摘要：Empowerment in woman's development is a way of defining, challenging and overcoming barriers in her lifethrough which she increases her ability to shape her life. The active, multi-dimensional processes enable them to realize fullidentity and power in all spheres of life. Rural women play a crucial role in agricultural development and allied fields. Howeverwithout their total intellectual and physical participation in these activities, it is not possible to achieve the goals of rural uplift.In the present study an attempt has been made to analyze the present status of women empowerment in different caste categoriesin Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh by examining pivotal socio-psychological factors of empowerment such as autonomy vs.dependency, self-esteem vs. self-depreciation and reflective vs. repetitive behavior of women. The results showed that majorityof the women had medium or low level of empowerment. Further women who were illiterate/less educated were less empoweredand generally belong to the scheduled caste category. In overall terms, the researchers would argue that the broad based approachis one of the best approaches to guarantee gender equity and to empower rural women, and that this approach should beconsidered in the formulation of rural policies and the creation and implementation of agricultural and rural developmentprogrammes and projects
关键词：Empowerment. Autonomy vs. Dependency. Self-esteem vs. Self-depreciation. Reflective vs. Repetitive Behavior
