ABSTRACT
The social, geographic and economic diversity in Karnataka presents an appropriate context for understanding the development of rural women in the state. The state was characterized by uneven levels of economic development, and Karnataka's territorial reorganization in the 1950s brought with it more economic diversity. This chapter discusses the administrative history, economic development, the position of women, government policy for women's development and voluntary efforts. Three different kinds of programs for women operate in Karnataka. There are area-based and gender-specific programs, such as the Bidar Integrated Rural Development Programme which targets women as beneficiaries in the district of Bidar. There are others which are gender-specific but not area-based, such as the Development of Women and Children in the Rural Areas which is implemented in many states including Karnataka. The encouragement by government to voluntary efforts is the result of the recognition of the inadequacy of state-supported initiatives to reach rural families, and rural women in particular.
