While the transformation of rural gender
inequalities was not an intended goal of the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act, this study draws on evidence from two
villages in western Tamil Nadu to show how the scheme has benefited
rural women in particular. Major attractions of the MGNREGA work include
local availability through the year, it being perceived as relatively
"easy" work with fixed, regular, gender equal wages, and free from
caste-based relations of subordination and discrimination. The gendered
impacts of MGNREGA are partly due to the universal, right-based and
women-friendly nature of the policy, and partly to the specific ways in
which this policy is implemented in Tamil Nadu, where it has received
significant cross-party political support.
