Women's role in energy usage in rural areas

Abstract

Rural development policies in India have rarely been designed for women as beneficiaries of development schemes. This is despite the fact that the women in rural communities, especially the very isolated, play a crucial role towards maintaining families at a subsistance level. The economics of womens' contribution in terms of energy, goods and income supplement is not clearly understood and often overlooked by planning authorities. An attempt is being made here to demonstrate the major role played by women in energy usage and expenditure, by quantifying womens' work in terms of household income distribution. The point being made is that womens' work should not be regarded as only drudgery to be eliminated. One should work towards reducing womens' workload by bringing in appropriate technology to ease her work and not eliminate the work itself by importing a substitute. If this is not done we end up getting rid of women as important contributors to society.