ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE FOR GENDER EQUALITY THE CASE OF KUDUMBASHREE IN KERALA, INDIA

Empowerment of women has multiple dimensions but focus on the action of raising the status of women, equipping and countenancing women to make life-defining decisions. But unfortunately, many of the endeavours and interventions for empowering women-focused much on economic empowerment side tracking social, emotional, intellectual, psychological and equity dimensions. SHGs are often perceived as a shortcut for empowerment, but the capability of such attempts to break the social inhibitions and gender roles were inadequate. Besides such models often concentrated on narrow objectives like economic empowerment through employment neglecting the border dimensions like sustainability or poverty reduction. The Kudumbashree programme of Kerala is an exception to such attempts. Kudumbashree, established in 1998 was perceived not merely as one SHG based women empowerment programme in the narrow sense, but as a poverty eradication mission of Kerala. Kudumbashree is a multifaceted programme focusing primarily on microfinance and micro-enterprise development and integrally linked to local self-government institutions. Kudumbashree enhances civic participation in the development process in a grass root level; particularly, deepen democracy, strengthen social capital, facilitate efficiency sustained growth, and gender mainstreaming. Deviating from the traditional model of centrally managed programs and the policy processes, Kudumbashree visualizes development process as a participatory approach against a beneficiary approach. The Kudumbashree community network lies on the foundation of a three-tier structure, with Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) at the lowest level, Area Development Societies (ADS) at the middle level, and Community Development Societies (CDS) at the local government level. Kudumbashree has basic objectives such as to work towards women empowerment, local economic development, and poverty eradication through the three-tier community organisation consisting of Kudumbashree NHG, ADS, and CDS. Kudumbashree engages in Micro Finance, Local Economic Development, Social Development, Women Empowerment, Special Projects, Centrally Sponsored Programs and Urban Projects. Today there are 2,91,507 NHGs with 43,93,579 members. Kudumbashree model which was judged by UNDP as ‘one among the 15 Best Practices in India’ in 2002 is now an internationally acclaimed model for women empowerment. Kudumbashree has succeeded to empower women by boosting women’s sense of self-worth; right to have and to determine choices; right to have access to opportunities and resources; right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; and ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just, social and economic order