Empowerment of Kudumbashree Members in Kollam District - A Micro Level Study

Abstract

Kudumbashree is a community-based organisation founded by Keralan women's Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs). It has been acknowledged as a fundamental strategy for empowering women in rural and urban settings, bringing together women from all walks of life to compete for their rights and empowerment. The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, officially opened it on May 17, 1998. Kudumbashree's motto was to eradicate total poverty within ten years, and women's financial empowerment followed it. Numerous schemes, convergence programmes, and income-generating activities are underway with this goal in mind. The ability to make decisions for oneself is the simplest definition of empowerment. Economic growth alone will not be enough to achieve complete empowerment; social, political, and personal empowerment are all crucial. Kudumbashree members are required to participate in all aspects of empowerment. Thus, this is an attempt to assess the degree of women's empowerment in Kudumbashree and its members' economic, social, political, and personal empowerment. The study used a survey approach, and 120 samples were gathered using purposive sampling. An empowerment scale, which was taken from Ajantha Parameswari's (2014) Ph.D. thesis, was also used to gauge the degree of empowerment. SPSS software was used to analyse the data. The study concluded that Kudumbashree is the most well-known initiative for advancing Keralan women in rural and urban areas. Other Indian states could adopt the Kudumbashree as a model for women's empowerment domestically and abroad.