During the time of the pandemic, one act that was in news for boosting rural economy was Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The act aims to provide a minimum of 100 days of guaranteed employment to every registered household. Another aim of the act is to create durable assets for households in rural areas. The act clearly mentions the type of structure, financing patterns, and monitoring and evaluation required to create durable assets and to generate sustainable livelihood.
Apart from these things, the act aims at providing employment to the people of vulnerable groups and marginalized communities. In addition, the primary beneficiaries stated in the act should be people from vulnerable and marginalized communities. Interestingly, the act clearly spells out measures to ’empower’ the women and other groups through this act. The empowerment through fixing quota for women and giving child care facilities are to name the few.
Women Participation In The MGNREGA
The Act gives priority to women’s participation in the workforce. It has given special attention to the needs of the women working at the worksite. Some of the basic provisions for women working under MGNREGA are: provision of child care at the worksite, vulnerable women ( widowed, deserted and living in poverty) should be given special attention and therefore, special work which is close to their home should be formulated and implemented.
The act encourages women participation and thus has mandatory one-third participation of women. Due to the special focus on women, it has given the scope of employment to women within their villages and an option to earn their livelihood.
Further, due to the migration of men to urban spaces as a source of livelihood, a lot of women take up work through MGNREGA. The migration of menfolk, at times, gives women an opportunity to work and earn livelihood in their villages for their family. This is true only for the women coming from low-income households in the villages.
Ground Reality And Gaps
Although the act has tried to give special provision to women yet, it has clearly missed out on the other provisions which would help to ensure women’s participation. In addition, the provisions mentioned in the act are not in place on the ground. Drawing from my experience and observation from a few villages of district Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh. The provision of child care at the worksite is quite missing.
In addition, the act has a broader perspective and provision to ensure the ’empowerment of women’. It does not talk about the basic amenities like toilets and sanitary pads in first-aid boxes to ensure the participation of women.
Drawing from the conversation I had with a few women, they mentioned how during menstruation, they either have to miss out on work or work at the site, taking frequent breaks to come back home to change the sanitary pads.
The shyness and taboo around menstruation often force them to stay at home during menstruation. Further, the lack of basic amenities during menstruation also makes it difficult to work. While discussing with the members of Panchayat, they put across the issue with the toilets. As the worksites are not a fixed location, it is not feasible to get a washroom made. Although, in my opinion, a makeshift toilet with water and safe disposable would suffice at the worksite. In addition, movable toilet vans if adopted by panchayats through state governments can ensure the issue of sanitation. Further, community washrooms in and around villages can also help to tackle the issue of sanitation.
Empowerment Is Much More Than Just Providing Employment
In the development sector, most of the projects and programmes are around financial independence and put greater focus on financial inclusion. The point which usually gets missed is the conducive environment which women need to work effectively and efficiently. Worksites usually do not cover basic amenities which gives liberty to women to work without much hassle. Although the act has covered a lot of provisions for women yet, it fails to translate on the ground.
Further, the women are yet not aware of rights covered under the act which makes it even worse for them to demand their rights and entitlements. The problem further aggravates due to lack of support and help from Panchayat and other departments. I believe, if the awareness around MGNREGA is spread in the community, it can help to bring significant change in the community.
The author is a part of the current batch of the #PeriodParGyan Writer’s Training Program