Women, in general, face many hardships in their daily lives. The burden of maintaining the family, children, household chores, and more prevent them from achieving their life goals and they rarely move up in the social ladder towards top achievements. In the case of rural women, the situation is much worse. Many women, still remaining illiterate due to their familial and societal setups, find it hard to move up towards an egalitarian life. Providing them proper education will solve the problem in the long run, and the governments take active steps towards that. But in the meantime, they need to be provided proper employment so that they gain financial independence and live a better life.
At CSK Global Foundation, we are actively working towards the upliftment of rural women by providing them employment opportunities both within and outside their villages. This way they can earn money and stay independent.
The Reality of Rural Life
The rural life is characterised by farming and other allied activities. The majority of the population living in villages are employed in the agricultural sector and women are employed as labourers in lands, agro based industries, etc. On the other hand, the villages are mostly misogynistic, meaning, they are heavily dominated by men. The employment opportunities are confined to the primary sector, and the caste system is very blatant too. It is hard and almost impossible for many people to move out of the caste system and start a new life. All these worsens the already precarious condition of rural women.
Present Condition of Women in Rural Areas
Rural women have very little say in societal matters, and sometimes familial matters too. This is because most women are paid less than their male counterparts for their work in farms. The inequality is deeply rooted in the system. However, the rising levels of literacy is showing good signs towards their upliftment. Caste and gender based inequalities are being brought down by education. The government schools are doing a good service to the villages by bringing a broader outlook to the people, especially women.
Why It is Important to Provide Employment Opportunities
Aside from providing education to women, it is also important that we provide employment opportunities to them too. By us, we mean the government, the civil society, and organisations like us, the CSK Global Foundation. We can teach women new trades and help them gain employment in manufacturing and service sectors too. By doing so we can help them gain more independence from their rural socio-economic system. Their valuable contribution to the economic system will boost production, and also ease up supply constraints in every sector.
What can be Achieved by This
If we manage to change at least one generation of women in every village, we can generate a trickle-down effect by which every woman born in the village will know how to grow independent and create a life for their own. In time, women in villages will grow on par with urban women, and their say in matters of society, economy, and polity of the villages will be greater and louder. An egalitarian society can be established at the grass-root level and our society as a whole will see growth in all levels.
At CSK Global Foundation, we request you to support our efforts towards creating employment opportunities for rural women. Your valuable suggestions are welcome and they will help us work smarter.