The 3 Ls Of Empowerment

            THE 3 Ls OF EMPOWERMENT

1. What are the three essential factors for empowerment?
          The three essential factors for empowerment are Learning, Labour and Leadership. Together they are called the 3Ls.

2. What is the role of learning in empowering women?
          Education is the foundation on which any change is built. Learning helps women to help themselves and break free of the chains with which they are bound.

3. How can we promote more opportunities for women in the workplace?
             Women can be given more opportunities in the work place by changing some of our laws to ensure that property and inheritance laws do not discriminate against women. Education and healthcare for women should be encouraged. Women should be given more credit facilities so that women can get greater economic independence.

THINK AND WRITE

1. The role of educated, empowered women in building a strong nation.
            Educated and empowered women have a big role to play in building a strong nation. India has a population of 1.3 billion of which nearly half are women. If these women are not given their rights and if they do not carry out their economic responsibilities how can we hope to grow and prosper? There should be gender equality between man and woman so that India too can become a developed nation.

2. The role of learning, labour and leadership skills in making a woman liberated.
             The 3 Ls are important in liberating a woman. Education makes her conscious of her rights and responsibilities. Labour helps her to earn money and also contribute to the economic development of the nation. Women are sometimes better leaders because they tend to make decisions based on consensus-building, inclusion, compassion and sustainability. Men tend to be rash, whereas women are supposed to be more sober.

3. Women should step outside their ‘comfort zones’. Discuss.
       Women should certainly step outside their comfort zone if they have to get their rightful place in the society. Most women, especially Indian women, feel safe and comfortable within the four walls of their home. Even when they take up jobs they prefer to do safe jobs like teaching, nursing and clerical jobs. They are afraid to take up more challenging jobs because they are afraid of failure. They think if they take up jobs and do things that are usually done by men they will be called ‘men’ and they don’t relish it. So they remain in their comfort zones, denying themselves the opportunity to grow to their potential.

4. Women sometimes lack the confidence to match their competence. Comment on the statement.
          It is true that many women are competent but they often lack confidence. They are afraid of failure. We have seen women like Golda Meir of Israel, Margaret Thatcher of Britain, Sirimao Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka and Indira Gandhi of India. They were all more manly than men! They were iron ladies who had the courage to do things the way they thought right. But most ladies lack such confidence. They prefer to stay at home, looking after their husbands and children. Their mindset has to change. They should feel that they are in no way inferior to men. There is a popular African saying: “What a man can do, a woman can do better!” Let them believe in it and then they will see the difference.

5. How can we build self-confidence in women?
              We can build self-confidence in women by letting them do things on their own, without being advised and guided. They should be made to read the biographies of women like Golda Meir of Israel, Margaret Thatcher of Britain, Sirimao Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka and Indira Gandhi of India. They should also read about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and our own Kalpana Chawla. All religious books contain stories about courageous and powerful women. The idea that men and women are equal should be drilled into their minds. Entrust them with responsible jobs.

ACTIVITY - I (SPEECH)

Can speeches make an impact on the human mind?

          Speeches can definitely make an impact on the human mind. We see how great men influenced their people with powerful speeches. Our own Subhash Chandra Bose said, “Give me blood, and I will give you freedom”. Many people joined the INA (Indian National Army) because of his speeches. We know how Winston Churchill influenced his countrymen during the Second World War with his ‘Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat’ speech on 13 May 1940. When he was elected the Prime Minister he told the cabinet: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” Kennedy influenced the American youth and indeed the youth all over the world with his famous inaugural address on 20 January 1961. He said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” Speeches do influence us. Some of our political leaders are good speakers and that is why they are in leadership positions.

Why do we make speeches?
           We make speeches to make our listeners follow our ideas and ideologies. Through speeches we let others know what we think is right. Religious leaders make the believers follow their religion through speeches, known as sermons. Political leaders constantly make speeches to retain their following and to prove that their policies and programmes are the best. To be successful in public we ought to master the art of speech-making. Oratorical skills are essential for leaders to make an impact on people. Sometimes, it may sound paradoxical, but words often speak louder than actions!

Do you remember any such famous speech?
            Yes, I do. The speech made by John F. Kennedy on his Inauguration as the 35th President of the United States.

If so, provide the following details:

• Who delivered it: John F. Kennedy
• What was the occasion : His Inauguration as the President
• When was it delivered: On 20 January 1961
• What was the purpose of his speech: To influence the youth, of America
• Who were the audience: Mainly the House of Representatives and the US Congress. But the entire America, and in fact the whole world, listened.
• How was it presented? With powerful voice, apt gesticulations and other oratorical flourishes.

Christine Lagarde suggests various means of empowering women. She persuasively insists on the idea that women should think and act independently. Keeping this in mind; prepare a script of a persuasive speech on the topic ‘Education is the Key to Women Empowerment’ to be delivered at the school assembly on International Women’s Day (March 8).
             Respected Principal, teachers, and my dear students, As all of you know, today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. All over the world, the day is observed to ensure that women have an equal share in the developmental activities. In many parts of the world women are still considered second class citizens. India is one of the countries where women suffer most because of discriminations. We still have the dowry system. Female foeticide is common. Although these are prohibited by law, they still go on in our society.

              The life of an Indian woman, generally speaking, is a series of slaveries. Until she is married, she is a slave of her father; when she is married she is a slave of her husband and when the husband dies she becomes the slave of her son with whom she chooses to stay. It is usual that husbands die before their wives because they marry women much younger to them. This situation has to change and this can be done by 3 Ls – Learning, Labour and Leadership – as shown by Christine Lagarde, who was first woman Finance Minister of France.

                Learning helps the woman to know about her rights and duties. Labour or employment gives her the economic power to assert herself. A woman without any income has to depend on her father, husband or son for her needs. Leadership makes the woman powerful. She should be able to lead so that the world becomes a better place to live in. Lagarde says women make better leaders than men. Women tend to make decisions based on consensus-building, inclusion, compassion and sustainability.

            It is true that sometimes women lack the confidence to match their competence. They have to change their mindset. They should be ready to “dare the difference”, to take risk and step outside their comfort zones. Indira Gandhi and Kalpana Chawla .came out of their comfort zones and that is why we respect them and remember them almost every day.

             I, therefore, ask the girls assembled here to take charge of their lives. You have a lot to gain and nothing to lose by trying to make yourself equal to men.

I wish you success in your endeavours!