Multidimensional approach for measuring female-based urban poverty in recently urbanizing societies: Sehore City of Madhya Pradesh, India as case study
Abstract: The present study deals with selected aspect of measuring the prevalence of female-based multidimensional poverty in upcoming township of Sehore Municipal Council (Sehore M.C.) with limited economic opportunities reflected in economic poverty as such. The female-based urban poverty is also reflected even in households which are not below poverty line (BPL) and households with higher female work participation, suggesting that not only economic factors are at play when discussing the high rates of female-based socio-economic deprivation in the study area.The parameters selected for this research were considered to be relevant for the evaluation of female-based multidimensional poverty given the local conditions. The study is based on the methodology of multidimensional poverty index (MPI) given by UNDP (2010) in which six domains including housing poverty, economic poverty, educational poverty, health poverty, lack of time for relaxation and lack of empowerment and decision-making power, are selected to evaluate female-based MPI. In order to bring out spatial variation in concentration of female-based MPI, seventeen congested and crowded localities across four wards with varying percentage population of females and female workers were surveyed. The results show that fifteen localities (88%) scores as multidimensionally poor on female-based MPI; one locality is severely poor; and one is vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. Out of the six analysed domains, the contribution of lack of empowerment and decision-making power domain are contributing the most to the female-based MPI (nearly 24%). The study concludes with the justification for selecting the indicators in evaluating the female-based MPI in new-urbanizing society in India along with area specific suggestions to tackle with existing problem of female-based urban poverty in Sehore M.C.