Gender-Based Violence and Legal Frameworks

Gender-based violence (GBV) has grown into a pandemic. It has spread its tentacles so far and wide that no country or community in the 21st century is immune from it. There are, of course, laws to prevent GBV and punish the perpetrators of GBV. But, the laws, in general, pathetically fail to yield the desired result and fail to play the role of an effective deterrent as lawmakers themselves, most often, become lawbreakers. It is well known that patriarchy has a vested interest in gender inequality, which is the root cause of GBV. The dominant gender, male, uses violence against all other genders, including female and third gender, as a lethal weapon to prove their muscle-power, pseudo-superiority, and enjoy what is not morally and ethically and legally right. GBV is undoubtedly a human right violation. However, in the land of nonviolence, India, marital rape, among others, is still legal. Things are slowly changing, and it gives hope.

Interim Management Strategy as a Way of Empowering Women Leadership

Although major steps have been taken to increase inclusive representation of women in the workforce, there is a significant gender gap in achieving leadership roles in both developed and developing regions. In particular, many women around the world face serious challenges that prevent them from moving to leadership positions. Women's empowerment approaches are needed in order to have equal access to resources, to participate in decision-making processes, and to support career advancement. Within this context, interim management strategies can be considered as one of the empowering opportunities for women leadership. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the role of interim management on women leaders' empowerment. This is the first attempt that evaluates the notion of interim management as part of empowerment of women's leadership. It is expected to add value to literature on women in leadership positions and corporate decision-making.

The Road Less Travelled

One of the most crucial factors affecting development in the 21st century is the increased participation of women in the economy of a country and increased entrance to managerial positions. Even though such tremendous changes have taken place, the patriarchal social set up insists on women's responsibilities towards family and children. The domestic roles of women are not shared by men despite the fact that women have shared the economic and social responsibilities of men. This causes conflict among work and family roles, which ultimately affects the physical and psychological well-being of women managers. This chapter deals with the problems and challenges faced by women managers in higher education in India and how family support and suitable coping strategies help them maintain work-family balance.

Economic Security and Empowerment of Rural Women

Economic security is a fundamental cord that would enhance the empowerment levels of women. In the patriarchal family structure, women have little or no access to economic resources, making them vulnerable. Social sanction for femicide, social and cultural discriminatory practices, and violence against women have curtailed women's choices and freedom. The impact of the elimination of girl children and strong son preference has deprived women of their economic entitlements. The case study is of particular interest as it is undertaken in Usilampatti taluk in Tamil Nadu, India, which is notorious for the practice of female foeticide and infanticide leading to low sex ratio. This chapter is an attempt to identify how rural women who have escaped femicide negotiate with gender asymmetry, reorganize the power relations within the family and market structure, manage economic resources, and emerge as independent leaders both in the private and public domains.

Gender Bias in School Education

Education has ever been considered as the best instrument for facilitating women empowerment and ensuring gender justice. Schools play a major role in gender socialization, and are expected to develop proper attitudes and values in children required for a gender just society. Based on the empirical studies conducted in 24 schools in Kerala, India, the gender bias existing in the overall school climate and classroom practices are exposed. The study using observation and interviews revealed that the practices in several schools are gendered with regard to the rules and regulations, dress code, seating arrangements and play provisions to boys and girls. Findings also revealed that there are gendered classroom practices existing with regard to teacher-student verbal interaction, teacher eye contact and attention, grouping of students, assigning roles and responsibilities, and disciplinary practices. Based on the findings, the author suggests measures to eliminate the gender bias from the school education system.

Gender Responsive Budgeting in India

The budget represents the financial plan and hence is the most significant policy instrument of the government for establishing macro-economic stability, fiscal efficiency, strategic priority, and more importantly, for ensuring the equitable distribution of national resources. Gender responsive participatory budgeting (GRPB) is a means of integrating a gender dimension into all steps of the budget process that includes participatory decision making and transparency in raising financial resources and their expenditure. It is about considering the different needs and priorities of both women, men, and sexual minorities without gender exclusivity. Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) ensures that budgets are gender-sensitive and not gender neutral, which means that they are geared towards establishing gender equality and are sensitive to intersectionality of gender with class, caste, race, religion, ethnicity, and geographical location. GRB consists of the use of tools to analyze the gender dimensions of budgets; adoption of procedures to ensure that the budget supports the achievement of gender equality; and implementation mechanisms for effective and efficient utilisation of allocated funds, functions, and functionaries.

Eazidi Women's Practices of Empowerment and Capital Formation Following Enslavement by ISIS

This chapter begins by surveying the historical context of rape in Iraq through the narrative of Eazidi women who escaped enslavement by ISIS. It then discusses the theology of rape in Islam, which has motivated ISIS to commit rape and legitimized the rape of Eazidi women. The chapter then theorizes the social capital of Middle Eastern women. The chapter argues that, for the first time, the Eazidi community in Iraq is altering the social consequences of rape by developing empowerment methods that amount to a social revolution within the Eazidi community. This empowerment not only protects Eazidi women survivors from experiencing common post-rape consequences but also increases their capital, in all its Bourdieusian forms.

Kudumbashree

Kudumbashree, established in Kerala, India in the year of 1998 was perceived not merely as one SHG-based women empowerment programme in the narrow sense, but as a poverty eradication mission of Kerala. Kudumbashree is a multifaceted programme focusing primarily on microfinance and micro-enterprise development, but at the same time integrally linked to local self-government institutions. Kudumbashree enhances the civic participation in the development process in a grass root level, particularly, deepen democracy, strengthen social capital, facilitate efficiency sustained growth and gender mainstreaming. Kudumbashree has succeeded to empower women by boosting women's sense of self-worth; right to have and to determine choices; right to have access to opportunities and resources; right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; and ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just, social and economic order.

Social Empowerment of Women in India With Special Focus on the Recent Supreme Court Landmark Decisions

Historically, women have been attached with so many disabilities. Much attention has not been paid to the social and economic development of the women despite women consisting of half of the population. Apart from constitutional and fundamental rights, there is a separate chapter created under the Indian constitution (i.e., Directive Principles of State Policy), which mandates the state towards positive obligation for the empowerment of weaker sections of the society including women. The contribution of Parliament through the enactment of a law for the social development of women is positive. The Apex court in India struck down so many archaic legal provisions that discriminate against the women in its various decisions. The objective of the chapter is 1) an analysis of the methodology adopted by the court for the empowerment of the women, 2) to access the practical implication of court cases on the social empowerment of women, and 3) to look into the strategy adopted by the executive or government in furtherance of the said landmark decisions.

Emergence of Entrepreneurship

Micro enterprises are increasingly being accepted as a path to improving livelihoods in rural areas, especially among tribal women, happening largely due to loss of collective ownership of lands, depletion of natural resources, intrusion of dominant outsiders in their private properties, and deforestation. These factors are contributing to a disadvantageous situation deepening the poverty among tribals, especially women. The emergence of community-based organisations like self-help groups, cooperatives, government schemes, and programs has facilitated this new trend. Women in tribal societies are considered economic assets, and the increasing access to entrepreneurial activities increases the overall household income and improves their quality of life. The chapter covers the nature of enterprises run by tribal women, the sources of support system, and the nature of their involvement in enterprise management.