Kudumbashree, the Kerala State poverty eradication mission has started working since 1998 and addressing the three levels of empowerment of women in the states – Economic Empowerment, Social Empowerment and Women’s empowerment. Kudumbashree is essentially a community network of Neighborhood Groups and its federations that covers the entire State of Kerala. It consists of a three-tier structure with Neighborhood Groups (NHGs) as primary level units, Area Development Societies (ADS) at the ward level, and Community Development Societies (CDS) at the local government level. As on today the Kudumbashree network have 3,16,860 NHGs affiliated to 19,470 ADSs and 1070 CDSs with a total membership of 46,16,837 women. Kudumbashree membership is open to all adult women, limited to one membership per family.

Women play a vital role in the development and sustenance of society at large. On account of the traditional patriarchy followed since time immemorial, often their contribution is not accounted and valued. With the changing times, the status of women both in the oriental world as well as in the occidental world has changed. Along with equality, and empowerment, today’s woman has also to tackle new challenges and shoulder responsibilities manifold specifically in the context of developing nations. Unlike other poverty’s alleviation programmes, Kudumbashree has a multi-pronged design and strategies that empower women in socially, economically and politically. Further, the three-tier federated community structure adds to its authenticity, accountability and commitment towards the poor and marginalized. Kudumbashree recognizes that capacitating women to understand and exercise their rights is a basic requirement for the success and sustainability of any poverty eradication programme. Kudumbashree has attempted to bring every poor woman in the state to federations of NHGs and capacitate them to address the issues of women by enhancing or improving female work participation, health and nutritional status, participation in decision making, local governance and their role in planning in addition to make them as local entrepreneurs for finding their livelihoods.

Kudumbashree is further play an active role in bringing women in to local governance. The participation of Kudumbashree members in Gram Sabhas and development works of GPs providing them the space for involving in local governance. This participation is giving opportunity for them to involve as a community interface for local economic development lead by GPs in the areas of social infrastructure development, welfare programmes based on rights and entitlements, employment generation, from food security, health insurance, housing, enterprise development, MGNREGS and Jagratha Samiti for enduring the safety and protection of women. Convergence with Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) has been one of the central themes within the Kudumbashree idea. Convergence means seamless working together of the Kudumbashree and the PRIs; it includes institutional and programmatic convergence as well as sharing of resources.

Major intervention done by Kudumbashree in last 5 years are:

1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) added to the strengthening of ADS. ADS representatives were to be the ‘Mates’ for scheme implementation. Close to two lakh women were trained to work as ‘Mates’ in MGNREGS. This started emerging as a cadre developing knowledge on identification and estimation of works, and in work supervision. MGNREGS and its link with collective farming lead to the rejuvenation of the entire structure, and it benefited ADS the most.

2. Gender self-learning Programme : Kudumbashree devised a special project called the Gender Self Learning Programme (GSLP) that directly caters to women’s empowerment. The programme recognizes the necessity of understanding the importance of “self learning” and using it to take advantage of the innate potential of women. The GSLP reinterprets the concept of learning by positioning women in multiple roles such as participants, information providers and knowledge creators

Plan of action - Strategies & Activities

• Setting up of Gender Resource Centres at State, district and Panchayat level
• Develop a team of women cadres and professionals
• Selection of Gender Resource Persons(10 CRPs in each GP and a point person from the community)
• Capacitating and skill development of Gender Resource Persons
• Provide Certification course to the selected CRPs
• Facilitation of vulnerability mapping and training to prepare projects & programmes under WCP which address the Strategic and Practical gender needs.
• Act as a nodal point to support the survivors of victims of violence – Counselling, legal, provide different entitlements.
• The Centre will also impart gender education for which material and training capacity will be developed