ABSTRACT
The quantitative component used data from a one-time survey to analyse the changes in the economic empowerment of women in three districts. In academic discourse, the concept of empowerment has come to indicate unequal distribution of power especially when it comes to marginalised communities and minority groups, while acknowledging that there are other individuals and groups experiencing some form of disempowerment in their everyday life. The National Education Policy, which emphasised women’s empowerment as the critical pre-condition towards their equality and empowerment, first used ‘empowerment’ as a concept and as a technique. It was the first official policy that recognised persistent gender imbalances in education and the continued marginalisation of women and girls. In fact, some feminists claim that the ideological conversations between feminists, for example, between liberal, radical or socialist feminists, have not necessarily been used to create a dialogue but to draw sharp boundaries of exclusion and condemnation.
