Katy Megarry

 
Negotiating Equality: Participatory Development and the role of Self-Help Groups in the Empowerment of Poor Women in Kerala, India

Katy first became interested in Kerala following an undergraduate fieldtrip to the southern Indian state. During several return trips as part of her MA dissertation research she began to develop her work to focus on poor women participating in a state-run self-help group (SHG) scheme, Kudumbashree. This work centred on material and non-material impacts of SHG membership. Working with poor women in urban and rural areas, this work investigated factors which contribute towards a successful SHG, and examined the varying impacts of membership on poverty alleviation and empowerment. Developing these themes further for her PhD research, she has used a range of Participatory Research Methods, working with women from Kudumbashree and other SHG schemes to examine their understandings and concepts of women’s empowerment. Asking whether SHG membership leads to the empowerment of poor women, she has developed a range of indicators with her research participants that break down the concept of empowerment to create a context specific definition of the term. Her work examines theories of power and empowerment and posits them against the ideas and experiences of her research participants. Several extended visits to Kerala over the last eight years have allowed Katy to develop personal relationships with her research participants which has enabled her to examine the intricacies of household power relations. The work then takes these concepts of empowerment, and discussions of household power negotiations, to consider what role SHGs play in the development of poor women, in both economic and social terms.
 
 
A key part of Katy’s work has been the use and development of Participatory Research Methods. She has trialled and employed several methods, which loosely come under banner of the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). Her use of these methods, including H-diagrams, ranking and drawings, has enabled her to generate discussions with her research participants which they have described as enlightening and personally beneficial. In line with her feminist methodology, she is keen to, in some way, give back to the community she works with, and has participated in a number of cultural and social events whilst in the field. Crucial to her work is the creation of a research environment where open discussion and debate ensue, ensuring a free flow of questions and information between researcher and participant.
 

 
Katy was born and brought up in London. First pursuing her interest in textiles, she completed a Foundation year at Camberwell College of Arts in 2001 incorporating photographic images into print and embroidered designs on a range of mediums. Though an active interest in art-textiles and photography remains, Katy decided to study Geography at King’s College London as an undergraduate. Katy’s undergraduate dissertation examined the lives of Punjabi migrant communities in West London. This interest in India and Indian culture was furthered during a research trip to Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala where Katy undertook fieldwork for her dissertation for a MA in Environment and Development, also at King’s College. In 2006 she was awarded a School of Social Science and Public Policy Studentship to undertake a PhD at King’s.

 
Megarry, K (2008) Tourism and Kudumbashree: a Southern Solution Empowering Women through Tourism. In P. Burns and M. Novelli (eds.) Tourism Development: Growth, Myths and Inequalities. Oxford: OUP. Pp 217-238

Dr Kathy Baker and Dr Mike Goodman