A Study on Self Help Groups SHGs as a tool for empowering rural women

Abstract

The Human Development Report (2015) defines women empowerment as quotfemale autonomy newlinein all facets of life like social-cultural, financial-economic and political both inside and outside newlinetheir familyquot. The report puts light on the importance of achieving women empowerment newlineeffectively by reducing violence against women. In Karnataka, the efforts of empowering newlinewomen by developing their life through Karnataka state rural livelihood mission was started in newline2016 known as Sanjeevani . The program was to improve the life of rural women through newlinesocial group activities in their neighbourhood namely self-help groups (SHGs). These group newlineactivities are aimed at bringing the otherwise unorganized women to an organized group which newlinewill increase their confidence and self-esteem. The Grameen Bank founded by Professor newlineYounus substantiates his views by lending mainly to women as 90% of loans go to poor newlinewomen. According to Grameen Bank out of 8349 million borrowers, 97% are women. newlineAs per Bharat Microfinance Report 2017, there is a moderate growth in credit distributed by newlinebanks at 3.6% in the form of loans to SHGs, and the number of SHGs linked through banks is newline85.77 lakhs. The women client outreach as per the report is 96%. NABARDand#8223;s Status of newlineMicrofinance in India (2016-17) Reportand#8223;, the SBLP had shielded nearly ten crore households newlineand eighty-five lakh Self-Help Groups having collateral-free loan of which, the majority are newlinerural women. The present research is an effort to look into the rural women empowerment newlineissues and study the outreach of microfinance operations with specific reference to Chitradurga newlineDistrict of Karnataka State. Through field level interactions and experiences, the study will newlineprovide an opportunity to the SHGs to analyse and review their objectives, its functions of newlineorganizing poor women under microfinance schemes so that an organizational, regulatory newlineframework for mainstreaming microfinance can be evolved and empower women. The Study s newlinefocal construct is Empowerment mainly based on Economic, Social, Psychological, newlineEducational, and demographic perspectives. The extensive evaluation of literature helped in newlineidentifying Empowerment and its related constructs, which was further being analysed in the newlinepresent study. The theory of Empowerment is tested through various statistical techniques. The newlinewhole research is an attempt to explore the new perspectives of Women Empowerment newline