Globalization, Women's Empowerment, and Media's Influence

This essay delves into the multifaceted impact of globalization on women's empowerment, specifically focusing on the context of West Bengal, India. It examines the contradictory effects of globalization, highlighting the tension between increased opportunities for women and the persistence of gender inequality and patriarchal norms. The essay analyzes how media influences migration and societal perceptions. It discusses the challenges faced by women in the workplace, public spaces, and within their homes, questioning the extent of real empowerment in a society undergoing liberalization. The essay also explores the influence of media on migration patterns and the challenges of maintaining social cohesion in a globalized world. It uses provided articles to discuss the arguments and provide an assessment, while also providing questions for discussion.

Running head: GLOBALIZATION AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
GLOBALIZATION AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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GLOBALIZATION AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
The globalization creating an enormous transformation raises the arguments that there
is a large number of rising middle-class family in West Bengal where women empowerment
is stuck in a dichotomy between the real capacitating ability and the adverse effect of the
newly acquired liberal structure of the society. The other arguments on one hand says the
impact of globalization does not really uplift the position of the women because of the
prevailing gender inequality some women, on the other it gives them a superior air of
emancipation in household chores (Ganguly-Scrase 2003). There might be possibility of
larger opportunity to usurp the already existing and ongoing patriarchal culture in West
Bengal through the course of globalization by introducing some policies starting from
economic independence of women to securing safety in workplace and claiming for equal
remuneration in any kind of field (Deb and Sen 2016).
Now the concerning matter is how much of the society in West Bengal is under the
light of the liberalization. Most of the people are under-privileged rather they do not even
know what liberalization means. Therefore it cannot be claimed that the women are
empowered entirely. In fact some part of the society which can be considered as developing
are slowly progressing towards equality but simultaneously the women are victimized in the
work places, in public place or in her own house as well (Baker and Leicht 2017). The fact
that there have been employment of women in political parties, rising in the number of
women intellectuals, women’s exploration in innovative professional fields competing with
the men give a certain idea of the empowerment of women due to the change in structure but
truly all the sections in West Bengal do not contain the same picture. Some women still wait
for their husband to come, serve them food and then take their own neglecting her own
hunger confirming too the norm, some are still afraid of returning home late due to the unsafe
condition of women on road while some remain silent even after getting molested because
society would consider her to be a fallen women not the men (Sarkar 2017). Many women

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are not financially independent rather some men think it is a condemnation to those who send
women to work. West Bengal has a culture of amalgamation of orthodoxy and liberalization.
The questions that can be raised here are how much empowerment in the society can
be considered as real empowerment? Does the equality in payment structure bring
egalitarianism? Does introduction of safety policy guaranty the reduction in the rate of
molestation? Why do women have to contribute more in the household activities even after
coming back from work? Why cannot women wear anything and go anywhere at any time
without being anxious? These questions remain vague and unanswered doubting the certainty
of women empowerment in West Bengal even after the process of globalization.
The second article talks about how media is causing a great influence on the aspect of
migration. Since human beings live in a confined society and a particular territory they get
accustomed to such ambience and the surroundings associated with the place. People get
habituated with conventions and methods of that place whereas migration throws a challenge
upon the prevalent system which somehow breaks the flow distorting the lifestyle of the
people (Chin 2016). Here, government has a greater part of contribution in generating the
idea of staying within a confined boundary and violating that is equivalent to migration. The
constant relationship between the space and the society is emerging out of communication
issue.
The questions that rise from the topic are how much can media really influence the
problem of migration? Can communication be fruitful in solving the problem of migration?
How does it affect the lifestyle of the people?

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References
Baker, P.L. and Leicht, K.T., 2017. Globalization, Gender, and Development: Toward a
Theoretical Understanding of Public Gender-Based Violence against Women and
Girls. Sociology of Development, 3(4), pp.323-345.
Chin, E., 2016. Relational Glocalities. In Migration, Media, and Global-Local Spaces (pp. 41-
72). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Ganguly-Scrase, R., 2003. Paradoxes of globalization, liberalization, and gender equality:
The worldviews of the lower middle class in West Bengal, India. Gender & Society, 17(4),
pp.544-566.
Sarkar, R., 2017. Recent Status of Education, Employment and Empowerment of Women in
West Bengal. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 7(1), p.263.