Many progressive changes are made for empowering women. There is a certain reservation for females in most governmental sectors. But the questions that still remain unanswered are,  are all females empowered and is our policy effective for ordinary women?

No one can deny the fact that the women living in cities are getting the most of women empowerment. Females go for work wearing tidy clothes, girls go to school at an early age, girls marry after finding jobs, i.e. after being settled, females use the reserved seats in public transportation which are positive changes. It is awesome to see equality being maintained in many urban region.

However, there is much to be done in rural areas where gender discrimination persists. Girls are not sent to school. They are made to involve mainly in household task. There

are many superstitions that show girls to be inferior to their male counterparts. They are made to marry early before being physically and emotionally matured.

Practices like dowry system in rural Terai areas affect women and their family. The archaic practices like chhaupadi pratha, deuki pratha etc prevail in far western region. These prathas directly victimize females. My concern is for the women of remote areas. ‘How can they get reservation in employment unless they get education at an early age?’ Many aren’t even aware about what reservation actually is. In most societies males go to school and do not feel discrimination because everything is viewed from a patriarchal perspective. But the social culture and practices in these areas make women suffer a lot.

The government is not making effective attempts to make rural women aware and independent. Women empowerment programs in rural areas are becoming sources of income for VDC secretaries and chiefs. There is no proper system to monitor the effectiveness of the empowerment programs. The women are unable to exercise their right to safe abortion and pregnancy due to poor infrastructures in hospitals. Due to ignorance, they hesitate to visit doctors for the treatment of women related health issues.

The government should make rural women feel empowered by making them educated and aware. For this all from the rural areas should be made aware about the need to send their daughters to school. Violence against women should be considered as a serious crime.