COMMONWEALTH ASSOCATION FOR
EDUCATION, ADMINISTRATION AND
MANAGEMENT
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4
ISSN NO 2322-0147
DECEMBER
2013
Self Help Groups as Poverty Reduction Strategy in Enhancing the
Socio-Economic Status of Rural Women.
Excellence International Journal of Education and
Research (Multi- subject journal)
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
Self Help Groups as Poverty Reduction Strategy in Enhancing the
Socio-Economic Status of Rural Women.
BY
Shyna Saif,
Guest Faculty
Department of Social Work,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
Abstract
In the fight to eradicate poverty and create income generating activities, Self Help Groups
has emerged as a strategic tool in empowering women and thereby enhancing their socioeconomic status. Women being the central feature of any developing society have been
subjected to various kinds of atrocities, exploitation, neglect, abuse and gender disparity. But
with the emergence of Self Help groups, women’s status gained prominence in socioeconomic sector and they also carved a niche in the society as an independent entity.
Through the various intervention techniques and income generating activities, the Self Help
Groups gave a positive direction to the women for their economic independence, active
participation in decision making process, changed concept of self image and confidence
building. The self-help group (SHG) approach is a new paradigm into the field of rural
development which main objectives are to increase the well-being of the poor people
specifically women, provide access to resources and credit, increase self-confidence, selfesteem and increase their creditability in all aspects of lives.
Keywords: Self Help Groups, income-generation, poverty reduction, empowerment,
socio-economic status
Introduction
The World Development Report 2001 argues that major reduction in all dimension of poverty
are indeed possible when the interaction of markets, state institutions and civil societies can
harness the forces of economic integration and technological changes to serve the interest of
poor people and increase their share of society's prosperity. Actions are needed in three
complementary areas: promoting economic opportunities for poor people through equitable
growth, better access to markets and expanded assets; facilitating empowerment and
removing social barriers that exclude women, ethnic and racial groups, and the socially
disadvantaged; and enhancing security by preventing and managing economy wide shocks
and providing mechanisms to reduce the source of vulnerability that poor face. (WDR, 2001)
Poverty reduction strategies vary depending on a country's macroeconomic, structural and
social policies and programs to promote growth and reduce poverty. Nevertheless, all
strategies should reflect the country's characteristics and should be participatory with proper
diagnostics with appropriate targets, indicators and systems for monitoring and evaluating
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research (Multi-subject journal)
Page 427
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
progress. (Poverty net) The widely acclaimed strategy of promoting SELF HELP GROUPS
of the poor has proved to be ideal in many countries in alleviating poverty and fostering rural
development. By the early 1970s, welfare and charitable organisations concentrated on
working with neighbourhood or village groups on self-help initiatives and grassroots
economic projects (Korten, 1987). Now, SHGs worldwide foster a process of on-going
change in favour of the rural poor in a way in which this process can be sustained by them
through building and managing appropriate and innovative local level institutions rooted in
values of justice, equity and mutual support.
Poverty is generally perceived as lack of income and assets for meeting the minimum needs
for a decent living and the same leads to many other forms of deprivations related to human
well being, essential for a meaningful life. Poverty deprives one from adequate food and
nutrition, proper shelter, education, treatment during illness and similar essential material
needs.
Apart from material deprivation poverty leads to failure in participating in various social,
cultural and economic activities and the poor have very little strength to mitigate the risk to
any vulnerability, which affects them materially as well as morally. People living in poverty
have lack of capacity to work for their own welfare and very often they have to compromise
their dignity. The poor have limited options and they feel excluded and all those drive them
to a state of despair. There is no unique standard of what the minimum will be in respect of
any one of the various dimensions of poverty, which can be measured. Also, poverty is
understood and measured in different countries in different ways depending on the social and
economic development of the country.
Definitions of poverty and its impact on the socio-economic aspect of life can be referred to
as the most viable question which needs to be addressed properly in different directions.
Poverty is infecting everyone those who are already resides under the poverty line or those
who are about to come under the grief of poverty. Therefore, it needs to be cured as soon as
possible because it quickly spread its poisonous aspect in all over the parts of the society.
In the initial phase of planned development of the country, it was decided that as the
economy grows the poor will be benefitted from the trickledown effect of the growth.
However, it was realized later that the condition of the poor is not improving as desired,
which demanded more targeted interventions for augmenting the income of the poor.
Removal of poverty is the main objective of planning in India since from the inception of
planning periods and so; the poverty alleviation programmes have been given greatest
importance in the field of economic development. For the removal of poverty, a direct antipoverty scheme is required so that it can combat with all those factors which tend to increase
the forces of poverty in the both rural and urban areas. But the process of poverty alleviation
can be more sustainable when all the members of the family are involved. Therefore,
reduction of poverty should be an important concern of the development countries in order to
attain economic development and welfare of the people. For alleviating rural poverty and
freeing the rural masses from the vicious circle of poverty, a direct implementation of anti-
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research (Multi-subject journal)
Page 428
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
poverty scheme is urgently required for which credit has long been identified as one of the
most crucial input for the upliftment of people.
