‘Empowerment is power to take decisions’

“Education does not always mean empowerment either. The most important thing is the power to take decisions. A woman who earns a good salary should also know how and where to use it,” adds Dr Grewal.

Dr Narkit Kaur,president Working Women Forum,says,“There is a need to make women’s right part of our Constitution. Recently, industrialists met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to make amendments in the labour law to allow women to work in night shifts in factories. When the government makes these amendments,it should also consider other factors such as security of women working at night,availability of creches etc.”

For Leena (name changed),it was her six-year -old daughter who gave her the courage to walk out of an abusive marriage. “When my daughter saw her father beat me up,she said lets run away mom,” she says.

My parents,on the other hand,who were witness to my condition for the last nine years never gave me the support or courage to stand up for myself. Women cannot be empowered until the mindset of the society changes,she adds.