Lok Sabha Question No. 1221 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-03
Subject: National Conclave on Gender Mainstreaming
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Manickam Tagore B, Shri Vijayakumar Alias Vijay Vasanth

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1221 ANSWERED ON 03/12/2024

## NATIONAL CONCLAVE ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING 1221. SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B: SHRI VIJAYAKUMAR ALIAS VIJAY VASANTH:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENTbe pleased to state:

- (a) whether  any  specific  outcomes  and  recommendations  have emerged from the National Conclave on Gender Mainstreaming hosted by the Ministry;
- (b) whether  the  Government  plans  to  implement  the  strategies discussed during the conclave to strengthen gender-responsive community institutions, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to enhance the capabilities of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Village Organizations (VOs) to better support women's empowerment;
- (d) the  extent  to  which  it  is  likely  to  address  the  barriers  to women's empowerment identified during the conclave, such as unpaid care work and wage gaps;
- (e) the  details  of  steps  to  ensure  gender  training  to  all  NRLM mission staff, panchayat representatives and institutional stakeholders; and
- (f) whether the Government has taken any steps to engage men, boys and youth in challenging traditional gender norms within rural communities, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. CHANDRA SEKHAR PEMMASANI)

- (a) The National Conclave on Gender Mainstreaming was organized with the objectives of creating strong Gender Responsive community institutional mechanisms and to develop forward-looking strategies for forging Inter-Ministerial convergence for addressing gender inequalities. Specific

recommendations that have been carved out for gender mainstreaming  include  gender  integration  within  the  scheme  of DeendayalAntyodayaYojana  National  Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY NRLM), building strong interfaces with other government schemes, continuous capacity building on gender, and focused interventions at the village organization and cluster level federations on accessing various rights & entitlements and addressing other issues.

- (b) Yes, the Government is fully aligned to strengthen the community  institutions  premised  on  the  principles  of  gender equality  through  various  training,  experience  sharing  and  hand holding activities.
- (c) & (d) DAY NRLM is a scheme of the Government of India to alleviate  poverty  through  institutions  of  poor  women.  The two pronged  approach for  supporting  women  empowerment  include gender integration within DAY NRLM program and establishing functional  institutional  mechanisms.  This   includes Gender  Point  Person  at  Self  Help  Groups  (SHGs),  SakhiManch, Social Action Committee at Village Organization (VO) level, Gender Forum  at  Gram  Panchayat  level,  Social  Action  Committee  at Cluster  level  Federation  (CLF)  level  and  Gender  Forum  at  block level.  The  adopted  strategies for  gender  equality  and  women empowerment include capacity building, 2ensitization, awareness, advocacy towards social norms and convergence with line departments.  The  sensitization  and  capacity  building  programs around gender help women understand the concept of gender and several  gender-related  barriers  including,  unpaid  care  work  and wage  gaps.  This  continuous  capacity  building  translates  into better access to rights and entitlements and empowers them have agency and control on their income, asset, etc.
- (e) The  gender  training  is  provided  to  cadres  and  staff  of the program at the State,  district  and  block  level.  They  in  turn  train the  members  and  office  bearers  of  SHGs,  VOs  and  CLFs  on gender.
- (f) Several pilot interventions have been taken in DAY NRLM to engage men and boys which include PariwarChoupal in Chhattisgarh and Peer group counseling in Jharkhand.

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