Social empowerment encompasses a multifaceted landscape of challenges and opportunities that shape the fabric of societies worldwide. At its core, social empowerment pertains to the distribution of power, resources, and opportunities among individuals and groups, aiming to enhance their agency, dignity, and well-being. However, this noble pursuit is often entangled with a myriad of complex issues that hinder its realization. From systemic inequalities rooted in race, gender, and class, to barriers in access to education, healthcare, and economic resources, the journey towards social empowerment is riddled with obstacles that demand attention and action. Moreover, the evolving dynamics of globalization, technological advancement, and environmental degradation add further layers of complexity to these issues, necessitating comprehensive and inclusive approaches to foster meaningful change. In navigating these challenges, understanding and addressing the interconnectedness of social, economic, and political structures is paramount to forging a more equitable and inclusive society.
Problem Faced by Tribes
- Problems related to the forest – The livelihood of the tribal community is based on forest. They enjoyed their traditional rights of hunting, gathering, shifting cultivation but the advent of modern government, in the name of forest protection stopped the movement of STs which brought the question of existence. Further, their lands are taken by various government agencies and the private sector for minuscule compensation.
- Poverty and exploitation – The tribal population are been exploited because of their innocence and they are pushed to a spiral of poverty. They have been living in forests from time immemorial, but after the government’s restriction, many became bonded laborers and getting exploited. In India, 52 percent of the STs belong to the category of Below Poverty Line (BPL) and 54 percent of them have no access to economic assets such as communication and transport (World Bank, 2011).
- Literacy rate – Literacy among the tribes of the north-eastern and island regions is relatively higher but despite that high dropout rate and the infant mortality rate is also a problem in the north-eastern region.
- Health Issues – PVTGs suffer from many health problems like anaemia, malaria; gastro-intestinal disorders; micronutrient deficiency and skin diseases due to poverty, lack of safe drinking water, bad sanitation, lack of health services, superstition and deforestation.
- Agriculture – The contributing factor such as dependency on agriculture, natural calamity, crop-failure, reduced access to land, and lack of employment, etc are the reason for poverty in the states like MP and Chhattisgarh.
- Unemployment – The rates of unemployment are high in the tribals of the island region. STs are confronted with problems like forced migration, exploitation, displacement due to industrialization led to losing command over the natural resources, and are unable to cope with the new pattern of work and resources for living.
- Lack of baseline surveys -The Anthropological Survey of India observed 75 PVTGs, baseline surveys exists for about 40 groups, even after declaring them as PVTGs. Lack of baseline surveys hinder effective implementation of welfare schemes.
- Outdated List -The Anthropological Survey of India observes that the list of PVTG is overlapping and repetitive. For example, the list contains synonyms of the same group such as the Mankidia and the Birhor in Odisha, both of which refer to the same group.
- More Dependency on MFP – Minor Forest Produce (MFP) is a major source of livelihood for tribals living in forest areas. Most of the trade-related to the MFPs remained unorganized in nature, which has led to low returns to the gatherers and high wastages due to limited value addition.
- Low level of technology – The tribes have a low level of technology which is not suitable for the modern-day. For example, they are still practising shifting cultivation which is problematic for the environment.
- Losing their identity – Nowadays, the tribes are coming out of their tribal fold and are increasingly getting assimilated into the non-tribal population by which they are losing their tribal culture, social institution, language, etc.
Problem Faced by Women
- Domestic Violence And Dowry Deaths – Dowry deaths are deaths of married women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by their husbands and in-laws over a dispute about their dowry, making the women’s homes the most dangerous place for them to be. Women continue to face the most risks from their families. Among all registered cases of serious crimes against women, the largest share 36% of all cases were under “cruelty by husband and relatives”.
- Pink colorization of jobs – The women are mostly deemed fit for “pink-collar jobs” only, such as teachers, nurses, receptionists, babysitter, lecturer, etc. which have been stereotyped for women. This denies them opportunities in other fields.
- Early marriage – especially of girl children, reduces their opportunities, denying them the chance to get empowered.
- Girl child denied timely interventions à in nutrition and healthcare, especially in rural areas. Hence malnutrition and anaemia among Indian girls is one of the highest in the world.
- Education – it is denied, and even if allowed in some cases, the girl couldn’t attend classes due to time constraints as a result of household work.
- Glass ceilings – Women in India face artificial barriers like stereotypes, media-related issues, informal boundaries, which prevent them from advancing upward in their organization into management-level positions.
- Lack of political participation of women – The Indian Parliament currently has 11.8% women representation, and state assemblies have only 9%. Even though the 73rd constitutional amendment act mandates 33% of panchayat seats to be reserved for women. Prevalence of “Sarpanch Pati”.
- Patriarchal society and gender discrimination à A patriarchal society means a male-dominated society, and gender discrimination is when one Sex is given preferential concern over the others. Discrimination is also seen in education as male children get good school, whereas girl children do not get the same privilege.
- Unemployment – The unequal treatment of women has been a characteristic of provision for unemployment throughout its existence. Even though women are generally paid less, they are not preferred in many industries.
- A gap in digital literacy – Digital gender gap in India is huge, as less than a third of India’s total interest users are female i.e. 29 %.
- Globally in developing countries, the number of women using the internet is 12% less than men.
Problem Faced By Scheduled Caste
- The SCs were denied many basic amenities, such as drinking water, entering the temple, public transport, cemetery, etc. Many changes have been brought in, but it’s a hard reality that social disabilities still prevails.
