Role of SHG Federations in Promoting Economic and Social Empowerment of Women: Empirical Evidence from a Project in Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

Self-help group federations (SHGFs) in India have come to be recognized as catalytic drivers of women’s economic and social advancement. Over time, their role has expanded to promoting grassroots community leadership, village development and undertaking advocacy initiatives for women’s greater inclusion and participation in their households, communities, and economy. This paper expounds the role and impacts of SHGFs in promoting women’s economic and social empowerment in Madhya Pradesh, one of India’s most densely populated and poverty affected States. With over one third of its population (roughly 25 million people) living in poverty (as per Niti Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, 2021), the State lags behind in critical human development indicators such as malnutrition, infant mortality, education, health, lack of clean drinking water, skills and employment opportunities. Women disproportionately suffer the brunt of these challenges coupled with regressive social and cultural norms that subject them to myriad forms of marginalization and discrimination. Over the last decade, Hand in Hand India (HiHI), a leading NGO championing gender equality through job creation and financial inclusion has been actively working for women’s empowerment, livelihoods promotion and integrated community development in Madhya Pradesh. Under one of our projects in Madhya Pradesh, ‘UNITED: Bringing Unity to Improve Livelihoods and Women Empowerment,’ we worked with a network of 200 SHGFs representing over 20,400 women over 3 years, between 2019 and 2022, where a majority of the women came from backward communities and were supported with integrated training and capacity building programs for livelihoods promotion. Additionally, SHGFs were trained and mentored to become frontrunners for advancing enterprise creation, women’s empowerment and community development. This paper presents empirical evidence of positive transformations witnessed in women’s social and economic spheres that enabled them to expand their agency and improve their lives, livelihoods and communities in significant ways.