Paradox Of Women’s Empowerment: From Resources To Agency

Pinkle Gogoi

Introduction

When we discuss women’s empowerment today, feminism is increasingly aware that the terrain on which women and men acquire their gendered sense of self and social identity is more varied and complex than was assumed in the era of ‘women’s liberation’. This has to be given due importance, when discussing and researching women’s empowerment as it needs to be understood in relation to various factors associated with it. This factors encompass all the social, political and economic conditions that are associated or related with it.

Women’s access to education and other resources in India has improved over time. They have better access to resources and opportunities than before. However, if we carefully examine the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) data, though a little progress has been made in comparison to the previous survey (NFHS-5), albeit with significant differences and gaps that still exist. A closer examination of the data shows that the differences between the urban and rural populations remain a particular concern.

Rural-Urban Disparities in Women’s Empowerment

Indicators	Urban	Rural
Women with 10 or more years of schooling (%)	61.5	39.7
Women age 20-24 years married before age 18 years (%)	11.4	23.3
Households with any usual female members owning a house and/or land (alone or jointly with others) %	18.2	19.1
Women having a mobile phone that they themselves use (%)	77.6	57.4
Ever married women age 18- 49 years who have experienced spousal violence by age (%)	17.5	24.4
Currently married women who usually participate in three household decisions (%)	91.4	88.0

Source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6)

The table illustrates that rural–urban differences persist across several dimensions of women’s lives. Urban women appear to have significantly higher levels of schooling and personal mobile-phone use, while early marriage and experiences of spousal violence are higher among rural women. At the same time, the difference in participation in household decision-making is relatively smaller than the differences observed in education and mobile-phone use. This suggests that access to resources does not necessarily translate uniformly into greater agency.

Another concerning aspect is women’s ownership of land and housing. The data show that only 18.2% of urban households and 19.1% of rural households have a usual female member who owns a house and/or land, either alone or jointly with others. Although the rural–urban difference is relatively small, the overall proportion remains limited. This is concerning because ownership of land and property represents an important economic resource that can contribute to women’s bargaining power, security and agency.

However, ownership alone does not necessarily indicate effective control over or decision making power regarding the resource. Therefore, the limited prevalence of female ownership, alongside questions of control and use, is important when examining women’s empowerment through the lens of resources and agency.

From Resources to Agency: Understanding Kabeer’s Framework

Here I want to discuss Naila Kabeer’s conceptual framework where she discussed how we need to look at the resource, agency and achievement dimension in a more elaborate way – all three dimensions are interrelated, for instance women may have access to human resources i.e. education, but they may not have the agency or the decision-making power to determine what to do after completing their education. When we say agency, it refers to the ability to make choices the choice to do something on their own.

When women have access to resources and agency they may be able to convert those resources into achievements. For instance, suppose we have two women from a similar educational background one woman may have the choice to make her decisions independently, have access to more decision-making power in the household but the other woman with a similar background may not have the choice to even make basic decisions on her own. Such differences can occur because of the social constraints that shape women’s choices.

The differences persist because in a society to have their own agency is related to many other factors, women don’t make decisions in isolation. Women live in a society where caste, class, community, social structure everything is interconnected. If a woman is making a decision, her choice can be influenced by the various social factors surrounding her.

Historical perspective from Uma Chakravarti’s work

Uma Chakravarti (1993) has discussed about the social constraints faced by women, especially those belonging to lower classes and castes. She discussed Brahmanical patriarchy which was prevalent in early India. If we go through articles and news portals, we can still see the prevalence of discrimination

against women, no matter how much progress India has made .She argued that ‘there was a need to look beyond economic questions and focus on the control over women’s sexuality and the manner in which reproduction was organised and thus to look for the causes and effects of such sexual control’. Uma Chakravarty’s work is still relevant in contemporary times because women still face social constraints and may lack the freedom to make choices on their own terms.

Way Forward

The central and state governments have different schemes related to women and the girl child .But the schemes alone cannot bring about change. Policy makers and the government should carefully frame the policies in such a way that women from different socio-economic backgrounds can avail themselves of these opportunities, and the outcomes can be more positive.

Resources alone will not bring about change, before introducing any schemes the social structure of the particular society or state should be studied and specific policies should then be formulated. We need to create a society where women feel protected and independent, where women themselves begin to feel that they can have their own life decisions and choices. For this, the social structure of the society needs to be reimagined.

Conclusion

Women may have the resources, but are they able to make meaningful choices? A woman may have completed her education but will she be able to express her own opinion about when she wants to get married or whether she really wants to get married at all? Maybe not. But can she have a say in the first place? That is the bigger question. A woman may be educated, technologically well-equipped and financially independent, but does this necessarily mean that she has the same freedom to make decisions as her brother or husband?

Therefore, it is more important to look into these layered factors when we talk about women’s empowerment. Empowerment is not a one-dimensional process; all the factors associated with it need to be given equal importance.

As Shireen Huq reminds us, “Women have had to learn to assert their dignity as human beings before they begin to claim their rights and entitlements as citizens.”

References

1. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) & Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). (2026). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), 2023–24. Government of India.

2. Kabeer, N. (2008). Paid Work, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Justice: Critical Pathways of Social Change. Pathways of Women’s Empowerment, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Working Paper No. 3.

3. Chakravarti, U. (1993). “Conceptualising Brahmanical Patriarchy in Early India: Gender, Caste, Class and State.” Economic and Political Weekly, 28(14), 579–585.

4. Huq, S. P. (2005). “Bodies as Sites of Struggle: Naripokkho and the Movement for Women’s Rights in Bangladesh.” In N. Kabeer (Ed.), Inclusive Citizenship: Meanings and Expressions (pp. 164–181). London: Zed Books.

5. Kabeer, N. (1999). “Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s Empowerment.” Development and Change, 30(3), 435-464. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7660.00125

About the Contributor: Pinkle Gogoi has completed her Masters in Political Science (2024) from Pondicherry University.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.