The Role of Rural Employment schemes in shaping Indian Feminism Post-Independence

This paper discusses how rural employment schemes impacted the construction of Indian feminism post-independence. Based on findings drawn from the cases of the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) this research investigates how these instruments have impacted on the Women Empowerment and Social Change in the Rural Areas of India. To that end, using statistical analysis and multiple case studies this research demonstrates the impact of the schemes in relation to financialisation processes, promotion of collective agency, and subverting patriarchal structures. It also reflects on the problems of wage inequalities, the failures of their enforcement, gaps in their applicability with regard to caste and class bias. This paper contextualises these insights in relation to Indian feminism with the conclusion that employment schemes for rural Indian women have been instrumental in the accomplishment of visions of gender justice and transformative social justice. It brings information to policymakers and the feminism discourse on rural development and women’s enhancement plans.