Vol. 7, Issue 5, Part A (2025)

Context: Women empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities of women. Policies on Women empowerment exist at the national, state and local (Panchayat) levels in many sectors, including health, education, economic opportunities, and gender based violence and political participation. Hence the Government of India launched many schemes especially for women and the constraints faced by them in gaining the benefits of the selected schemes

Objective: To find out the relationship of socio-economic characteristics with knowledge and attitude of respondents regarding women empowerment schemes.

Methods: The study was conducted in both rural and urban area. For rural area out of nine Panchayat samiti Bikaner Panchayat samiti was selected, from Bikaner one gram Panchayat namely Husangsar was selected and two villages namely Husangsar and Nagasar were selected. For urban area out of two zones i.e. (east and west) two wards namely ward no. 58 (east zone) and ward no. 39 (west zone). Thirty respondents were selected from each village and each ward thus selecting 120 respondents.

Results & Discussion: Correlation between knowledge of rural and urban women with age (r=0.235 & 0.281), caste (r=0.483 & 0.425), education (r=0.315 & 0.424), mass media utilization (r=0.410 & 0.394), Extension personnel contact (r=0.395 & 0.295) was positive and significant at 1 and 5 percent levels of significance whereas family type and annual income of rural and urban women were non-significantly correlated. Social participation of urban women with knowledge was also non-significantly correlated.

Correlation between attitude of rural and urban women with age (r=0.222 & 0.293), caster (r=0.289 & 0.496), education (r=0.377 & 0.414), mass media utilization (r=0.340 & 0.310), Extension personnel contact (r=0.367 & 0.278) was positive and significant at 1 and 5 percent levels of significance whereas family type and annual income of rural and urban women were non-significantly correlated. Social participation of urban women with attitude was also non-significantly correlated.

The findings of the data reveals the fact that there was a positive significant relationship between age, caste, education, family size, mass media exposure, and extension personal contact with knowledge and attitude about women empowerment schemes.

Significance: The findings of this study have vast practical utility. This study would be useful for the stakeholders, policy makers, governmental and non- governmental agencies, cooperatives, and other inventories which are working for the development of women. Ministry of rural development, Government of India has taken initiatives for empowerment of women to all the rural poor families i.e. BPL and available decent quality of life. Various women empowerment schemes have initiatives which emerges as an important strategy for empowering women by providing loan subsidy to members of SHG and also enables livelihood opportunities for village women through microcredit with existing banks in the area..