Date of Publication :17th January 2024

Abstract: Women Empowerment is a process facilitated in making them powerful and capable of deciding for themselves. Women throughout centuries have been oppressed and are still in the process of being oppressed in this patriarchal society. This process involves different elements including building their self esteem, efficiency, strengthening them with all the rights and facilities in the society so that they can live freely without any fear and restrictions. Development of any country is directly connected to women empowerment. It is also very important for the development of families, communities and country socially and health wise. Women can bloom to their optimum capacity if they are able to live a secure, contented and prolific life- which in return will result in their best contribution in the labour force. In this proposed research two tribal villages of Purulia District of West Bengal, named ‘Baragora’ and Metail Sahar has been chosen. The research has been conducted to understand and measure the level of empowerment of women by assessing how far women are being controlled by men in the family structure, how women of the families decide upon different issues, and awareness about physical abuse faced by them within the family domain .A field survey was done with 205 villagers mainly belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe community. The purpose of choosing these two villages and mainly the tribal community was also to probe whether the scenario of empowerment and the level of self-autonomy of women are better among the women of these communities in comparison to mainstream women as there is a preconceived notion that women in tribal communities are more self-reliant and enjoy more freedom. According to the survey, both female and male respondents were of the opinion that men have more controlling power in the family. It also came out that mostly, decision is taken jointly in the family. They were asked whether they identify physical abuse as a form of violence. To this question majority of respondents, mainly the women responded in affirmation and identified it as a form of violence. The present study also investigates how far theatre is an effective medium of communication and spreading awareness on gender issues, empowerment of women and violence against women. The general notion that theatre is one of the most effective and direct way of communication and making awareness amongst masses, was reiterated by their positive response. The study shows that a notably higher proportion of respondents agreed upon theatre being most preferred way of raising public awareness in comparison to other medium. Here I am going to present a brief performance in line with the theme of the theatre that was used to influence the awareness of the respondents.

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