Abstract
This paper highlights that depowerment of women is linked to the belief and practice of patriarchy which subjugates women at various levels — political, economic, social, and cultural. Patriarchy is a social and ideological construct which considers men (who are the patriarchs) as superior to women. Patriarchy imposes masculinity and femininity character stereotypes in society which strengthen the iniquitous power relations between men and women. Feminism is an awareness of patriarchal control, exploitation, and oppression at the material and ideological levels of women's labour, fertility and sexuality, in the family, at the place of work, and in the society in general, and conscious action by women and men to transform the present situation. Overcoming the belief and practice of patriarchy is termed as eve empowerment.
This paper distinguishes between eve empowerment and psychological empowerment. While the former (eve empowerment) is contextual in nature, the latter (psychological empowerment) is a motivational construct. If conditions favouring eve empowerment make a woman experience empowerment, then it is termed as psychological empowerment. Both these variables are linked to general well-being, which is defined as a state which allows individuals to realize their abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and make a contribution to their community.
The findings indicate that by countering patriarchy, women experience greater eve empowerment and psychological empowerment. The results also show that education level of women had no impact on eve empowerment. This is the reason why there are depowered women even among the educated middle class and upper classes of the society. This finding has important implication for agencies, institutions and the state that are using education as a medium of change and empowerment. The empowerment at the workplace and at home seems to have a spillover effect as both moderate the relation of eve empowerment and general well-being. Deep level impact on social transformation will take place only when the concept of patriarchy is shaken and conditions supporting eve empowerment are created for women to experience psychological empowerment. The limitation of the study was that it was carried out in a patriarchal society. It should also be compared with a similar survey among the matriarchal societies and from all strata of society to make it more representative. The findings can form the basis for improving affirmative action within the organizations.