During the nine years of the Modi government, the dynamics of women empowerment and women-centric development has been redefined. The parameter of empowerment has been widened to include not only meeting basic needs but incorporating economic development along with social development, which includes education, good heath, everyday dignity, confidence, and courage to demand and seek access to services like education by redefining power relations. This resolute commitment to elevating the status of women in society, gives us a new concept of Nari Shakti, an Indian version of women empowerment that has attracted women voters towards Prime Minister Modi’s government. This wide-ranging support from women can be seen in the 2022 Election Commission of India data, which reveals that the Modi-led government is more electorally popular among women than men.
There has been a paradigm shift in the empowerment of women. The government didn’t reduce the question of women to merely an economic one. It took a holistic approach, transcending the narrow prism of economic determinism and linked it with the larger question of safety, security, dignity, and leadership. Women were seen as an agent of social change but were also promoted as nation builders. PM Narendra Modi rightly points out that women empowerment is crucial to India’s growth. Those days of women as “homemakers” have gone; we must see women as a nation builder. This nation builder idea creates a sense of ownership in women towards the nation. Further, such outlook didn’t reduce women to being victims but cast them as agents of not only their own lives, but also agents to reshape the nation in her own image.
Three massive and mass policies have been carried out by Modi government that are central to understand how effectively the government is connected to its women constituency. These are the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and Jal Jeevan Mission. It is the women who are disproportionately affected by the lack of access to fuel, water and toilets, and these inequalities are further compounded when we look at women who are in the margins. These daily chores acquire almost a deadly character because of the multiple threats they face as they go to fetch water or wood, or to defecate in the open. By working on issues such as water, gas and toilets, the government has reached out to women’s immediate, everyday concerns. This has brought security, safety, hygiene and dignity to the lives of ordinary women.
The flagship initiative of “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” aims to bridge the gender gap in education and improve the female-to-male ratio. This program has led to a significant increase in the enrollment of girls in schools and colleges, empowering them with knowledge and skills. Several programs such as Stand-Up India have been initiated for economic empowerment and to inculcate the entrepreneurship zeal among women. 68% of loans have been extended to more than 27 crore women. The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate has also also launched. These policies create both economic empowerment and gender equality, leading to a more equitable society. Initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and the Sukanya Samridhi Yojana (SSY), which promotes financial security for the girl child, encourage parents to save for their daughters’ education and future. This signifies the emphasis placed on making people conscious about bridging the education gap between a girl child and a male child, as well as raising her with dignity. 3.8 crore SSY accounts have been created for the budget year 2023-24.
These yojanas are geared towards bringing a mindset revolution, where the girl child is seen as blessing for the family. Economist Amartya Sen emphasises on capability building or capacity building as an approach to development, which means bettering women’s lives not only in the short term but also creating spaces for long term interaction and building bonds for collectively changing women’s status. The Modi government has created this discourse via action-plans that lead to the creation of spaces and bonding between men and women.
These policies have transcended social classes and brought minority women, and women from other marginalized regions such as the Northeast, to the centre of the Indian debate. The Muslim Women (Protection of Right on Marriage) Act, 2019 created a roadmap for Muslim women who were suffering because of the arbitrary divorce law in their own communities. The Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) under Digital India aims to bridge the digital divide, by targeting the rural population including the marginalised sections of society and women and girls by covering 6 crore rural households. As on 08.12.2022, the percentage of women benefiting from PMGDISHA is over 53% of the total enrolled, over 54% of the total trained and over 56% of the total certified. The umbrella scheme of Mission Shakti has two sub-schemes, namely “Sambal” for safety and security of women and “Samarthya” for empowerment of women.
Under Samarthya, a new component, Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW) has been included with the aim to facilitate inter-sectoral convergence of schemes and programs meant for women at the Central, State/UT and district levels for creating an environment in which women are able to realise their full potential. Under HEW, women are provided access to healthcare, quality education, career and vocational counselling/training, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, backward and forward linkages, health and safety for workers, social security and digital literacy at districts/blocks/gram panchayats level across the country.
Through comprehensive policies and targeted initiatives, the Modi government has strived to empower women by overcoming social, economic, and cultural barriers. This sustained effort has yielded commendable progress, enabling “ordinary” women to break barriers, pursue their dreams, and actively contribute to India’s growth and development.
Dr Aditi Narayani Paswan is Assistant Professor, Delhi University.