Context:

Eleven married women from Maharajganj district in Uttar Pradesh apparently eloped with their lovers after receiving Rs 40,000 from the government. The payment was the first instalment, transferred as a benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), India's cash-for-housing welfare scheme. Local police authorities received complaints from the jilted husbands about the alleged misuse of funds by the women. In response, programme administrators decided to halt the second instalment of PMAY scheme benefits to these missing beneficiaries. Investigations also found four other women who had implemented precisely the same plan using PMAY, in Barabanki district a year ago.

“Leakage” in Welfare Schemes: Lessons From Laapataa Ladies

Serious economists would label these incidents as cases of “leakage” in welfare schemes. They would fret about "freebies" and the diversion of government funds meant to be used by the beneficiaries to construct homes. Unserious folks - who find instruction in tales of badly-behaved women - may feel that the story of these laapataa ladies tells us a lot more about how the public interacts with public policy.

The episode winks at us for three reasons:

●     Economic Autonomy and Romantic Autonomy: First, it reminds us that romantic autonomy is often underpinned by economic autonomy. While we do not know the exact details of the case of the laapataa 11 in Maharajganj, feminist scholars and activists highlight how government cash transfers directed towards women can boost their intra-household bargaining power and enable many to walk away from unhappy or abusive marriages.

●     Reward for Female Victimhood: Second, it is common to hear politicians and policy wonks suggest targeting women for welfare benefits as a reward for female victimhood, votes, and good behaviour. Reams of data from well-intentioned economists tell us that women spend the cash transferred to them from schemes, or their own incomes, on the "good" of the family - nutrition, savings, and other expenditures deemed worthy by society.

●     Unsafe Dominant Power Structures: Finally, the case reminds us that effective safety nets can make dominant power structures feel very unsafe. Such phenomena need deeper study and documentation. Too often, we leave the analysis of welfare programmes to economists with instruments and imaginations that are too limited to grasp the impact such programmes can have on the landscape of interpersonal relationships and social bonds.

Economic Independence and Redefining Women's Roles

Empowerment Through Economic Independence

In India, many women see economic independence as key to their emotional and sexual freedom. By improving women’s access to money, jobs, and fair working conditions, we can reduce their reliance on arranged marriages and family connections for financial security.

According to the National Family Health Survey, which interviewed women between the ages of 15 to 49 years, only 13 per cent own a house on their own, while 29 per cent report joint ownership. Reacting to such bleak statistics on asset ownership and well-known gender gaps in the paid labour force, government programmes across the political spectrum have pushed for women to be registered under welfare schemes as primary beneficiaries. Data finds that 46 per cent of the rural PMAY beneficiaries hold housing allotments in the name of both husband and wife. About 26.18 per cent of the beneficiaries are women.

Challenging Stereotypes of Female Beneficiaries

Studies on women in village governments and corporate boards show that having more women in these roles can promote equality. However, women are not a uniform group of passive voters influenced by incentives like cooking gas and cash. They can use transport subsidies for their benefit or even exploit schemes, as seen in Maharajganj. Unlike the idealized image of traditional women, empowered women have their own ways of navigating their lives and may not always be eager to prove their worth to policymakers or contribute to development goals and economic growth.

Steps To Be Taken For Women Empowerment in Society

• Women as Active Agents

It is refreshing to pick up a hint of deviance from women in a society where many politicians and powerful countries see wives as welfare entitlements and sexually independent women as enemies of the state. Despite economic distress impacting men and women of our precariat equally, the sympathies of our policy discourse privilege the male farmer struggling to find a wife due to poor earnings over the woman farmer who wants to marry for love as she navigates a hostile economy and public space, while also providing an endless supply of invisible care labour.

• The Role of Public Programs

From a perspective that often draws criticism among those in established marriages, it has been argued that many Indian marital unions could face destabilization if women were not reliant on men for secure housing and financial stability. This stance does not endorse neoliberal individualism or its perceived lack of affection. Instead, initiatives promoting an equitable and inclusive economy could alleviate families and marriages from societal pressures and discriminatory customs that dictate the parameters of love and relationships.

• Effective Safety Nets and Power Structures

A few scholars have analysed the shifts in labour power and community dynamics ushered by the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act and self-help groups. Such work needs more dedicated investment, as opposed to being a qualitative annexure or by-product of a quantitative evaluation.

• Strengthening Personal Choice

Knowing that we can live independently, safely, and comfortably; when both the state and market enhance our capacity for self-sufficiency, and laws safeguard our rights to form supportive communities—this enables us to choose relationships based on love or to step away if that love is absent. Strengthening personal autonomy through redistributive policies can significantly enhance the strength and quality of our social relationships and networks.

Conclusion

The impact of schemes on social ties often remains overlooked in standard program evaluations. Individuals are relegated to passive roles in high-level policy discussions, reduced to mere data points used to gauge electoral support, program reach, or financial leakages, devoid of dignity and agency, always in the background of overarching theories. While refraining from presenting new theories, it is argued that the true impact of these schemes should be measured not just by standard metrics like economic stability and fund management, but also by how they affect the self-respect and independence of marginalized communities. Each person seeks fulfillment in love, happiness, and purpose, not solely in economic productivity and profit. The case of the missing women linked to PMAY serves as a stark reminder of real lives lost in the discourse on welfare policies.

Source: Indian Express