding what matters most for their personal lives. The traumatic existing ailments are a symbol of our helplessness. Ailments that can be treated are not spoken of because some women have a strong fear of judgement. Women do not follow up with the adequate precautions while handling their maternity issues. The reason is not only avoiding coping with the prescriptions. As well, the women neither report it nor they speak about changes in their bodies or concerns, which is sometimes done for the sake of saving money, time or not letting any of their loved ones be bothered, which ultimately damages their own respective self.
Ignorance towards any of these issues is never a way to show care about your loved ones. It is an injustice you do because of the unawareness you have. In the end, it does not limit itself to you, but affects the next generation you brought up, interact or socialise with.
photo credit: Velmerc Week 40/52/17 “Dolls” via photopin (license)
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About me: I am a youth activist, writer, and a political activist from Pakistan.
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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?
To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/
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