Women empowerment is not a slogan, but a non-negotiable code for us”. When Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik articulated this vision, it justly reflected Odisha’s governance model since he assumed power in the year 2000. This model is not only rooted in gender equity and women empowerment but the much larger women-led development model. Now after two decades, this notion is occupying pride of prominence in the current G20 Declarations and the ruling BJP claiming credit for pioneering this model. In World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report 2023, India ranked 142 out of 146 nations in the ‘economic opportunity and participation’ subindex and 59 in ‘political empowerment’ subindex. However, Odisha stands out with 43 per cent of startups being led by women entrepreneurs, against the national average of 18 per cent.
Building the Ama-Parichay (Our Identity) through livelihood
Philosopher Immanuel Kant associated dignity with the human agency to choose one’s own actions. It has three fundamental facets - economic independence, individual identity and social acceptance.
Launched on International Women’s Day in 2001, the Mission Shakti program functions on the principle of empowerment through federation. It works towards strengthening and transforming on-ground SHGs into vibrant financial hubs.
It has empowered more than 70 lakh women by organising them into six lakh WSHGs and providing them seed money, credit linkages (Rs 15,000 crore), market linkages and other benefits including money paid as interest subventions (yearly Rs 250 crore). Even in states like Kerala, the inability to raise funds restricts the growth of women entrepreneurs.
However, the Odisha government has provided credit amounting to Rs 11,000 crore to four lakh SHGs as institutional finance in 2022-23 alone. The state prepares a separate Gender Budget. The department of Mission Shakti received the highest allocation (41.57 per cent) in this Gender Budget 2023-24. Mission Shakti has also played a pivotal role in enabling women to move beyond the boundaries of stereotyped domestic social chores to newer avenues of economic engagement.
These include engagement with government departments through procurement of various goods and services (Rs 6,858 crore until now) like retail dealerships in the public distribution system, working as Swasthya Mitras, Jal Sathis, tax collectors and banking correspondents, thus going beyond economic empowerment by making them partners in governance. At the same time, young women from SHGs are being trained in more modern trades like fashion, lifestyle, commercial stitching, air-hostess, e-commercial, and beauty and wellness to help them open beauty parlours in their houses in their villages.
During the pandemic, women emerged as vanguards, being at the forefront of distributing food to the elderly and masks and sanitizers (soap) to all. And today in the International Year of Millets, WSHGs in Odisha have pioneered the Millet Mission by playing leadership roles in the millet value chains.
Road towards political representation and rights
Even before the passing of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1992, Odisha became the first state in India to provide a 33 per cent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions in 1991 thanks to the legendary Biju Patnaik.
This was further raised to 50 per cent by his son Naveen Patnaik, a decision which had a far-reaching impact on political empowerment and building individual identity associated with the dignity of women, particularly in rural areas. It is also one of the few states in India’s history to announce a 30 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs in 1991.
In the 17th Lok Sabha (2019), the share of all women members of Parliament (MPs) out of the total MPs stood at a mere 14 per cent.
However, in the same year, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was lauded for having 42 per cent of its MPs as women, the highest ever for any party. Following their party leader and Chief Minister Patnaik, MPs from the BJD have time and again reiterated their demand for passing a Bill to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state Assemblies through various parliamentary interventions and sending senior emissaries from his party to all other national parties.
Moving towards a life of dignity
The Preamble of our Constitution speaks of assuring the dignity of every individual. The Odisha government has worked to achieve that in letter and spirit for Odia women. The Mission Shakti institution provides women that agency through various skill-based training programs (both in India and abroad) along with unwavering logistical support and most importantly, increasing their self-esteem and confidence by building their capacities.
Even very simple but yet, important interventions for improving their gait, grooming, dressing and interaction style have been designed to build their self-confidence and self-worth. The Odisha government has also harnessed the power of digital technology as a catalyst for women-led businesses through e-commerce.
Providing POS machines and smartphones, promoting branding on GeM Portal and partnering with Flipkart to provide a marketplace for their products has given a foothold to women in the traditional male-dominated supply chains. Visionary partnerships with organisations like Meta and Coursera for training young women are aimed at equipping them with cutting-edge skills in data analytics and AI, thus making them ready for Industry 4.0 and equal stakeholders in the burgeoning knowledge economy.
Path paved for the future
In a landmark announcement in January 2023, the chief minister declared credit support amounting to Rs 50,000 crore to WSHGs across Odisha over the next five years, providing impetus to the growth of women-led enterprises.
Such revolutionary reforms reinforcing self-worth and self-respect of Odia women have shattered the glass ceiling, provided them dignity and enabled women-led enterprises to emerge as resilient powerhouses. Odisha’s model is veritably worth emulation by the rest of the country.
(Views are personal)
Dr. Amar Patnaik
Rajya Sabha MP and lawyer