Women Empowerment among Muslims and Non-Muslims in India: Evidence from NFHS-III Survey

Women empowerment is a major concern in the developing world and can be considered as a sensitive indicator of the development of the society. The objectives of the study are to assess women's empowerment across the religious groups in India and also to analyze the levels, differentials and determinants of women decision making power in India. Empowerment is measured in terms of decision making at household level and mobility. There is apparent religion-wise variation in women's decision-making with regards to household, health, economic and mobility. The study indicates that most Muslim women in India have low empowerment and control over their own lives and such constraints are not felt equally by non-Muslim women. While other factors like, women education, place of residence, sex of the household head and religion have strong relationships with women's decision-making and freedom of movement, impact of husband’s education have negative or rather weak impact.