Gender Mainstreaming and Impact of Self Help Groups in Marine Fisheries Sector

Fisheries sector provides employment to over 12 million people and plays a paramount role in Indian economy. Women constitute nearly half of the population and one third of the labour force. Though women’s role in Indian marine fisheries sector with a coast line of 8129 km is very prominent, there is generally a gender bias in respect of their works and the inequalities between men and women are observed in the social, cultural and economic lives. The development and empowerment of weaker sections and gender mainstreaming in the Indian fisheries sector in a broader visualization will be materialized to a substantial extent with poverty eradication programmers through the transparent media namely Self Help Groups (SHGs). However an indepth analysis of the impact of SHGs in bringing out gender mainstreaming was lacking in the present scenario of Indian marine fisheries sector. Integrating gender perspective in SHG ventures in marine fisheries sector is inevitable because the gender mainstreaming approach advances gender equity and equality in the fisheries fabric of the society.