Women Empowerment through Women Entrepreneurs in Rural Area in Small Scale: With Reference to Jamkhandi Taluka

Abstract

Importance of women in each family is known to all. Indian culture and civilization is very much attached to women and her relationship. Therefore, INDIA is symbolized as Mother India (Bharat Mata). Women are known for their best characters like patience, endurance, love, affection, sympathy and generosity. During early Vedic period, women enjoyed high status and position in their family. They shared equal rights and responsibilities with the husband. A woman is regarded as indivisible part of her husband and therefore her presence and participation in all rituals is inevitable. After Independence all round efforts have been made to promote the welfare of women. The Indian Constitution declared India to be sovereign democratic republic based on four pillars of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. This means to provide the following without gender discrimination:1. Rights and Status,2. Education, 3. Health, 4. Economic emancipation, 5. Welfare organization. The position and functions of women differ from community-to-community, place-toplace. Therefore, women welfare programmes need to fulfill different needs of women of all communities. Though women share equally with men in population, they are treated unequally in all other aspects. Even in the modernized and sophisticated countries they are treated as subordinates to men.

The government of India has defined 'women entrepreneurs based on women participation in equality and employment of a business enterprise.' Accordingly, a women entrepreneur is defined as, 'Enterprise owned and controlled by a women having a minimum financial investment of 51% of the capital and giving at least 51% of the employment generated in the enterprise to women.'

In India, entrepreneurship has been dominated by male governed economy, where the role of women as entrepreneurs has been negligible. However, presently prowomen entrepreneurs have been playing an increasingly important role in promoting growth and economic development of the country. Women entrepreneurship is also gaining increasing importance in relevant notification of public policy relevant. National governments and international organizations are coming to realize that promoting women economic development through women entrepreneurs plays an important role in economic growth, particularly at the grassroots level. Women entrepreneurship needs to be studied separately for the following two main reasons:Economic growth of the country,Need for women empowerment.Though various efforts are being made to improve the status of women, yet women-folk could not take maximum advantage and benefit and remained still backward. Hence, it becomes necessary for the society and government to find out remedies for the problems of women entrepreneurship.