K UDUMBASHREE - P ROSPERITY OF THE F AMILY

5.2. Kudumbashree
­
Prosperity
of
the
Family


Kudumbashree
means
“prosperity
of
the
family”,
empowerment
of
women
is
a
way
 to
bring
empowerment
to
the
whole
family.
The
members
of
the
Kudumbashree
are
 proud
 to
 be
 a
 member,
 and
 they
 acknowledge
 that
 is
 an
 important
 step
 in
 empowering
 themselves
 and
 their
 family,
 both
 socially
 and
 politically.
 The
 Kudumbashree
 is
 absolutely
 one
of
 the
 success
 stories
 on
 how
 empowerment
 can
 contribute
to
increase
participation.
However,
the
role
of
the
Kudumbashree
in
civil
 society
 in
 the
 rural
 areas
 slightly
differs
 from
the
 urban
 areas.
 In
 rural
 areas
 they
 are
 a
 bigger
 part
 of
 the
 political
 sphere,
 citizens
 (especially
 Scheduled
 Tribes
 and
 Scheduled
Casted)
expressed
a
relatively
higher
trust
in
the
Kudumbashree
than
the
 politicians,
the
politicians
also
seemed
to
make
use
of
the
Kudumbashree
to
reach


out
 to
 these
 marginalized
 groups
 (Olsen
 et.al.
 2011).
 In
 urban
 areas
 they
 do
 not
 seem
to
play
the
same
political
role.
In
urban
areas
the
Kudumbashree
focuses
on
a
 greater
 extent
 on
 the
 purpose
 it
 was
 meant
 to
 have
 for
 the
 members,
 to
 bring
 women
together
to
help
enhance
their
economic
security.




5.2.1. More
passive
in
urban
areas
than
in
rural
areas


Already
 at
 an
 early
 stage
 of
 the
 field
 study,
 it
 became
 evident
 that
 the
 Kudumbashree
in
Kochi
does
not
have
the
same
influence
when
it
comes
to
citizens’


participation
 compared
 to
 the
 Kudumbashree
 in
 Wayanad.
 In
 Wayanad,
 the
 politicians,
 and
 the
 Kudumbashree
 members
 themselves,
 saw
 it
 as
 their
 responsibility
 to
 get
 the
 ordinary
 citizen
 to
 participate
 in
 the
 local
 meetings
 and
 elections
 by
 informing
 them
 about
 the
 meetings,
 and
 the
 importance
 of
 participating.
 The
 Kudumbashree
 members
 that
 I
 talked
 to
 in
 Kochi
 did
 not
 necessarily
have
any
strong
affinity
to
any
political
party,
for
them
it
was
important
 that
the
job
was
done.
They
saw
their
role
as
 to
identify
the
needs
of
their
family,
 and
 being
 a
 member
 of
 the
 Kudumbashree
 enabled
 them
 to
 get
 jobs
 and
 attend
 different
programs
reserved
for
them
as
women.




They
 all
 stressed
 the
 importance
 of
 the
 presence
 of
 women
 in
 politics,
 praising
 the
 50
 per
 cent
 reservation
 for
 women
 in
 Panchayats
 and
 other
 local
 bodies.
However,
when
asked
about
their
thoughts
on
the
importance
of
democracy,
 and
 citizen’s
 participation
 to
 any
 of
 them,
 they
 became
 uncertain
 and
 just
 shook
 their
heads.
In
some
cases
I
believe
that
the
lack
of
language
skills
could
have
played
 a
part.
Nevertheless,
they
did
not
shake
their
 heads
until
after
the
interpreter
had
 finished
translating.


I
had
hoped
that
the
Kudumbashree
would
play
a
bigger
role
in
empowering
 women
 and
 local
 communities
 when
 it
 came
 to
 citizen
 participation
 in
 Kochi.


