WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: THE KEY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Abstract

Women make up half of the world population. Some of the most pressing challenges women are facing are economic crisis, unpaid work, lack of health care, increase in domestic violence against women, and above all challenges of climate change and wars. There are seventeen sustainable goals. Sustainable development five is gender equality. Gender equality is integrated with women empowerment. The main objective of this study was to understand the relationship between women empowerment and all the sustainable development goals and also to understand the possibility of realising Sustainable Development Goal five. Sustainable development goal five is directly related to women empowerment. Only by ensuring the rights of women we can do justice to the seventeen sustainable goals thus sustaining our environment now and for future generations. Obstacles in realising the goals of SDG 5are : COVID pandemic have made women suffer job losses than men. Number of employed women declined by 54 million in 2020 and 45 million women left the labour market altogether. Holes in social protection leave women more vulnerable. Poverty directly affects women and environment. Food insecurity is also on the rise with more women and girls going hungry. Gender equality is fundamental to delivering sustainability, peace and human progress. Access to natural resources and power remains highly skewed towards men. Women are rare in leadership positions. India has ranked 127 out of 146 countries in the latest Global Gender Gap report released by the World Economic Forum. Also climate change is not gender neutral. The present paper intends to study the link between sustainable development goal five and the other SDGs. Are we on track to achieve SDGs by 2030. Without empowering women can we do justice to the seventeen sustainable goals.