Activity 8 Cycle of empowering women. • Give a short lecture with the information below.  Explain that empowerment of women is a cyclic process more than a vertical process in which one level is related to the other.  For example explain how a woman is relegated to a subordinate position in the society where she does not have access to things such as food, housing, health facilities, jobs and education in a similar manner in which such things are received by a man.  Explain that if she receives such things she gets an access for resources and opportunities if she receives the aforesaid things and after that show how precise knowledge and understanding could be received in related to the reasons for the differences between men and women and the manner in which equality could be obtained having got rid of the aforesaid reasons.  Describe the manner in which women become powerful to effect structural and attitudinal changes having made influence on the decision makers by being organized as a group of women through that knowledge.  Explain how women manage to control their own lives through the aforesaid active participation and how power is obtained by them in distributing resources and how they make influence at decision making levels. • It is more productive to cite the expected women’s characteristics highlighted in this discussion from the nearest environment and explain facts to the participants. • Explain how each level of empowerment directly connects with the other level. • Give time to the participants to shortly describe their experiences and incidents. • Explain that empowerment of all women does not occur in an equal process in related to the five levels and the empowerment level opportunities and the amount of empowerment of each woman may be different. • As a majority of women in Sri Lanka get various welfare services especially the urban middle class women get more access for resources, education and other opportunities. On such occasions empowerment process can be commenced by educating women about the differences based on the ground of gender and conscientising that ideology. However, explain with examples that when the rural woman, who lives in an environment in which even the basic needs of life cannot be fulfilled, is empowered , that process can be commenced by providing welfare services to her. 59