Lessons from Kerala : women and public action

Women in Kerala play an important role in public life. Emphasis is placed on women. It is mainly women who are, for instance, responsible for Kerala's system of health care. Due to economic problems the women of Kerala are organized in cooperatives. This garantees wages, and in this way they have a voice on their own future. The women are also organized in women's associations. These associations supply them in livestock, loans etc. In this way the women have resources to fall back on if things get worse. Education and public action in several social spheres, such as health, have helped people in Kerala deals with the problem of poor nutrition and high infant mortality and have reduced population growth.