Rural Women Empowerment in Chittoor District

Abstract

Women Empowerment is a process that enables women to gain access to and control of material as well as information resources. This approach was first clearly formed in 1985 by Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN).It is the means by which individuals, groups and communities to take control of their circumstances and achieve their own goals thereby being able to work towards helping themselves and others to maximize the quality of their lives. ( Adams, 1996)Women form an important segment of the labour force and economic role played by them cannot be isolated from the total framework of development as the role and degree of integration of women in economic development is always an indicator of economic independence and social status.Rural Women Empowerment includes making rural women to possess or build the necessary ability to undertake a number of tasks either individually or in group so that they have further access to and control of society resources. Empowerment is recognized as an essential strategy to strengthen the well being of individuals, families and communities, Government and Non-Government Agencies.There is always a need for sharpening women empowering strategies to make them effective and result oriented. Money earned by poor women is more likely to be spent on the basic needs of life than that by men and that this realization would bring women as the focus of development efforts. Women when worked in groups can result in creating a new sense of solidarity and to work together for the cause of economic independence.This paper is such which highlights on Rural Women Empowerment in Chittoor District along with some case examples.