Introduction
Gender planning in India has evolved over time through various phases, with each phase focusing on addressing the needs, rights, and roles of women and marginalized genders in development. It started with a welfare approach and gradually shifted towards empowerment and rights-based strategies. These phases show how India has moved from treating women as beneficiaries to recognizing them as active participants and leaders in development.
1. Welfare Phase (1950s–1970s)
- Focus: Women were seen as passive recipients of aid and support.
- Key Strategies: Programs provided food, health services, and family welfare to improve women’s conditions, mostly related to their reproductive roles.
- Example: Maternal and child health programs.
- Limitation: Did not address gender inequality or give women decision-making power.
2. Development Phase (1970s–1980s)
- Focus: Recognizing women’s role in economic development.
- Influence: Inspired by Ester Boserup’s work which showed women’s contributions to agriculture and economy.
- Policies began to include women in productive activities, skill training, and income generation.
- Example: Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP) included women beneficiaries.
3. Empowerment Phase (1990s)
- Focus: Empowering women through legal rights, education, and political participation.
- Major Milestones: 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments mandated one-third reservation for women in local governance (Panchayati Raj Institutions).
- Women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) emerged as a major strategy for socio-economic empowerment.
4. Rights-Based Phase (2000s–Present)
- Focus: Ensuring gender justice, equality, and human rights.
- Incorporation of gender budgeting by the Government of India since 2005–06 to track spending on women’s welfare.
- Policies now aim to address gender-based violence, digital access, education, and health from a rights perspective.
- Example: Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.
5. Inclusive and Intersectional Phase (Emerging)
- Focus: Addressing the needs of women across caste, class, disability, and sexual orientation.
- Policies are slowly becoming more sensitive to intersectionality and multiple forms of discrimination.
Conclusion
The different phases of gender planning in India reflect the growing understanding of gender issues in development. From welfare to empowerment and rights, each phase has added value to how women and gender minorities are included in planning and policy. The current challenge is to make gender planning more inclusive, intersectional, and impactful at the grassroots level.