Claiming Their Space

India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) programme - which guarantees at least 100 days of employment a year for adult members of rural households willing to do unskilled manual work for the minimum wage of 120 Indian rupees (USD 2.00) per day - provides decent work for rural women. The result is a growing population of empowered women. UN Women provides technical support to the popular public works programme and, through its Fund for Gender Equality, has supported the Dalit Women's Livelihood Accountability Initiative, which aimed to spur women's participation in states where participation had not yet reached the one-third threshold and to ensure the timely pay of women workers.