The Concept of SHG
The self-help group (SHG) approach is a new paradigm into the field of rural development
which main objectives are to increase the well-being of the poor people, provide access to
resources and credit, increase self-confidence, self-esteem and increase their creditability in
all aspects of lives. Self-help group is a voluntary and self-managed group of women,
belonging to similar socio-economic characteristics, who come together to promote savings
among themselves. The poverty alleviation intervention of the SHG is in the form of
undertaking economic programmes to provide employment, giving micro finance services to
the poor so that they can get themselves acquainted with skills and occupational
diversification. This new initiative was taken up by Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana,
implemented in 1999, to organize the poor into Self-help group. The uniqueness of these
groups lies in the fact that to a large extent they are self-supporting self governing
organizations free from bureaucratization and politicization. The process empowers the poor
and enables them to control direction of own development by identifying their felt needs.
Characteristics of SHG: Homogeneity has been the strongest feature of SHGs. The
members are linked by a common bond like caste, sub-caste, community, the place of origin
or activity. Even if the group members are from similar economic activity say pottery, the
basis of group affinity is a common caste or origin. Therefore, the nature of these groups is
slightly different from what is globally known as ‘solidarity groups’
The SHG movement added a very significant dimension as it was to be linked with the micro
finance. Micro Finance (MF) has now been widely accepted as an effective intervention
strategy for poverty alleviation, which is easily accessible to the poor, reduces transaction
cost and where repayments are designed to fit cash flow for the borrowers. Micro finance
includes thrift, credit and other financial services and products of very small amount.
Theoretical Analysis.
The World Bank’s Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook defines
empowerment in its broadest sense as the “expansion of freedom of choice and action”
(Narayan, 2002). United Nations (2001) defines empowerment as the processes by which
women take control and ownership of their lives through expansion of their choices. Kabeer’s
(1998, 1999) view of empowerment refers to the processes by which those who have been
denied the ability to make choices acquire such ability. The fundamentals of empowerment
have been defined as agency (the ability to define one’s goals and act upon them), awareness
of gendered power structures, self-esteem and self-confidence (Kabeer 2001). The ‘National
Policy for The Empowerment of Women’ (2000) states that “The women’s movement and a
widespread network of NGOs which have strong grassroots presence and deep insight into
women’s concerns have contributed in inspiring initiatives for the empowerment of women.”
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research (Multi-subject journal)
Page 429
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
The concept of women’s empowerment has gained increased attention over the past two
decades. The idea that the empowerment of women is an essential component of international
development first held prominence at the ICPD conference in Cairo in 1994 and then again at
the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995. These conferences marked a shift
from thinking of women as targets for fertility control policies to acknowledging women as
autonomous agents with rights. Since these landmark events, there has been an explosion of
conceptual and empirical work that attempts to gain a deeper understanding about how
empowerment works, how it can be fostered and what kind of impacts it can have on the lives
of women and their families. Along with the burgeoning development of empowerment as a
concept that garnered international recognition, came grassroots movements aimed at
empowering disenfranchised communities with women playing a central role. This
movement can be seen as a response to the lack of representation of grassroots women’s
groups at the major international conferences. Simultaneously, given global recognition of
the feminization of poverty, a wave of microfinance programs directed specifically at rural
women became more prevalent. Participants and planners soon realized that while these
programs were initially designed as poverty reduction programs, they had the unexpected
consequence of empowering women by enabling women to take more active roles in
decision-making on everything from household finances to healthcare. The basic assumptions
undergirding these income-generating programs are that giving women access to working
capital can increase a women’s ability to “generate choices and exercise bargaining power as
well as develop a sense of self-worth, a belief in one’s ability to secure desired changes, and
the right to control one’s life” (UNIFEM, 2000). Microfinance programs are just one example
of programs that can encourage the empowerment of women. More generally, self-help group
programs, involve groups of people who gather together and provide support for each other.
The types of self-help groups are numerous and can include collective finance and enterprise
(savings and loans, group credit, collective income-generation, joint farming), cultural groups
(burial societies, community development, religious groups), advocacy and social justice
(human rights, environmental protection, property rights, labor rights), self-education (life
skills, capacity-building, health education) and health (family planning, reproductive health
services). Such groups are created with the underlying assumption that when individuals join
together to take action towards overcoming obstacles and attaining social change, individual
and collective empowerment can result. In addition, self-help groups have been shown to
facilitate the formation of social capital and mobilization (IFAD 2003).
Some evaluations paint a positive picture of the impact of credit programs on women's lives
(Kabeer 2001). Access to savings and credit can initiate or strengthen a series of interlinked
and mutually reinforcing ‘virtuous spirals’ of empowerment. Another group of evaluations
have tried to establish that economic contribution may increase their role in economic
decision making in the household, leading to greater well being for women and children as
well as men (Mayoux, 2000). Self-help groups through microcredit have an important role in
lessening the vulnerability of poor by creating assets, income and consumption smoothing,
providing emergency assistance, and empowering and making women confident by giving
them control over assets and increased self-esteem and knowledge (Zaman 2001). Self-help
groups proved to be important cushions and safety nets; a high proportion of the funds made
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research (Multi-subject journal)
Page 430
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
available for self-help micro credit schemes were utilized by women, facilitating them to
meet the subsistence requirements of their families during those hard economic times
(ESCAP 2002).
