Out of eight millennium goals set out at the Millennium Summit Declaration in September 2000 by the member-states of the UN, one of the goals is to promote gender equality and empowerment of women in order to achieve overall goal of development.
It is based on the premise that without gender equality the other goals cannot be achieved such as eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, reduction in child mortality, improvement in maternal health, combating of the HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability and global partnership for development, including debt sustainability.
A state must empower women as a first step for opening up doors of development. In other words, no state can be considered moving towards development unless women are free and are fully empowered. For measuring the progress of states towards this goal, the UNDP has developed gender empowerment measure index on the basis of which progress of a state towards development is measured.
The issue of women dignity and vesting them with a voice in shaping political, economic and social policies can be traced back to the conditions to which women were subjected to in the western societies until early 18th century. The movements started in the West for securing a better treatment of women -- a squarer deal -- and remained concentrated on women's well being. The movements which dominated two centuries emphasized provisioning of equal share to women in food, family planning, health care etc.
In the second half of the 20th century, the concept of Women in Development (WID) revolved around recognition of women's role as reproductive, productive and community workers and fulfilment of their strategic reeds through direct state intervention. In the last decade of 20th century (1990s) the concept was broadened to include not only practical needs of women in their triple role but to enhance the women's contribution to the development process through full and equal participation of women in economic, political and social life.
Amartya Sen in his book "Development as Freedom" articulates this role: "the objectives have, however, gradually evolved and broadened from the welfarist focus to incorporate -- and emphasize -- the active role of the women's agency. No longer have the passive recipients of welfare enhancing helped, women are increasingly seen by men as well as women as active agents of change: The dynamic promoters of social transformations that can alter the lives of both women and men".
While endorsing the views of Amartya Sen, Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq goes two steps further by arguing that "those which have given equal access to women and men in economic and political opportunities have progressed much faster than those which denied such access. Gender equality is necessary condition for sound human development."
The argument of both Economists say that states who granted economic and political opportunities to women progressed faster than those which denied such access. No causal relationship exists between the two. The western societies achieved the status of Imperial Powers and Super-Powers much before granting these rights. The table below elucidates this point.
As far as economic rights of women in developed countries are concerned, women were considered legal appendages of their husband up to 19th century and had but a little control or ownership rights on property. All property and assets belonged to the husband, even the wages and profits earned by them from own business were not treated as separate property but belonged to husbands. In a case Fuller and Fuller Co vs. McHenry the Supreme Court of the US held in 1892 that if a wife's money and or property were used in family business, they would lose their separate character and would pass into the husband's control.
As the federal laws as well as laws in many states in the US were discriminatory against women including their rights to ownership of property, a constitutional amendment known as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced in the House of Representative in 1923 which was approval after 49 years in March 1972 by the Senate, envisaging invalidations of federal and state laws that discriminate against women.
The amendment in the constitution has not seen the light of the day as requisite majority of 38 states has not ratified it. The state and federal laws which perpetuate discrimination in respect of women's rights to ownership of property and assets continue in the US. The legal history is no different in other developed countries in regard to conferment of economic rights to women.
The feminist movement in the West aims at empowering the women through incorporation and codification of their rights in the statute books. This stands in sharp contrast to the movement in most of the third world countries where their rights are largely protected by their constitutions and personal laws. However, unfortunately these rights are not enforced on account of feudal and tribal systems which are strong and defiant of law and constitutions in these countries. Hence, the basic issue is securing of rights of women through enforcement of law rather than codification of these rights in law as in the West.
One can safely conclude from the above discussion that 'rapid progress' achieved by the US, Germany or the UK was not on account of grant of equal rights to women. Some may argue that progress is now coined in terms of 'human development' and not 'economic growth and development'. And human development connotes rich and happy life of all segments of society including women. Surely, they would be right in saying so.
What to say of about hunger, poverty and unemployment which plague our societies? Can there be rich and happy life for all on empty stomachs? No! Our priorities are misplaced. Our resources and preferences are being diverted to issues which are secondary! In no way, do I mean to say that the goal of women empowerment set in the Millennium declaration is not the need of hour for reforming our societies. But the question is why there is so much iteration on grant of rights to women by attaching condition of women empowerment for entitlement of foreign assistance to the third world while the process of women empowerment in the developed world is itself slow and tardy.
The measurement index of empowerment -- Gender Empowerment Measure - is based on those dimensions which are adverse in third world countries. The example is of choice of dimension of "number of women working as managers or senior officers" while ignoring women workforce working in agriculture or informal sector. Another dimension "power on economic resources" as measured by women's earned income may not be as comprehensive for results as the women's share in the total national assets of a state.
In addition to the dimension of participation of women as measured by their percentage share in total parliamentary seats, another dimension "legalization and codification of their rights under laws" could be added to measure women empowerment. A reappraisal and re-determination of dimensions for measuring true empowerment of women is called for.