ABSTRACT
This chapter initially covers the geographical location: the Palni (Palani) Hills, Dindigul district. This is one of six districts in Tamil Nadu receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme. Scheduled Castes account for 21% of the population of Dindigul district, and Scheduled Tribes not quite 1%. The starting point in the chapter is a reiteration of the underlying assumption in this book that wellbeing is dependent on access to opportunities to live the life that women have reason to value. In a state where women have gained near gender parity in tertiary education achievements, this implies that education is a necessary but insufficient indicator of wellbeing, absent empowerment. The chapter describes the methodology in terms of multiple dimensions of wellbeing that are grouped under ‘Capabilities’ and ‘Equalities’. A detailed description of the conceptual grounds follows. This pertains to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for advancing women’s rights which can be seen to build on the legacy of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In terms of the genealogy of this wellbeing approach, the chapter lists further indebtedness to Amartya Sen’s Development as Freedom. The list of indebtedness continues with recognition of work that advances Wollstonecraft’s recognition through focus on adult/social education in public spaces where people debate their conditions, examine them, and seek mutualising solutions. Gramsci features alongside the work of Habermas, and Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The work of the research partner Grihini programme is introduced regarding their Freirean approach.
