Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dr. S. PACKIALAKSHMI
Assistant Professor of Commerce, Devanga Arts College, Aruppukottai
Abstract
Women empowerment is a process in which women challenge the existing norms and
culture, to effectively promote their well being. The participation of women in Self Help
Groups (SHGs) made a significant impact on their empowerment both in social and
economical aspects. In India, this scheme is implemented with the help of NABARD as a
main nodal agency in rural development. It is self employment generation scheme for
especially rural women, who don’t have their own assets. The word 'empowerment' means
giving power. According to the International Encyclopedia (1999), power means having the
capacity and the means to direct one's life towards desired social, political and economic
goals or status. Empowerment provides a greater access to knowledge and resources, more
autonomy in decision making, greater ability to plan lives, more control over the
circumstances which influence lives, and freedom from customs, beliefs and practices. Thus,
empowerment of women is not just a goal in itself, but key to all global development goals.
Empowerment is an active multidimensional process to enable women to realize their
identity and power in all spheres of life. This paper examines the women empowerment
through SHGs and also explains effectiveness of self-help groups in Indian context.
Keywords: Women empowerment, Global development, Poverty alleviation, SHG.
through self-help and mutual help. The utilising individual skills for group
SHG promotes small savings among its interest.
members. The savings are kept with a bank. c) To create awareness about rights that
Following are the advantages of SHG’s. help in financial assistance.
1. An economically poor individual gains d) To identify problems, analyzing and
strength as part of a group. finding solutions in the group.
2. Besides, financing through SHGs e) To act as a media for socio-economic
reduces transaction costs for both development of the village.
lenders and borrowers. f) To develop linkages with institutions of
3. While lenders have to handle only a NGOs.
single SHG account instead of a large g) To help in recovery of loans.
number of small-sized individual h) To gain mutual understanding, develop
accounts, borrowers as part of an SHG trust and self-confidence.
cut down expenses on travel (to and from i) To build up teamwork.
the branch and other places) for j) To develop leadership qualities.
completing paper work and on the loss k) To use as an effective delivery channel
of workdays in canvassing for loans. for rural credit.
4. Where successful, SHGs have Women Empowerment through SHGS
significantly empowered poor people, A self-help group (SHGs) is as an
especially women, in rural areas. instrument to change the conditions of
5. SHGs have helped immensely in women socially and economically. Once
reducing the influence of informal socio-economic experiment is 92 achieved
lenders in rural areas. it would have implication on the overall
6. Many big corporate houses are also development of women. SHGs enable
promoting SHGs at many places in economic, social, political and
India. psychological empowerment of women.
7. SHGs help borrowers overcome the Economic Empowerment
problem of lack of collateral. The economic contribution of
Need of SHGS women has been found to be related to her
The rural poor are incapacitated due role and status in the society. The Self-help
to various reasons, because most of them groups provide economic benefits to the
are socially backward, illiterate, with low women by providing income generating
motivation and poor economic base. activities. Economic independence
Individually, a poor man is not only weak facilitates in bringing about sexual equality
in socioeconomic term but also lacks access and increase in women’s income translates
to the knowledge and information which more directly into family well being.
are the most important components of Social Empowerment
today’s development process. However, in Self-help Groups improve the
a group, they are empowered to overcome quality of status of women as participants,
many of these shortcomings. Hence, the decision-makers and beneficiaries in the
role of SHGs is highly essential which in social, democratic, economic and cultural
specific terms covers the following as spheres of life. SHGs ensure the equality of
under: status of women as participants, decision-
a) To mobilize the resources of the makers and beneficiaries in the democratic,
individual members for their collective economic, social and cultural spheres of
economic development and uplifting life.
the living conditions of the poor. Political Empowerment
b) To create a habit of savings and SHGs as active, articulate and
utilization of local resources in form of organized citizenry act on a range of issues,