INTRODUCTION
India should have the goal of becoming a developed nation and a
knowledge superpower by 2020 (Kalam and Raj an, 2002). If, we in
India really wants to achieve this goal, men and women must work
together with equal participation in all efforts. We are living in a
patriarchal society where decision-making rests in the hands of men right
from the family level to the national level. Hence, there is an urgent need
to augment the participation of women in all kinds of constructive
initiatives. Women empowerment is inevitable towards augmenting
women's participation.) (According to Purushothaman (1998)
empowerment of women is possible only by undoing the already existing
structure of power which has inherent class, caste, and gender biases. The
International Conference for Population and Development (1994) pointed
out that the empowerment and autonomy of women and the improvement
of their political, social, economic, and health status are highly important
ends and are crucial for the achievement of sustainable development.
The empowerment of women does not mean that it is a commodity to be
given as an aim.
