The Power of Empowerment

An engineer by profession and writer by passion, Archana is rediscovering her passion and profession after an extended maternity break. Currently, she works as SEE, technical writer and a creative content writer. She is fond of food, health, music, yoga and everything related to it. She loves learning and following new technologies. Archana believes in the motto, “Enjoy life with what you have”.

The Power of Empowerment

– Archana M Somayaji

Empowerment is a highly misunderstood and underestimated caliber. Empowerment is like watering the tiny seed of the banyan tree to emerge into the enormous, colossal tree. We consider our potential as tiny as this banyan seed, lost in the course of life. We want this power of empowerment to grow, come out, evolve, and emerge from the challenges of life. Empowerment could be financial guidance, it could be assimilating courage to claim your right. Empowerment may be seeking help or could be a small suggestion of goodwill or unbiased support.

Why do I need empowerment?

Unfortunately, women are more susceptible to exploitation than men. As it is, there are enough social norms to constrain, confine, and crush women, now adding to these, we have our own insecurities and life challenges. Empowerment is a unique way to develop self-belief. It is a way to survive and shine in life.

How can I empower my self?

Self-empowerment: All of us have our flaws, apprehensions, insecurities, guilt enveloping us. Subconsciously these feelings cloud our action. Based on our beliefs; we tend to be hesitant, indecisive, apologetic, immature. Or we tend to be thoughtless, audacious, aggressive. Apparently, confidence is none of these traits. Even reaction in anger depicts emotional weakness Or being goody-goody always is also an unnecessary burden on the mind. Somewhere here, we need this refinement called -“Personality Development.”. Acknowledge your strengths and work dedicatedly towards flaws. Seek guidance- for it could be just another form of self-doubt or ego that is stopping us from realization. There are countless books, counselors, online tutorials, videos, etc. which is a great food for thought. Accept only the truth and ignore the rest. Now you will see how simplified life is or say -‘you feel empowered

Educational Empowerment: Generally, educated people are well informed. Education improves life skills. It develops the basics of finance transactions, communication skills, literature, problem-solving, morale, etc. In India, education mainly carves our professional life. No matter how useless it may seem to women’s future, education is one of the best treasures in hand at the time of need and tragedies. Hence our government is keen to educate women. Educated women are conscious decision-makers and aware citizens for sure.

Financial empowerment: Money weighs significantly in life. Show business is an ideal example to illustrate on this regard. Here women were made primary breadwinners, and finance was always directed by men. They looked convincingly emancipated, but when tragedy struck, the same women felt – ‘Lone babe lost in woods’!!!!. This was the case with women celebrities, musicians, and senior women politicians of India. Great woman, incredible caliber, but where did they lose track of life?…. This simply depicts finance is fundamental. Money definitely matters. Knowledge of finance, power to earn helps us lead a respectable life.

Many inspiring women believe finance is a base of transformation. We get back control of our lives with funding. We can voice our opinions, ignore tantrums. More than anything, we get to live lives the way we want, not the way others want. Hence give importance to the profession and look for all possibilities of career growth. Seek a mentor to guide you through professional problems instead of quitting. If earning, then own your money and involve in investments and retirement plans. This takes us very near to the power source of liveliness.

Political Empowerment: Emerging India recognizes the contribution and importance of women. There are many government programs to safeguard, protect, and empower women’s rights. Here are some of those.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana 2015-To protect the girl child and educate every girl.
Mahila-E-Haat in 2016. It is a bilingual online marketing platform that leverages technology to help aspiring women entrepreneurs, self-help groups, and NGOs to showcase their products and services.
The government launched the Mahila Shakti Kendra in 2017 to empower rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital literacy, health, and nutrition.
The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is a government-backed savings scheme for girl children.

Empowerment for protection: Last but not least, We hear so many stories of women assaults. Can we do something else instead of getting scared? Why should we wait for others to protect us? Why shouldn’t we empower ourselves in this regard?

Life skills: Let us develop skills beyond books. Let us unwind from the books and learn something for self-defense. Let us know the locality before we venture into new locations, note relevant local emergency numbers, Know the local language to feel more secure, and belonging.
Safety apps: Many safety apps like Eyewatch SOS for Women, SpotnSave Feel secure, iGoSafely, Smart 24×7, bSafe, Shake2Safety, Trakie, My SafetyPin, CitizenCop help us to raise the alarm, call the police and inform emergency contact at once. Let us use these frequently.
We are our own best friends. The first best armor in hand is our presence of mind, alertness. People do notice our movements either wanted or unwanted. There is an inbuilt presence of mind in every woman to realize good touch, bad touch, the intention behind oogling eyes and gaze. Hence instead of giving control to your jolly self. Be aware and alert of our surroundings. Give your attention to the presence of the mind. This is the best guide to detect trouble beforehand.

There will be a wide variety of ways of empowering self and society. In due course, we develop more confidence, self-esteem to claim our rights, and fulfill our duties without any influence. With all said and done. Empowered does not mean screaming, bossing, and dominating. It means merely- comes what may I am ready!!!!

Opinions expressed are of the writer.

Here are some stories of empowerment :

Your browser is out of date. It has security vulnerabilities and may not display all features on this site and other sites.