Singapore University of Social Sciences

Women’s Empowerment in India

Women’s Empowerment in India (OEL321)

Synopsis

The main objective of OEL321 is to provide students with the conceptual tools and learning experiences to develop a deeper understanding of women’s empowerment in India. This objective will be achieved through a combination of team-based experiential learning, e-learning, classroom activities, and participation in an overseas trip to Kinnaur, India. Achieving the empowerment of women is seen as one of the key UN Sustainable Development Goals. While the world has progressed tremendously towards greater gender equality, women continue to be subjected to discrimination and violence in many parts of the world. While the Indian government has tried to take positive steps to address the issue of gender inequality, the long-standing cultural preference for sons continues to result in pervasive discrimination against females, resulting in unequal access to education, healthcare, work and representation in political and economic decision-making processes. Comparatively, while Singaporean women are able to attain high levels of education, female representation in top leadership positions in both businesses and politics remain small, and the phenomenon of gender wage gap persists. This course urges students to critically analyse the complexity in achieving gender equality in the context of India and Singapore, through comparing how cultural, religious, social and economic factors shape institutions, ideologies, and policies governing women’s access to resources in both countries. By working in a community-based project related to women in India and Singapore, students will get to learn and reflect critically about the relationship between the practice of empowering women and the issue of gender equality in both India and Singapore.

Level: 3
Credit Units: 5
Presentation Pattern: Every July

Topics

  • Experiential learning
  • Key cultural and religious contexts in India
  • Challenges facing women’s empowerment in India, and how the cultural, religious, social and economic factors shape the pursuit of gender equality in the country
  • Challenges facing women’s empowerment in Singapore, and how the cultural, religious, social and economic factors shape the pursuit of gender equality in the country
  • Preparation and design of the overseas experiential learning project: service-learning activities, liaising with local community partner(s), safety and emergency response, cultural sensitivity
  • Preparation and design of the local experiential learning project: service-learning activities, liaising with local community partner(s), safety and emergency response

Learning Outcome

  • Identify challenges and opportunities facing women’s empowerment practices in India
  • Examine the factors influencing the pursuit of gender equality in India
  • Explain the roles of governments and communities (local and international) in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment
  • Apply social scientific perspectives to relate women’s empowerment practices to the issue of gender equality in India
  • Deconstruct preconceptions about India and its approach towards empowering women and gender equality
  • Construct new approaches to address the challenges in empowering women and achieving gender equality in India and in Singapore that considers the native contexts
  • Examine how the assumptions behind new approaches shape the way selected issues are addressed
  • Verify new approaches with stakeholders
  • Appraise team members’ roles and responsibilities in shaping team-based experiential learning
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