Women Empowerment

Empowerment of women has three strategies. First is ‘self –help for building the means of
production’. Women from communities are organized based on the concept of self- help to build
the means of production for themselves. This is in convergence with the National policy for
development.

As members of self help groups, women from the community are enabled to build
their credit capacities. Based on the credit capacity built, they progress to the next stage of
formation of their own capital. Means of production consists of capital, technology and labor. The
women in community are enabled to build their means of production through self help so that they
can come out of their poverty line and continue their self- help efforts toward ‘prosperity building
for quality of life’

The second is ‘collective strength for participation’. Women in communities to create the spaces
for their participation in the matters of community and society need the strength of collectivity.
This is enabled through the identity of ‘group’ and ‘federation of groups’. Membership in the
group provides the power of collectivity for the individual woman to address discrimination,
violence and vulnerability brought on her due to the gender stereotype of society. Participation in
local administration of Panchayats and application of legal provisions such as violence against
women is done by women in community due to their strength of collectivity.

The third is ‘cross cutting of gender’ in all the developmental interventions. As part of cross cutting
equal proportion of men: women are maintained in all project processes and planned benefits of
projects. Committees have equal representation of women. In needs assessment of society, gender
and strategic practical needs of women are taken into consideration.