Suppose someone is paying taxes for the house. Or someone is paying land rent. For those who have paid various taxes or services in the government register, their male or female identity should not be mentioned separately. Kerala has started breaking that tradition. The gender equality budget has been introduced to bring equality between women, men, and other genders. In a word, it is called ‘Gender Budget’.
At least 50 local government bodies in the southern state have launched a ‘gender budget’ this year. It has a municipal corporation, 16 municipalities, a Zila panchayat (ie Zila Parishad, 6 block panchayats (meaning panchayat associations), and 22-gram panchayats.
There was no established model of how to create a ‘gender budget’. The Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) has developed a framework by holding workshops with representatives of municipal and panchayat levels. According to state government sources, considering the experience of panchayats and municipalities, the idea of such an equitable budget will be taken up at the state level as well.
