Page 233 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Social Stratification

Notes periodically reviewed and amendments carried out, especially to make the relevant penal
provisions more deterrent and effective. Rape, kidnapping, homicide for dowry, torture,
molestation, sexual harassment at workplace, are all women related offences which have
come under public debate and scrutiny very frequently”.
• The concept of empowerment flows from that of power. In the popular sense, the term ‘power’
is understood as the capability to do anything. In the societal context, ‘power’ is understood
as authority, right to command, right to govern or rule, capability to influence etc. Thus,
empowerment simply means vesting power where it does not exist or exist inadequately.
“Empowerment has become a fashionable buzz word. It essentially means decentralization
of authority and power.
• Women’s empowerment as a phenomenon is not something new. It has been there throughout
the history in all societies. What could be considered new is its increasingly coming out in
public, used as a social movement and being looked as an ideology.
• The scheme of hostel facilities for working woman and day care centres for their children
and scheme of short stay homes for women and girls with family problems were welfare
oriented. The programme of Support for Training-cum-Employment (STEP) which was
designed to enhance skills and employment opportunities for women below poverty line
was development oriented.
• The Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) was the earliest institution to be established at the
national level to care for women. It was created in 1953. It’s operational style is one of
networking with non-governmental organizations. Socio-economic programmes, vocational
training, awareness generation, creation of hostel infrastructure for working women, family
counselling etc. are the important activities of Board.
• Media in any society serves as the mirror of the society in reflecting concerns for women.
Mostly, it is not playing any proactive role in championing their causes. Media persons
express their view that they should not adopt the role of advocacy for the sake of objectivity.
The mainstream cinema in Hindi and other vernacular languages is still trapped in the
stereotyped image of women as week, submissive and conformist type.
• The term ‘feminism’ embraces a variety of movements and ideologies concerned with the
emancipation or liberation of women, the establishment of equal rights for women, and
opposition to forms of male dominance. It may be looked as a movement to gain for women
equal rights with men in social, political and economic fields. It grew in the west as a sequel
to the industrial, revolution and the tradition in western democracies of denying voting rights
to women.
• Women’s movement took new shape after 1970. By this time women’s mass movements had
realized that women’s issues and problems could not be solved through patchwork type of
social problems could not be solved through patchwork type of social reform and social
welfare and the basic issues had to be confronted head on.
• “The new visibility of women in the right wing movement appropriating the issues of the
contemporary feminist movement in their demonstrations against Muslims, and Christians
is disturbing. It has had a dampening effect on the women’s movement that was so buoyant
and optimistic in the 1980s. It demonstrates that the present day availability of women for a
variety of causes is also part of the historical legacy. There is now a complicated mix of
women playing public roles - leftist women, moderates, conservatives, right wing women -
all appropriating the trappings of feminism”.
• In the decades of 1970s, 80s and 90s a number of magazines, information brouchures and
teaching and research centres emerged. Thus ‘Women’s Studies’ came into being first as a
subject or discipline and then various other disciplines such as history, political science,
sociology, literature and philosophy incorporated it in varying degrees. ‘Indian Association
of Women’s Studies’ was also established which conducts meets from time to time.

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