The introduction of MGNREGS is one of the powerful initiatives ever undertaken for the transformation of rural lives in India. It is a gender-sensitive programme besides its primary goals. There is overwhelming participation of women in MGNREGS in Tamil Nadu. Though MGNREGA has made a significant contribution in improving the wellbeing of women, the question remains whether the employment scheme has empowered the women or engulfed the women into yet another invisible oppressive cultural setting. The paper presents the results of the empirical work conducted in four panchayats from two blocks in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu. It is a descriptive study using a mixed-method. Simple random sampling is used to select the samples for the study. To address the emerging question, the paper tries to analyse the extent of the higher participation of women in the scheme that has been perceived as empowering the women amidst the existing oppressive socio-cultural structure, which remains intact in the rural society.