Women Empowerment (The Global Scenario)

Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is multi-dimensional since it is not an outcome of any one factor. It can be examined from a variety of perspectives ranging from sociological, psychological and financial to political. It is a process that fosters power in people, especially the marginalized for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their society by acting on issues that they define as important. The present book attempts to examine the phenomenon of women empowerment at the global level. It brings together a collection of 17 articles from the developing world. Scholars from countries like Kenya, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico, India, Latvia, Portugal, Palestine and Bangladesh analyze the condition of women from different perspectives, emphasizing on the inhibitors or facilitators of women empowerment. The book is divided into three parts. Part one deals with accounts of women empowerment in different parts of the world. Part two examines the barriers and the role they play in hindering the process of women empowerment. Violence emerges as a very strong theme which has led to decline in the confidence level of women and their participation in public life is also curtailed therein. Part three of the book focuses on the role of facilitators in bringing women forward and liberating them through technology. The book would be of interest to practitioners of social sciences.