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The 21th century has seen many changes in the global arena- economic, scientific, social and political. We have made noteworthy strides in all aspects of living, of which the most exemplary one would be in social sphere. Women have been given equal opportunities to compete with men and one another. In the last centuries and the early 20th century, women were mostly limited to the home and their place was the kitchen.They have demanded for and received equality in education, work in different sectors and politics traditionally which were reserved for men and their lies the secret of their success. Awareness that comes with it has enabled this gender to fight against their causes. They have emerged out of their kitchens and taken their places along with men in all spheres of life. Now they are ‘Managers’ of their home and family as well as part of the work force and civil society movement. They have penetrated almost all spheres of activity and figure prominently in all walks of life, be it health, education, corporate sector, politics, science, social work or law. Today’s women are joint partners in the world scheme.

The objective of this paper is to study the women empowerment and gender based violence in special reference of National Family Health Survey-5.

In 1991 the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare initiated a project to strengthen the survey research capabilities of population research centers with financial support from United States Agency for International Development. The National Family Health Survey was undertaking as one of the important components of the population research centers project.

Violence and Empowerment  
Violence against women and empowerment of women are complimentary and closely related concepts to each other. In societies where there is no women empowerment, women experienced gender based violence. As women get empowerment, violence or gender based violence decreased. In western and developed societies where women are empowered there is lack of gender based violence, but in developing societies specially in south-east Asian countries where there is a lack of women empowerment, gender based violence is experienced by women in higher degree.
Violence against women is a global phenomenon and varies from one society to another and one region to another . The experience of violence against women in India is, as in the rest of the world. Every third women in the world is the victim of  violence and in some countries the percentage of this violence is very high.
Empowerment of women involves the change of consciousness to change their fate. It is a critical aspect of the process of change. It involves the importance of valued resources, material, human, and social resources and has a control over them in society. Women should come together and understand the nature of institutionalized injustice and act to tackle these issues of injustice. The ability to access information, decision making, and act effectively in their own interest or in the interests of those who depend on them are essential aspects of empowerment of women.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India. Five rounds of the survey have been conducted since the first survey in 1992-93, and the second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2) was conducted in 1998-99, and the third round National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) 2005-2006, and the fourth round National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) in 2015-16 and and the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) was organized in 2019-2021. The National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5) is one of the important survey from two points. First- Modi government is about to completed 7 years of its tenure, and second- world is reviving from COVID-19 epidemic.

Sample Design of NFHS-5

The sample of NFHS-5 was designed to provide national, state/union territory (UT), and district level estimates of various indicators covered in the survey. The estimates of indicators of sexual behaviour; husband’s background and woman’s work; HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes and behaviour; and domestic violence were available only at the state/union territory and national level. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, designated the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, as the nodal agency to conduct NFHS-5.

Four Survey Schedules - Household, Woman’s, Man’s, and Biomarker - were canvassed in local languages using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing. In the Household Schedule, information was collected on all usual members of the household and visitors who stayed in the household the previous night, as well as socio-economic characteristics of the household; water, sanitation, and hygiene; health insurance coverage; disabilities; land ownership; number of deaths in the household in the three years preceding the survey; and the ownership and use of mosquito nets. The Woman’s Schedule covered a wide variety of topics, including the woman’s characteristics, marriage, fertility, contraception, children’s immunizations and healthcare, nutrition, reproductive health, sexual behaviour, HIV/AIDS, women’s empowerment, and domestic violence. The Man’s Schedule covered the man’s characteristics, marriage, his number of children, contraception, fertility preferences, nutrition, sexual behaviour, health issues, attitudes towards gender roles, and HIV/AIDS. The Biomarker Schedule covered measurements of height, weight, and haemoglobin levels for children; measurements of height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and haemoglobin levels for women age 15-49 years and men age 15-54 years; and blood pressure and random blood glucose levels for women and men age 15 years and over. In addition, women and men were requested to provide a few additional drops of blood from a finger prick for laboratory testing for HbA1c, malaria parasites, and Vitamin D3.  This fact sheet provides information on key indicators and trends for India. NFHS-5 fieldwork was carried in two phases, phase one from June 2019 to January 2020 and phase two from January 2020 to April 2021 by 17 Field Agencies and gathered information from 636,699 households, 724,115 women, and 101,839 men.

