This paper examines the feminisation of labour in a rural agrarian district in Kerala beset by agrarian indebtedness and distress. Without disregarding that women in less developed and agrarian economies are mostly engaged in agriculture and related activities, the focus here is on the newfound "interest" of women in economic activities in the rural sector in a changed economic scenario. In terms of the theoretical framework of the joint labour supply model of households, it examines the qualitative and quantitative dimensions of female employment in Kasargod, one of the economically distressed districts in Kerala.