Public Irrigation and Well being of Women: A Tale of Two Villages in North east Karnataka, India
This article explores how public irrigation mediates the well being of women through a study of two villages in north east Karnataka with contrasting natures of access to irrigation. It shows that public irrigation plays an "instrumental role" in the well being of women. Here, the well being of women is defined in terms of four dimensions that include survival, education, health and self awareness. The village that has access to public funded canal irrigation exhibits relatively better performance in terms of well being of women compared to the village with non canal irrigation. These outcomes are explained in terms of access to irrigation and distribution of land. This micro level study shows the need to focus on public expenditure in rural infrastructure projects, including irrigation, to mitigate gender inequities.