Abstract
The micro credit-based development programme working through self-help groups (SHGs) is an initiative whose basic premise is that the empowerment of women can be achieved through economically gainful activities. The lack of access to financial resources is considered to be one of the main reasons for the patriarchal subjection and subjugation of women as well as their low status in family and society. However, empowerment thus achieved or claimed to have been achieved through SHG initiatives may do more to enhancing the bargaining power of women within the existing system of male hegemony, thereby not only acknowledging but also strengthening it—the same unequal, hierarchical, masculine, biased system that SHGs are said to free women from. Using ethnographic field data undertaken in the city of Delhi, the present article examines some of the paradoxes in the practices of micro credit.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
