A Time to Cross the Barriers of Patriarchy: A Scheme for Women Self Help Groups in Odisha

Abstract

The newly launched Scheme by the Govt. of Odisha for convergence of ‘Mission Shakti’ with ten Govt. Departments for provisioning of services and procurement of goods has transformative potential to challenge the patriarchy by broadening the working spheres of Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) from four walls of the domestic sphere to a public platform. However, this Scheme suffers from the shortcomings of an imbalance between the aims and lack of inclusivity of WSHGs, which need to be removed by taking proper measures before the Scheme is fully implemented.