TheNFHS-5 provides district-level estimates for many important indicators such as health, education and nutrition for India. It is similar to NFHS-4 in several ways. However, NFHS-5 included some areas such as- preschool education, disability, access to a toilet facility, death registration, bathing practices during menstruation, and methods and reasons for abortion. The scope of clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical testing (CAB) has also been expanded to include measurement of waist and hip circumferences, and the age range for the measurement of blood pressure and blood glucose has been expanded. However, HIV testing was dropped.

Technical assistance for the NFHS was provided mainly by ICF (USA) and other organizations on specific issues. The funding for different rounds of NFHS was provided by USAID, DFID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, UNFPA, and MOHFW, GOI.

Women Empowerment (age between 15-49 years)

Women in Indian society do not form a homogeneous group; several factors such as race, class, caste, religion and ethnicity are also play an important role which exacerbates the injustice, discrimination and violence. The term empowerment is a multidimensional concept. According to Naila Kabeer, the core elements of empowerment have been defined as ability awareness of gendered powered structures, self-esteem, and self confidence (Kabeer 2001). She defined empowerment “as a process through which women gain the capacity for exercising strategic form of agency in relation to their own lives as well as in relation to the larger structure of constraint that positioned as subordinating to men” (Kabeer, 1999). Empowerment is a multi dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important (Page and Czuba 1999).

There are several indicators of women empowerment, among these six indicators are fundamental- economic, social, political, legal, interpersonal and psychological. According to the United Nations (2001) women empowerment is the processes by which women take control and ownership of their lives through expansion of their choice. World Bank (2001) defined empowerment as the expansion of freedom of choice and actions and increasing one’s authority and control over the resources and decisions that affects one’s life. The Inter-American Development Bank (2010), defined ‘women empowerment’ in terms of “expanding the rights, resources and capacity of women to make decisions and act independently in social, economic and political sphere”. The United Nations (2001) has defined women’s empowerment in terms of five components: “women’s sense of self worth; their right to have and determine choices; their rights to have access to opportunities and resources; their right to have power to control their own lives both inside and outside home; and their ability to influence the direction of social changes to create a more just and social and economic order, nationally and internationally”.

The National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5) shows that the percentage of currently married women who usually participate in three household decisions such as- Decisions about health care for herself, making major household purchases, and visits to her family or relatives is 88.7% (87.6% in Uttar Pradesh) but in NFHS-4 it was 81.7%, NFHS-3 it was 42.8% (who participate in all four decisions- Own health care, Making major household purchases, Making purchases for daily household needs, Visits to her family or relatives). Women who worked in the last 12 months and were paid in cash were 25.4% (15.5% in Uttar Pradesh) and the percentage of these women who were paid in cashaccording to the NFHS-4 it was 16.6. Women owning a house and / or land (alone or jointly with others) were 43.3% (51.9% in Uttar Pradesh) and the percentage of such women according to the NFHS-4 it was 34.2. Women having a bank or savings account that they themselves use were 78.6% (75.4% in Uttar Pradesh) and such women according to the NFHS-4 were 54.6%. Women having a mobile phone that they themselves use were 54.00% (46.5% in Uttar Pradesh) and such women according to the NFHS-4 were 37.1%. Women age 15-24 years who use hygienic methods of protection during their menstrual period such as locally prepared napkins, sanitary napkins, tampons, and menstrual cups are considered to be hygienic methods of protection were 77.3% (72.6% in Uttar Pradesh) and such women according to the NFHS-4 were 47.1%.

Gender Based Violence

Gender basedviolence against women is a global phenomenon. The experience ofgender based violence against women in India and in the rest of the world is almost common. Every third women (34.8%) in Uttar Pradesh and slightly less than every third women (29.3%) in India is the victim of physical and sexual violence(NFHS-5). However its ramifications are more complex and its intensity is much greater in India. “Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal distribution of power relation between men and women, which has led to domination over the discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of the women….” (UNO 2006: 2). India is one of the most dangerous places on the earth for women. It is time to put an end of eve-teasing. National Crime Record Bureau shows that between 1953 and 2011, the incidence of rape rose by 873%, or three times faster than all cognizable crimes put together (Hindustan Times 2012: 8).

Gender based violence against women is often a cycle of abuse that manifests itself in many forms through their lives. Article 2 of the UN draft Declaration of Violence against women identifies three areas in which violence commonly takes place. These are i) violence occurring within the family ii) violence occurring in the general community and iii) violence perpetrated or condoned by the state. The acts of violence against women may be psychological violence (emotional violence); physical violence; and sexual violence on women victim.

