Northern Women; Empowerment Through Employment

By S. Sivathasan –December 2, 2015
“Those without means are scoffed at by everybody. The wealthy are honoured by all.” – Kural
Women of the North
When Auvvaiyar the famed Tamil poetess was asked about the cruelest thing on earth, she replied “The cruelest is poverty and yet more cruel is poverty in early years”. Women headed families in the North are a pitiable 90,000. They experience the cruelest condition and witness yet more cruel travails of their children. Hence this note about them. How to change their discomfiture? A helping hand can lift them as it has done elsewhere.
Why should women be empowered? To make them also a respected segment of society. Can thirty percent representation in the legislature do it? Never. Money put into their hands will. Such action confers dignity. It is a position that comes with financial independence. Wealth can make them equal. Greater wealth can elevate them still higher. Making them so should be the target of honest endeavor. There are institutions to help.
International Fund for Agricultural Development – IFAD
It is a specialized agency of the UN dedicated to eradicating poverty in developing countries. The goal was to empower poor, rural women and men to secure higher incomes and achieve food security. Increased production for greater availability and the purchasing power to enjoy that.
