Odisha livelihood Mission (OlM) State Mission Director DV Swamy on Tuesday laid emphasis on multiple livelihood opportunities for women and has urged all stakeholders like Self-Help Groups (SHGs), women’s organisations and NGOs working on livelihood issues such as Forest Rights, land Rights and Women rights to come forward to ensure more livelihood opportunities for women in both organised and unorganised sectors in the State.
“It is still a challenging task for us to provide multiple livelihood opportunities for women. We are now focusing on social inclusion of poor, destitute, disabled and tribal women thereby facilitating multiple livelihood opportunities. Despite various Government efforts, there is a need to make concerted efforts in a holistic manner so that the barriers that exist for girls and women are addressed in a life cycle approach (from pre birth to birth to adulthood and old age),” said Swamy while speaking on the occasion of consultation on Women and livelihood issues organised by the OlM as part of the consultative process to formulate an Odisha State Women Policy 2013.
Swamy informed that the mission is now being implemented in 40 blocks in the State. Women constitute about 50 per cent of the State’s total population.
livelihood assets may be tangible such as food stores and cash savings as well as trees, land, livestock, tools and other resources. Assets may also be intangible such as claims that one can make for food, work and assistance as well as access to materials, information, education, health services and employment opportunities.
The objectives of this consultation were mapping of the livelihood opportunities available for women, identifying the underlying factors hindering women’s rightful access, ownership and control of livelihood opportunities, recommend measures to address barriers and mainstream women’s issues in the objectives of ensuring sustainable livelihood environment and suggest policy directives to be incorporated into the Odisha State Women Policy.
Access Development Services vice-president Amulya Mohanty and Dr Padmaja Misra, Professor of Economics of Utkal University were among many participants who shared their views.