The year was 1989. Pay parity, gender bias were not so popular terms for an average daily woman labourer in Kerala. Thresiamma Mathew, a Pala-based woman employed with an NGO which implemented water supply and sanitation scheme of the Kerala government, was touched by the plight of women labourers at the construction site. They were mostly widows who toiled for measly wages. They earned barely half of what their male counterparts got. When Thresiamma requested her senior officials to make the payment equal, the request was turned down. "No matter how even the work was, men would be paid higher than women." The reply stunned her.

Thresiamma wondered what if all the construction labour was done by women. The thought in 1989 spawned formation of a 12-member all-women team who would be trained in masonry. Over the years, a simple thought of a woman has grown into Archana Women's Centre, which Thresiamma founded in 2004 at Ettumanoor in Kottayam district. The centre offers skill training in masonry, carpentry, bamboo and ferro-cement technology, plumbing, electrical works, bricks manufacturing, and several other skills which conventionally belonged to the male bastion.

"I was touched by the condition of women labourers. Many of them were widows with children and elders to look after. They had no other family support," Thresiamma recalled. "While a male helper of the mason was paid Rs 50, their female counterpart was given Rs 25. I wondered why different wages were being paid for the same amount of work and same duration," she said.

It wasn't easy for her. The women had to be trained in masonry if they were to carry out construction work all by themselves. And, that was a challenge far more insurmountable than one could imagine. The first and foremost was the opposition from society at large. Several questions were thrown up at Thresiamma over the impropriety of subverting an existing tradition. "The strongest resistance was, surprisingly, from women themselves, as they were afraid of changing male-centric norms. It took eight months of coercing and cajoling to convince the women of the need to pursue the mission before a 12-member team was formed comprising young women from Nattika and Mala areas in Thrissur," she said.

The first batch of women was first made to recall the atrocities and ordeals, which dogged them for so long. They were then encouraged to muster the strength to break themselves free from the shackles of oppression and gender disparity, says Thresiamma. After that they were given a month's free training in masonry along with a stipend of Rs 25 per day.

Archana Women's Centre has now grown into a big entity fostering women's pursuit for equality, economic empowerment and dignity and has its branches in Kottayam, Alappuzha, Idukki and Ernakulam districts. It is now the ultimate destination for any woman seeking occupational skills, emotional strength, or motivation to be self-reliant.

Thresiamma, an unassuming personality relentlessly engaged in various activities of the establishment, belongs to the Secular Institute of the Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (OMMI). Thresiamma now lives in Thellakom in Kottayam where Archana Women's Centre is situated.