Feminization of poverty among rural women in the Malwa region of Punjab

Abstract

Research into the social impacts and gender-specific effects of structural adjustment policies have led to increased attention in the feminization of poverty as it exists among rural women involved in agriculture. The perception is growing around rural India that poverty is becoming increasingly feminized, that is, that an increasing proportion of the India s poor are female. Since most of the poor women are involved in agriculture and live in rural areas we shall study Feminization of poverty in the Malwa region of Punjab. The questions that need to be addressed to study feminization of poverty in the Malwa region of Punjab are: Are the majority of rural Punjab s poor female? Are women poor because they are women, or because they are members of social classes that have seen incomes fall and have experienced marginalization and exclusion? Have economic crisis and structural adjustment been devastating for all women or for women from certain social classes? What is the role of the state and its policies in mitigating downward trends in living standards and in meeting the basic needs and human rights of citizens, including women s human rights and also what interventions the state is making to improve the status of women in rural areas of the Malwa region of Punjab. newline