In the history of gender justice in India 1983 is a landmark. In this year domestic violence was recognized as one of the criminal offence in India. The offence chargeable under section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that relates to domestic violence is any act of cruelty by a husband (or his family) towards his wife. Accordingly, after a decade-long process of consultations and revisions, a comprehensive domestic violence law, known as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, took effect in 2006. Key elements of the law include the prohibition of marital rape and the provision of protection and maintenance orders against husbands and partners who are emotionally, physically, or economically abusive.

According to NFHS-3, domestic violence is defined to include violence by spouses as well as by other household members (NFHS-3). International research has shown that spousal violence is one of the most common forms of violence experienced by women. Hence, violence perpetrated by the husband is measured in more detail than violence by other perpetrators. Specifically, violence by husbands is measured by using a greatly shortened and modified Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) (Strauss, 1990).

Spousal violence refers to violence perpetrated by partners in a marital union. Since spousal or intimate partner violence is the most common form of domestic violence for women age 15-49. Spousal violence (spousal violence is defined as physical and/or sexual violence) experienced ever-married women from age 18-49 years was 29.3% according to NFHS-5(34.8% in case of Uttar Pradesh) but as per NFHS-4 this spousal violence was 31.2%, and it was 39.7% as per NFHS-3. Physical violenceexperienced by ever-married women from age 18-49 years during any pregnancy was 3.1% according to NFHS-5, (3.7% in case of Uttar Pradesh) but as per NFHS-4 it was 3.9%. Sexual violence experienced by the young women age from 18-29 years was 1.5% according to NFHS-5, (0.7% in Uttar Pradesh), it was same as 1.5% according to the NFHS-4, and 8.5% as per NFHS-3. Sexual violence here includes being forced to have sexual intercourse or perform any other sexual acts against one’s own will.

The National Family and Health Survey-5 and previous NFHS provide very important information reading family and health of people of India including women empowerment and gender based violence. If we analyse data on women empowerment the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5) shows that from the NFHS-3 to theNFHS-5 the percentage of currently married women who usually participate in three household decisions such as- Decisions about health care for herself, making major household purchases, and visits to her family or relatives became more than doubled from 42.8% to 88.7%. In regarding to Uttar Pradesh the percentage is 87.6% nearly national average as NFHS-5. Cash payment to working women raised from 16.6% to 25.4% in five years is very important but in this case performance by Uttar Pradesh is very poor, it is 15.5% below than the NFHS-4 (16.6%). In term of ownership of house and / or land (alone or jointly with others) by women was 43.3% (51.9% Uttar Pradesh) but according to the NFHS-4 in 2015-2016 it was 34.2%. During these five years (between 2014-15 to 2019-21) the ownership of land / house property raised by 10 points in all over India but it is 51.9% in Uttar Pradesh, very higher than national average. In term bank account and mobile phone, in these five years women made very crucial and revolutionary progress. Women age 15-24 years who use of hygienic methods of protection during their menstrual period increased very fast, there was a high jump in this field during last five years. If we summarize spousal violence or intimate partner violence as is the most common form of domestic violence for women age 18-49 (spousal violence is defined as physical and/or sexual violence) experienced ever-married women from age 18-49 years was decreased from 31.2% from NFHS-4 to 29.3% as it was found by NFHS-5(34.8% in case of Uttar Pradesh), as it was 39.7% as per NFHS-3. In this regard the performance of Uppar Pradesh is very poor, it is much higher than national average. Physical violenceexperienced by the same group of women during any pregnancy was declined from 3.9% in 2014-15 to 3.1% in 2019-21 (3.7% in case of Uttar Pradesh), and 33.5%as per NFHS-3. The performance of Uppar Pradesh in declining physical violence is poor. Sexual violence experienced by the young women age from 18-29 years was unchanged during NFHS-4 to NFHS-5, itis 1.5%. In this regard Uppar Pradesh did very well, it is just half (0.7%) than nation level 1.5%. There is no doubt that empowerment and violence are closely related to each other, these are as appear as two faces of a coin one increases other decreases and one decreases other increases. With the increasingempowerment of women, violence against them decrease. In societies where there is lack of women empowerment violence against them increase. Different reports of NFHS shows rays of expectations in darkness. There is a need for more systematic and scientific efforts with definite objectives.

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