Training and Empowerment of Rural Women in Kerala: The Level of Awareness Created in Terms of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice

Abstract- The study focuses on training and empowerment of rural women in Kerala. The aim of the study is to analyse the level of awareness created among rural women about women’s rights and women’s issues. The level of awareness is measured in terms of knowledge, attitude and practice. A training package for the empowerment of rural women known as ‘Training for Women’s Groups in Rural Areas ’ was selected for the study. The training was implemented for the members of Mahila Samajams (women’s organisations) and imparted through ten voluntary organisations working in ten districts of Kerala. The long term objective of the training was the empowerment and self reliance of women. A descriptive study was conducted selecting 175 respondents by simple random sampling method from the universe of 350 women who had attended the women’s training programme. Similarly, another 175 respondents who had not attended the training programme were selected randomly for comparative purpose. Thus a total number of 350 respondents were included in the study. Personal interview with the help of interview schedule was the main tool used for collecting information from both the categories of respondents. Result of the study highlights that trained women have a higher level of awareness, more positive attitude and greater will be their responding capacity on women’s rights and issues.