However,
the
challenges
that
these
women
meet
in
the
urban
context
of
Kochi
are
 greater
 than
 in
 rural
 Wayanad.
 It
 seems
 that
 in
 urban
 areas
 the
 Kudumbashree
 focuses
on
a
greater
extent
on
the
purpose
it
was
meant
to
have
for
its
members,
to
 bring
 women
 together
 to
 help
 enhance
 their
 economic
 security.
 
 And
 where
 the


Kudumbashree
 in
 Wayanad
 may
 have
 been
 an
 initiative
 taker
 for
 citizen
 participation
 and
 enlightenment
 about
 social
 and
 political
 issues,
 the
 Kudumbashree
 in
 Kochi
 seemed
 not
 to
 have
 the
 resources
 necessary
 to
 engage
 in
 these
 matters.
 However,
 the
 challenge
 is
 to
 make
 sure
 that
 the
 lack
 of
 further
 engagement
 and
 involvement
 is
 not
 a
 result
of
 lack
 of
 knowledge
 and
 insight
 into
 how
the
democratic
institutions
work.



5.2.2. Meaning
of
the
vote


The
 women
 may
 not
 have
 any
 strong
 opinions
 when
 it
 comes
 to
 democracy
 and
 political
 issues
 beyond
 the
 matters
 that
 have
 a
 direct
 impact
 on
 their
 own
 lives,
 however,
 several
 of
 them
 expressed
 strong
 opinions
 when
 asked
 about
 their
 electoral
participation.


I
find
it
interesting
how
these
women
felt
so
strongly
regarding
their
right
to
 vote.
Compared
to
my
other
informants,
the
Kudumbashree
members
talked
about
 voting
 in
 a
 different
 manner.
 For
 them
 voting
was
 more
 of
 a
 right
 and
 a
 privilege
 rather
than
a
duty.
This
is
also
compatible
with
studies
of
voting
behaviour
in
India
 have
pointed
out
that
socio‐economic
status
is
not
related
to
voting,
and
it
turns
out
 that
 citizens
 with
 a
 lower
 socio‐economic
 status
 have
 a
 higher
 participation
 rate
 compared
to
those
of
high
socio‐economic
status
(Yadav
1996;
Yadav
and
Palshikar
 2003).
 
 The
 studies
 show
 that
 people
 from
 different
 social
 class
 vote
 for
 different
 reasons.
 
 All
 my
 informants
 were
 asked
 weather
 or
 not
 they
 voted
 at
 the
 last
 elections,
many
answered
no.
In
comparison,
all
my
informants
that
were
members
 of
 the
 Kudumbashree
 told
 me
 that
 they
 had
 voted,
 some
 even
 seemed
 slightly
 offended
by
the
question.


“Of
course
I
did,
to
vote
is
an
important
part
of
democracy.
If
you
do
not
vote,
you
do
not
care”.


Kali


Studies
 of
 voting
 behavior
 in
 India
 have
 pointed
 out
 that
 socio‐economic
 status
 is
 not
 related
 to
 voting,
 and
 it
 turns
 out
 that
 citizens
 with
 a
 lower
 socio‐economic
 status
 have
 a
 higher
 participation
 rate
 compared
 to
 those
 of
 high
 socio‐economic


status
 (Yadav
 1996;
 Yadav
 and
 Palshikar
 2003).
 
 The
 studies
 shows
 that
 people
 from
 different
 social
 class
 votes
 for
 different
 reasons.
 For
 poor
 people
 the
 vote
 is
 considered
as
a
right
and
a
privileged,
while
for
the
middle
class
it
is
seen
as
a
duty
 of
citizenship.



Being
 active
 in
 a
 civil
 organization
 can
 also
 have
 a
 positive
 impact
 on
 the
 individual
member’s
trust
in
governmental
institutions
and
its
officials.
In
his
survey
 of
 citizen
 participation
 in
 Italy,
 Putnam
 (1993)
 shows
 that
 association
 members
 tend
to
exhibit
more
social
trust
and
citizen
participation
than
non‐members.