Women Empowerment in Garhwal Himalayas Constraints and Prospects

This book is an outcome of a National Seminar organized by the Department of Political Science, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar under the UGCSAPDRS programme during November 1920, 2007 on “Women Empowerment in Garhwal Himalayas Constraints and Prospects”. The objective of this book is to explore the challenges and constraints which hamper women’s participation in development programmes as a decision maker and identity as a group. Women of Garhwal Himalayas play a major role in managing natural resources, agriculture and economy and they also suffer from the environmental mismanagement, yet they are neither consulted nor is their plight taken into account by the strategists and planners while making policies. In view of women’s contribution towards the society and economy, the purpose of this book is to highlight the situation of women empowerment; realities and its impact on socioeconomic justice in general and in particular to the Garhwal Himalayas. Actually there are innumerable issues of the women of Garhwal Himalayas, on which policy decisions and concrete actions need to be taken to ensure full participation and empowerment of the women. This book consists of the papers presented during the seminar in which the authors have suggested the ways and means through which the women can face the environmental, social, and economic challenges and use the clauses of empowerment for their betterment in development programmes and policies. This book also examines how despite poverty, poor health, socioeconomic and educational status, women of Garhwal Himalayas are playing a vital role for the society. It also highlights the social, economic, institutional and functional constraints that impair the functioning of women in the policies and development programmes. It is hoped that this book would be helpful to the scholars, development workers, NGO’s and policy planners to encourage rural women’s empowerment and participation in development programmes.