Women, Work and a Winning Combination
Kerala’s Kudumbashree network and the rural employment guarantee scheme have converged to provide a unique model of empowerment.
A n incredible story of empowerment has been unfolding in the wake of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) programme in the state of Kerala. This is the story of how a socially engineered convergence of the scheme with panchayati raj institutions and the State sponsored community network of poor women is transforming the lives and capabilities of the poor across the state.
Kerala is unique in the country for the extent of women’s participation in the MGNREGS. The proportion of women person days is 93 per cent, which is the highest rate of participation of women in the programme in the country. The highest difference in the average casual wage labour rate for men and women is also to be found in Kerala (Rs 107.3). This difference along with a low female work participation rate of 15.3, speaks volumes about both the socio-economic status and the marginalization of the woman labourer in the workforce.
Kudumbashree is a vast community network of women sponsored by the state government and located within local self governments of the state. It has over two lakh neighbourhood groups of women, federated into ward, level Area Development Societies (ADS) and panchayat/municipal level Community Development Societies (CDS). Unlike federated structures of self-help groups (SHG) in the other states, in Kerala, the CDS was embedded in the gram panchayat and expected to work in unison with it, in furthering the agenda for development and empowerment. An executive decision was taken by the state government to have all “mates” for the programme from among the ADS of Kudumbashree. Over one lakh women mates were trained, who then proceeded to identify work opportunities, mobilize groups for work, prepare estimates in consultation with the overseer or engineer, supervise work and provide amenities at the worksite, prepare and submit muster rolls, and handle emergencies at work.