- The schedule caste’s human rights are violated now and then by majority and other sections of the society. They were forced to do manual scavenging, working as bonded laborers, etc., which violated their basic human rights.
- Traditionally, Hindus disallow education for scheduled caste which still persists. They have been treated discriminately in the educational institution
- Many a time, scheduled castes are denied into the temple as they are still considered as untouchables (Gandhi ji termed them as “Harijan”). These disabilities are generally seen in rural areas and mostly not seen in urban areas.
Problems faced by minorities in India
The problem of communal tensions and riots:
- The minority interest is at stake whenever a communal riot and tension occurs. The number of social unrest also started to increase post 1960s.
- Hence, combined with the magnitude and frequency of communal riots, the minority is losing confidence over the system and it is highly tough for the government to restore the confidence in them.
The problem of Identity:
- Because of the differences in socio-cultural practices, history, and backgrounds, minorities have to grapple with the issue of identity
- This gives rise to the problem of adjustment with the majority community.
The problem of Security:
- Different identities and their small numbers relative to the rest of society develop feelings of insecurity about their life, assets, and well-being.
- This sense of insecurity may get accentuated at times when relations between the majority and the minority communities in society are strained or not much cordial.
The problem of lack of representation in civil service and politics:
- The equality and equal opportunities to all its citizens including the religious minorities are given in Indian Constitution, the biggest minority community, that is, Muslims, have not availed themselves of these facilities of basic human cause. There is a feeling among them that they are neglected.
The problem of separatism:
- Some of the demands put forward by some religious communities in some areas are not acceptable to others. This has widened the gap between them and others (e.g., the separatist tendency present among some Muslim extremists in Kashmir and their demand for the establishment of Independent Kashmir is not acceptable to others)
Education and Employment among Muslims in India:
- The participation of Muslims is relatively low in the education space but has improved in recent years.
- The participation of Muslims in higher education is particularly poor Household endowments along with location play a critical role in determining the participation of Muslims in education.
- Muslims are predominantly engaged in self-employment and their participation as regular worker especially in the tertiary sector in urban areas is low as compared to other socio-religious communities
Challenges faced by senior citizens in India:
- Digital illiteracy: The inability of older family members to understand the modern digital language of communication, there is lack of communication between elderly and younger members. They also feel difficulty in getting benefits of digital schemes.
- Ruralisation of the Elderly: According to the 2011 Census, 71 percent of the elderly live in rural India. There are more problems such as Income insecurity, lack of adequate access to quality health care and isolation in rural elderly than the urban elderly.
- Migration and its Impact: Due to the migration of the younger people, the elderly are left living alone or only with their spouse and they face social isolation, poverty, and distress.
Problem Faced by Disabled Section
- Isolation:
The greatest challenge that disabled people have had to face has been society’s misperception that they are not normal. Historically they have been pitied, ignored, vilified, even hidden away in institutions.
- Discrimination:
Disabled people have some abilities, needs, and interests as the rest of the population. Nevertheless, discrimination continued to exist in certain important areas. Some employers were reluctant to take on or promote disables people; some landlords refused to give the land on rent to them; and courts sometimes deprived them of basic rights, including custody of their children. In recent decades, this situation has undergone some positive changes through adjustments in legislation and public attitudes
- Infrastructure:
The problems related to the design of the vehicles (high and incompatible steps of vehicles from the platform level especially in public transports), public and private buildings being built without proper provisions of being disabled-friendly. The absence of disabled-friendly toilets, stairs, and other basic infrastructure in public buildings is still a major problem in India.
- Limited monitoring capacity:
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) is the nodal department for issues concerning PwDs at the national level has several schemes. However, many of these schemes have a very small allocation, and the resources that are allocated do not get fully utilized. The monitoring capacity within the department is also limited which is a major challenge because a number of schemes are implemented through NGOs.
FAQs
Q: What is social empowerment?
Social empowerment refers to the process of enabling individuals or communities to gain control over their lives and circumstances. It involves enhancing their ability to participate in decision-making processes and to access resources and opportunities.
Q: Why is social empowerment important?
Social empowerment is crucial for fostering inclusive and equitable societies. It helps to reduce inequality by ensuring that marginalized groups have the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. Empowered individuals and communities are better able to advocate for their rights, challenge discrimination, and contribute to positive social change.
Q: What are some examples of social empowerment initiatives?
Social empowerment initiatives can take various forms, including education and skills training programs, community organizing and activism, economic development projects, and policies aimed at promoting gender equality and social inclusion. Examples include microfinance programs for women entrepreneurs, campaigns to raise awareness about human rights issues, and initiatives to increase political representation for marginalized groups.
Q: What are the barriers to social empowerment?
Barriers to social empowerment can include discrimination based on factors such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, or socioeconomic status. Limited access to education, healthcare, employment opportunities, and political participation can also hinder empowerment efforts. Additionally, cultural norms and attitudes that perpetuate inequality and marginalization can pose significant challenges.
Q: How can individuals contribute to social empowerment?
Individuals can contribute to social empowerment in various ways, such as by advocating for policies that promote equality and inclusion, supporting grassroots organizations and community initiatives, challenging stereotypes and prejudices, and actively participating in efforts to address social injustices. By recognizing their own privilege and using their voice and resources to uplift others, individuals can help create a more just and equitable society.
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