From the Homestead to Centerstage : A Journey of Empowerment

The Kerala Model of Development is widely acclaimed for its contribution in generating favourable social indices at par with Scandinavia. The central issue of the development in almost all the underdeveloped and developing countries is the empowerment of women constituents. In Kerala, the story of empowerment of women, is not just economic, but psychologically, and this has happened largely through the Kudumbashree and LSGs. Under Article 243(D) of the Constitution of India, there is a mandate to provide 50% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions, this constitutional amendment is regarded as a path-breaking move to empower women at the grassroots level. The present study portrays the impact of government interventions for ensuring the participation of women in decision-making as well as in the power structure in Panchayaths. The researcher(s) used cross-sectional research design for this particular study which adopts purposive sampling. The data was collected through in-depth interview and focus group discussion is used for triangulation. The finding of the study shows that how the women are empowered though various government interventions such as Kudumbashree, Thozhil-urappu Padhathi (MGNREGA), ASHAs (frontrunners for the NRHM), Panchayati Raj and house wives.