District Rural Development Agency helps empowerment of rural women

Anantapur: District Rural Development Agency(DRDA)'s livelihood programmes are catching up with the rural women who are earning substantially to supplement meagre earnings of their male members.

In some cases, women are emerging as the only bread winners as their men spend their earnings on liquor and gambling. The DRDA is extending training to vulnerable women in small trades including tailoring, domestic dairy, pickle making, kirana shops and other occupations. The women are trained at the skill development centres functioning in all the 63 mandals in the district.

Among the multiple economic support schemes, stitching and tailoring are the most popular among the women. They are given financial assistance up to a maximum amount of Rs 3000 Under the scheme 'Unnati' and the the training is for a period of one month.

The women earn Rs.200 to Rs.300 per day by stitching blouses and even men's dresses. On an average each woman earns Rs.6000 per month which is quite a big amount in rural areas. In many cases it is the women who are practically running the families as they take care of the basic necessities of the family. Many among the men squander their wages on boozing, smoking and other acts of gambling.

Shabana of Rayadurgam mandal, who is benefitted by the livelihood programme said to 'The Hans India' that her family is a large one with her husband earning a pittance due to his irregular going for work. Under the 'Unnati' scheme, she received training and financial assistance from banks that is now helping her to earn Rs.5000 a month.

District Project Manager (non-farm) Annapoorna says that the trained women tailors are also given work contracts to stitch school uniforms for government school students and women are able to earn extra amounts sometimes up to Rs.10,000 a month. All government supplied clothing are stitched by either SHG women or by women trained by DRDA, she says.

DRDA project director Rama Rao told 'The Hans India' that tailoring is just one of the many activities, there are several other training programmes given by DRDA including beauty parlours, food courts and jute products etc.

Vijaya Lakshmi of Kalyandurgam, an SHG member says that she had been engaged in pickle making and earning about Rs.3000 to 4000 a month. Her pickles are being purchased locally and are in demand in her village. She says that the DRDA livelihood programme is giving her confidence that they can stand on their feet and earn independently.

Lakshmi of old town in Anantapur attributes her existence to the DRDA livelihood programme as a sudden tragedy in her family made her a widow. She says that the sewing machine is helping her andher old mother.