Context: More than 2,000 schools in Kerala will extend their weekend hours to accommodate the 46 lakh women enrolled in the state’s prominent poverty alleviation initiative, ‘Kudumbashree’.
More about the news:
- Kerala Local Self Government Department on October 1st announced the launch of the “back to school” program.
- The “back to school” initiative aims to equip women with the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm needed for the mission’s future endeavours, particularly in areas such as financial transactions and entrepreneurship.
- The program will be facilitated by 15,000 trained resource persons and will cover five key topics: “organizational strength – lessons from experience, vibrancy of NHG, community-life security, livelihood ideas, and the digital age.”
About Kudumbashree Mission:
- Kudumbashree, established in 1997, is a poverty eradication and women empowerment initiative executed by the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM) of the Government of Kerala.
- Kudumbashree consists of two key entities: the Kudumbashree Community Network and the Kudumbashree Mission.
- Its creation was in response to the decentralization of authority to Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Kerala and the People’s Plan Campaign, which aimed to formulate the Ninth Plan of local governments from the grassroots through PRIs.
- In 2011, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India, designated Kudumbashree as the State Rural Livelihoods Mission (SRLM) within the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM).
- Kudumbashree operates as a network of community-based organizations (CBOs) for women, officially registered as Community Development Societies (CDS).
- A common bylaw defines the framework for this network and features of the CDS Byelaw include:
- Membership as a matter of right
- Special provisions for the representation of vulnerable communities such as SC, ST, and disabled individuals
- Independence from and complementarity to local government roles clarified
- Formation of CDS Action Plans (Micro-Level Demand Plans)
- Incorporation of an accountability framework
- Assurance of an independent election process
