Empowerment is the act and result of empowering . This verb (empower), which comes from the English word empower , refers to helping a person or a group of individuals to be stronger and have more power .
In this case, strength refers to the defense capacity, resistance and vigor. Power , for its part, is linked to having autonomy and the power to do something. Empowered individuals, therefore, can defend themselves, resist adversity and are autonomous.
Empowerment targets groups that, for various reasons, are in a state of vulnerability . Projects that promote empowerment seek to improve self-esteem and provide symbolic and/or material resources to those who are in an unfavorable position and thus achieve positive change in their lives.
Currently the concept is often used in the framework of the fight for gender equality . Many organizations work for the empowerment of women so that members of the female gender stop being subordinated to the male gender.
It must be established that this concept of empowerment in relation to women has its origins in the 1980s. Yes, because it was in 1985 when it was created with that meaning at the World Confederation of Women in Nairobi by the organization American DAWN (Developing Women's Alternatives for Your New Era).
Feminist groups that are committed to empowerment at all times have to emphasize that they do not hesitate to state that it is essential to support it from childhood for several important reasons:
-Because it is a way to help prevent discrimination.
-Because it will help girls learn from an early age to be brave, to fight for their dreams and not to be intimidated by more obstacles that come their way.
-In the same way, it is indicated that empowerment from childhood is a way to prevent gender violence .
-It is also useful to put an end to gender stereotypes .
-No less relevant is that empowerment at that age will help the little girls know that without them development is not possible.
However, it was just a decade later when it was taken up again at the World Women's Conference in Beijing with the clear objective that it would begin to be used to mention the increase in the presence of women and their participation in both the arrival to power and decision making.
It is also common to talk about the empowerment of young people and the elderly . Within this framework, it is intended that the members of these age groups have the necessary tools to develop according to their abilities without depending on other people.
The empowerment of aboriginal peoples , on the other hand, is aimed at enabling these communities to progress economically and socially without giving up their culture and without depending on welfare.