(3) Empowerment
Citizen Empowerment is a process of learning and action that strengthens people‘s self-esteem, analytical and organising skills and political consciousness so they can gain a sense of their rights and join together to develop more democratic societies”
(Veneklasen and Miller, 2002, A new Weave of Power People and Politics)
Empowerment – or in fact self-empowerment - refers to how individuals and groups strengthen their capacity to renegotiate their relationship with the State and other groups, to take control of their circumstances and achieve their own goals to improve the quality of their lives and to influence their future. It helps people develop the power, confidence, capacities, capabilities and access to resources needed to challenge injustice and inequality.
It stems from the basis that people are not beneficiaries but rights-holders. This is political. The struggle for rights is a collective struggle that resists and transforms unequal power relationships and structures at the root of poverty and social injustice. So central to the notion of empowerment is the idea of power.
What do we really mean by power?
“This is the degree of control over material, human, intellectual and financial resources by different sections of society. The control over these resources becomes a source of individual and social power … the extent of power of an individual or group is correlated to how many different kinds of resources they can access and control. Different degrees of power are sustained and perpetuated through social divisions such as gender, age, caste, ethnicity, race, North-South; and through institutions such as the family, religion, education, media, the law, etc …”
(Srilatha Batliwala, 1995 in Making Change Happen: Power, Series No. 3, 2006,
Just Associates)
Some examples of resources include: land; education; information; ability to use the media; money; employment; leadership; or position in parliament or tribal council. While often viewed negatively, power comes in all forms, and we need to draw on the positive and transformative aspects of power – such as organising, protest, speaking out, using alternative media and collaboration – to achieve the positive changes we seek.
From Principle to Practice
The rights-based approach has been successful in the initiatives undertaken by the Latin American Consortium for Emergency Contraception (LACEC). Advocacy efforts of LACEC member organisations focus on integrating Emergency Contraception Pills (ECP) into family planning programmes and norms within a sexual and reproductive rights framework, emphasising the fact that ECPs are a female-controlled method and that this method empowers women to decide whether and when they will become pregnant. It has been a cornerstone of the work done by LACEC groups and has been cited as a key
element of their success.
Raising Public Awareness
Path
We do need to be clear though that changing the way power works in the above institutions - of family, state, church and culture is a long-term continuous process of challenge, analysis, resistance and engagement. It requires work not only on public systems, structures and tools, but also personal beliefs and value systems. And it means taking up different and vital ways of using power ourselves.
