Abstract
Self help groups (SHGs) can act as an empowerment resource centers for the women members, percolating the benefits to the society in general. Social evils like alcoholism, domestic violence against women and children, abuse and exploitation, gender bias and social exclusion are some of the areas against which the members can effectively organize and combat. Ultimately, it can come to a point where it becomes their choice whether to remain socially, economically and socially impoverished, or to organize themselves into eradicating their deprivations. The concept of self help groups was envisaged with the intent of using its potent as a powerful tool for rural poverty alleviation through rural women empowerment. It is to be specified that women empowerment per se was not the sole motive. The objectives percolated into an overall family, community and social development to be achieved initiated from and by women themselves. It is specifically against this setting that the present study was undertaken to critically evaluate the nature and extent of impact of participation in SHGs on rural women. Analysis was conducted on the extent of various levels of empowerment achieved by the members through their participation in SHGs. Personal, social, economic and financial empowerment were attempted to evaluate. Key words: Women empowerment, self help groups, micro-credit, social security.
Highlights
Self help groups (SHGs) are becoming one of the important means for the empowerment of poor women in almost all the developing countries including India
The initiatives of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and directives from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), from the beginning of 1990s, most of these Mahila Samajams and credit unions have been converted into self help groups (SHGs), linked them to financial institutions for better credit facilities
The total number of SHGs covered under the study is 18, and the total number of members covered as respondents are 200
Summary
Self help groups (SHGs) are becoming one of the important means for the empowerment of poor women in almost all the developing countries including India. Since the emergence of SHG system, as per the initiatives of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and directives from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), from the beginning of 1990s, most of these Mahila Samajams and credit unions have been converted into SHGs, linked them to financial institutions for better credit facilities. In Kerala, since the middle of 1990s, the State Government took initiatives in organizing the urban poor women into neighbourhood groups (NHGs). These NHGs are recognized as SHGs by NABARD, as far as SHG-Bank linkage and credit facilities are concerned (George, 2004). Women self help groups, formed exclusively for rural women, being an effective medium for community involvement in developmental activities, can be a powerful tool for alleviating rural poverty through the empowerment of women, by freeing themselves from the clutches of usurious moneylenders
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