Empowerment consist of various levels
and dimensions. In order to be empowered it requires both changes at the
individual level and the societal level. We believe that it is possible to
empower women, at the individual level. Being able to read and write and
gain new knowledge, are important
factors that enhance self-esteem of the individual, and is a prerequisite for
generating change and empowerment. Participating in education is an expression
of psychological and cognitive components of the empowerment process. An
educated woman is more likely to send her children to school. This is an
illustration of cognitive empowerment because the woman becomes capable of
making important decisions about health and educational matters on behalf of
her children. This illustrates the woman as an active agent, being able to
improve and change the life conditions of her children.
But it is not enough to challenge
structures of gender inequality at societal level. Collective action has a
greater potential in creating more widespread change. It can exert more
pressure, and being a group gives more visibility and a stronger voice and
provide a stronger challenge to discriminatory factors. The collective
awareness of their common subordination as women creates a “we”, - a collective
identity.
Non-formal education programmes strive
to create a critical awareness of the ideological mechanisms that construct the
ideas of women’s subordination as natural. That is why non-formal education
programmes are particularly significant, because they are based on the active
participation of the women. They focus primarily on the local experiences and
concerns of the individuals, and thus enable women to formulate collective
demands regarding their position as women. An illustration of collective
participation and action was shown in the previous section, where a group of
women succeeded in getting men prosecuted for wife beating. This case is an
expression of political empowerment.
The limitations of many
non-formal/popular education programmes are their inability to link local level
concerns with broader policies and practices. They often fail to transfer their
success into macro level efforts. Collaboration among organizations is vital to
bridge the gap between the micro scale projects and macro scale programmes, in
order to get resources from national governments and international organizations,
and to exchange knowledge and experiences.
But it is not only within the
non-formal educational sector that programs exist which try to change status
quo. Experimental and consciousness-raising programmes within the formal
educational system also exist. The teacher training programme from Argentina
mentioned in section eight, aimed at changing the attitudes of teachers, that
is, their
stereotyped perceptions of men and
women. During the programme the teachers became aware of their discriminating
behaviour. Through the process, the attitudes changed, and participants were
determined to change inequalities when returning to their schools. But they
faced resistance in their efforts to introduce their new perspectives on
gender. Although they faced difficulties, we believe that this is an indication
of the individual teachers becoming empowered during the programme, because of
their efforts to transmit the new knowledge. But although the individual
teachers can become empowered, they can not fulfill their desires and wishes
for change, because of the rigid patriarchal structure of the formal
educational system. There are too few of these experimental teacher training
programmes with the goal of changing the contemporary schooling system. We thus
find it important to implement teacher training programmes, in the formal
teaching training colleges, that aim at educating teachers at all levels in the
educational system to have far-reaching effects.
Teachers are essential agents in the
socialization process of boys and girls in their function as role models.
Already in primary school are girls influenced indirectly, by the teachers’
stereotyped expectations of girls. But if teachers participate in experimental
training programmes where they become empowered, they can as important
transmitters of knowledge, values and norms empower girls even in primary
school. The empowerment of girls may become particularly visible when girls
reach puberty (Bonder 1992; 243).
Equally important are the effects
that teachers have on boys. If boys early in school life are socialized into
perceiving girls as equals, these attitudes and values might become naturalized
and incorporated into the habitues of the boys. This was attempted in the school
in New Delhi, India, as mentioned earlier. Thus, long term change will only occur if both boys and girls, men and women are
incorporated and targeted in the change processes.
Although teachers might be positive
towards creating equal terms for boys and girls, some norms and values
regarding gender roles are very hard to overcome. At the end of the teacher
training programme in Argentina, teachers discussed, -on the basis of their new
knowledge- norms and behavior relating to the labour market. They agreed that
competition within professions between men and women is acceptable but women
should avoid defeating men. In case of defeating them, women should seek to
hide their
satisfaction, (ibid;246). This shows
that although equal gender relations might be acknowledged, there are still
some norms and values which are so deeply rooted in people’s habits that they
are very difficult to transform. This is why it is necessary to start changing
attitudes and perceptions early in life.
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