Asset Ownership: An Embodiment of Woman Empowerment

The preperations has been on for the next BUDGET. Let us hope the UDF government’s next budget (2014-15) will put optimum effort with regards to keep up the social welfare measures. I would like to invite the attention of the UDF government and the finance minister Shri KM Mani to a tip related to the gender budgeting. As a vibrant social welfare measure, it is really expected that the government would give due importance to the meaningful initiatives to empower women by reducing the stamp duty of property registration. We have been claiming that we give predominance in gender equality. Needless to say the several measures are being taken in this regard. Promoting Kudumbasree Mission (KM) may be regarded as such a measure. The financial institutions have been providing loans to Self Help Groups (SHGs) in order to start micro enterprises as part of generating sustainable income. Since these loans are almost undersized, it hardly paves way to start and run any enterprise. KM is also assisting the women to grab some petty works/jobs. It is pity to say that Kudumbahasree units have been turned to be the rag pickers. It is not compensating the income-starved women. Mere meeting both ends should not be interpreted as a channel in making the women economically stable and independent. As part of empowering women in the direction of power politics, it is commendable that the political will has been showed in providing the considerable reservation for the women in local self-government institutions. But it is required to be recognized that the women badly need the concrete economic power together with the political power. The economic power of women is predominantly based on the ownership of the assets which has not at all been ensured in its real spectrum. It is known the ownership of the assets entangles with the age-old religious and family fabric. Sharing family wealth has been on par with the whims and fancies of the male members of the family and it is nothing but a reflection of the male-dominated society. During wedding, our women are ‘decorated’ with full of gold ornaments which are accounted as dowry. Once the dowry, though it is illegal, is given as gold or cash, no share of parental property/wealth has been ensured to the woman. After a certain period, the gold/cash received from her parents gets exhausted and then she becomes ‘bankrupt’. This is situation in which the women required to be empowered with the ownership of assets. It is the need of hour to amend the provisions of property tax paving the opportunity to vest the ownership of assets in the hands of women. Stamp duty needs to be reduced as the property gets registered in the name of woman. Offering stamp duty reduction to women, needless to say, would be a channel to put capital asset in the hands of women. As a result, as a property owner, the family status and thereby social status of women will get boosted up. Modern democracy is now after the concept of civil society that is understood to pay maximum attention to the civil liberties which have been granted or guaranteed to each individual. The rulers /administrators are the sole responsible to making sure the each citizen in the civil society get enjoyed the granted civil liberties. Given the fact, the UDF goverment is expected to be ensured the gender budegting...