Socio-cultural Factors Influencing Women Empowerment: A Cross-sectional Study Among an Ex-criminal Tribe in West Bengal, India

Abstract

This article critically examines whether socio-cultural factors like education, family type and earning opportunity influence women’s decision-making capacity, and thereby, their empowerment or not. It is established through earlier research that women are the most disempowered section in our society, and tribal women, especially the women from ex-criminal tribes, are relatively more deprived than others, and their decision-making ability is a significant criterion that reflects their empowerment status. The present cross-sectional study was carried out among 110 women of the Lodha, an ex-criminal tribe in India. The data of the earner women were compared with those of a control group who were not involved in any earning pursuit. The findings show that women’s participation in self-help groups (SHGs) and/or their involvement as wage laborers effectively enhance their decision-making ability within family, and education, family type and earning opportunity are significantly associated with the level of participation in decision-making.