Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Contribution to Women Empowerment in India

Abstract

In the Indian male-dominated society, women faced terrific problems since the Vedic period due to superstitions and misguided rituals. The women have been victimized through different ways, like child marriage, Sati Pratha, Purdah Pratha, restriction to widow remarriage, widow’s exploitation, Devadasi system, etc.. So, incidentally taking birth as a woman had been treated as a curse for the woman. That system impeded the women and brought an inferiority complex which proved a big hurdle in their social, economic, and personal development. During British rule in India and after independence, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar fought for the rights of women and made such provisions in the Constitution of India so that women must be treated equally in the society. The provision of equality to women was made for all streams whether it is education, employment, social, or economic rights. It is only due to Dr. Ambedkar that today women feel self-confident and self-dependent. The implementation of many articles of the constitution and laws brought self-confidence, individuality, self-respect, and overall empowerment for women. The empowered women have proved themselves better than men in all fields be it education, entrepreneurship, medical, engineering, and defense, etc.. The old ill-trusted traditions disappeared to a large extent gradually from the society only due to the hard efforts put by Dr. Ambedkar. However, due to the absence of a strong judicial and administrative system and ignorance of laws, women become victimized by various social evils such as child-bearing, family care roles, deep-rooted cultural norms, etc., and become targets of discrimination, exploitation, and domestic violence. Women Empowerment is the vital instrument to expand women’s ability to have resources and to make strategic life choices. This present paper attempts to examine the status of women in India and their empowerment through Dr. Ambedkar in India. It tries to highlight the issues and challenges related to women in Indian society and the eradication of such impediments through the Ambedkarite approach. Through this paper, it is tried to verify the relevance of Dr. Ambedkar’s approach for the upliftment of the economic, social, and political status of women.