In Kerala the women are on top

The history of south India can be traced back to over 2,000 years. However, it was only 50 years ago when the four southern states were created along linguistic lines.

CNN-IBN unveils the changing face of south India and celebrates the Dravidian spirit in a special series The Golden South.

Etamanoor (Kerala): Women in Etamanoor, Kerala, can do almost anything, from driving auto-rickshaws to running hotels and even climbing coconut trees.

This is a village where women are on top and that is because of the Swasreya Sangham – a self-reliance initiative in the Kottayam district.

The idea is to empower women and there is a man behind this initiative, Secretary of the Kottayam Social Service Society, Fr. Micheal Vettickat.

"The idea of starting such an initiative has been to provide women with a source of employment to help them be self-reliant," Vettickat says.

Take for instance the case of 33-year-old Beena Sunny. Earlier a housewife, she now drives an auto-rickshaw for a living, earning at least Rs 150 to 200 a day.

"It's been a year now. It has helped me to be self-sufficient as well as support my husband, who is ill, and my kids," Beena Sunny says.

Swasreya Sangham encompassing four districts has a hotel, a community shop and rabbit farms, all run by women.

So, what initiates these women to take up jobs that where earlier a man's dominion?

"Our aim is to catch up with the men folk in everything. We can do whatever they can. It's time we stood on our own feet," a tree climber, Suni Isaac says.

So far, the project has helped rehabilitate 10,000 women, generating revenue to the tune of Rs 1 crore per project in just one district.

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