Operationalising rights-based approaches to development: Chinks in the armour observed through a study of anganwadi workers in Odisha, India

This chapter presents an evidence-based case study of a human rights-based approach to development conducted at state level in India involving female, community workers (‘anganwadi workers’) for the Integrated Child Development Services. Drawing on the ‘lived experience’ of these workers, I argue that while a rights-based approach (RBA) to development has an important role to play in the development process, it cannot go far if it ignores the rights and practical knowledge of its duty-bearers at the community-level. Through an examination of the ‘lived experiences’ of such workers, I have argued that if this shortcoming is not addressed in policies, there is a danger of relying on poor women to solve problems of gendered poverty and hunger. The chapter aims to generate evidence-based data which will enrich conceptual debates on empowerment processes and rights-based approaches and inform appropriate policy interventions accordingly.