Women empowerment through mgnregs - Special reference to Malappuram district, Kerala

The women in Kerala are better placed compared to all India situations in terms of gender disparity indicators. The potential of women at present is not fully tapped and utilized for the community. If the women are given her proper role in the various activities of the community namely, social, economical and political fields, women will be able to plan, mould and activate various programs for the betterment and the development of the community. She has a positive role in social welfare activities, health care, economic progress etc. If the present political mindset is changed, women can be empowered to participate in the political activities right from the village level to national level.

As compared to various wage employment programme, MGNREGs are attractive for women, as it is better paid than any other work in the unorganized sector to women. The MGNREGs has contributed immensely to the increased bargaining power of the agricultural labour. Implementation of the MGNREGs has contributed to very high level of women empowerment. MGNREGs has been an important support structure for the poorest and most marginalized rural communities. Hence this paper aims to analyse the real impact of MGNREGs in Women Empowerment in Malappuram District of Kerala State.