Abstract:

                      In spite of the development interventions by many international agencies, the performance of India on women empowerment and gender equality is very poor. The sex ratio in many states of India has dropped to fewer than 850 females per 1000 males. India is ranked 127 out of 187 countries on Gender Inequality Index as per the 2014 Global Human Development Report (UNDP HDI report-2014). According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) where development is not “engendered” it is “en-dangered”. However, across the levels of governance, there are still concerns about socio political participation of women due to deeply rooted inequalities, social stigma, patriarchy, male dominancy and limited scope for women to venture out from the boundary of four walls. So keeping view of the above facts Odisha Watershed Development Mission (OWDM) in its project called Integrated Watershed Management Programme(IWMP) has tried its best to do some gender related intervention which has lead to the socio, political and economic empowerment of women in rural areas of Odisha.

Key Words: Gender, UNDP, OWDM, IWMP