It has also been studied that women’s increased economic role may lead to change in gender
roles and increased status within households and communities (Mayoux, 2000). Hashemi,
Schuler, and Riley (1996) explored the impact of credit on a number of indicators of
empowerment: (i) the reported magnitude of women's economic contribution; (ii) their
mobility in the public domain; (iii) their ability to make large and small purchases; (iv) their
ownership of productive assets, including house or homestead land and cash savings; (v)
involvement in major decision making, such as purchasing land, rickshaw or livestock for
income earning purposes; (vi) freedom from family domination, including the ability to make
choices concerning how their money was used, the ability to visit their natal home when
desired and a say in decisions relating to the sale of their jewellery or land or to taking up
outside work; (vii) political awareness such as knowledge of key national and political
figures and the law on inheritance and participation in political action of various kinds; and
finally, (viii) a composite of all these indicators.
Other empowering aspects noted in studies are cognitive in nature. The IFAD gender
mainstreaming review has reported gains in self-confidence and self-esteem amongst the
women, enhanced capacity to articulate their needs and an increased respect in the household
(FAO, 2002). Women’s groups have emerged as a dynamic, articulate constituency enabling
women to work together in collective agency (Krishnaraj and Kay 2002). Self-help groups
have facilitated the formation of social capital, where people learn to work together for a
common purpose in a group or organization (Putnam 2000).
The common experiences of members, reciprocal help and support and collective will power
and faith, are some of the qualities and processes of groups that help in empowerment. They
offset isolation and alienation by creating an organization to which the women can belong,
where they will be heard and would have the security of being one of a majority and a
movement, rather than being individual and alone. Secondly, the women develop motivation
that can lead to a stronger personal identity and self worth. Long-term association also
provides the member a chance to give back, to help others, and to acquire leadership skills. It
gives the members new opportunities for achieving self-growth, increasing self-esteem,
contributing to the community and acquiring a sense of purpose. Women mention that they
have found a new individuality through the self-help groups. Membership of SHGs aided the
women to move from an inactive state to being dynamic agents and work for their own
change. The women elucidate how they had discovered their power. They are fortified with
information. They were thrilled about their newly acquired powers. Women who had so far
been hesitant and inhibited have slowly shed their reserve and stepped out of the four walls of
their homes to acquire an individuality of their own. They developed a sense of self-worth as
they understood that self-empowerment comes from within. They have found strength in
numbers.
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research (Multi-subject journal)
Page 431
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
Conclusion
Women have to come together as a collectively, perceive common interests and goals and act
to push for major structural changes. Women's group at the village is the basic building block
which federates with other women's group for widespread change. Emergence of self-help
groups, as a tool for community organisations and action has brought about important
changes in the lives of women and initiated the process of empowerment.
Gaining access to the outside world itself is liberating for many women, who hardly got any
scope to come out of their domestic sphere. Access to credit, ability to earn, to have control
on their earning and getting support of other group members on any adverse situation are
crucial factors adding to the confidence and resources to the women to overcome other areas
of deprivations. Many of them, after joining the SHG movement, have opened their own bank
account and are participating in outside economic activities, which was unthinkable even a
few years ago. The extra income is also giving them much higher respect within their homes
and they have become more involved in decision making within the households. The incomes
of the SHGs are being used for education of their girls at par with the boys. Many of the SHG
members, who were illiterate or semi-literate, have acquired literacy and more functionality
in understanding group activities and accounts with the help of the literate members of the
Group. They have started participating more in community affairs and their network and
unity has given them to challenge many injustices which they used to face silently. Domestic
violence is one such area of suffering of the women and there are many incidences of
organized resistances by the SHGs to violence against women by the husband or other
members of the in-laws side of the women. So is the case for early marriage, incidence of
which is very high in the state. SHG women are resisting such practices and many girls are
now able to avoid early marriage with interventions by SHGs. There are also several
incidences where the SHGs have been able to prevent trafficking of girls. More and more
SHG members with their higher level of awareness have contested election of the local
governments and have joined public offices after being elected. The biggest advantage is that
where strong Cluster or Federation has developed the women are being able to organize
actions of their own for their socio-economic development and have successfully negotiated
with the Panchayat and other development agencies to act in their favour. With more
facilitation by the government and other development agencies the women will get more
empowered faster leading to overall development of the society.
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research (Multi-subject journal)
Page 432
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
References
Ahmed S (2005) “Intimate Partner Violence against Women: Experiences from a Woman
focused Development Programme in Matlab, Bangladesh,” J Health Population Nutrition,
March ;23(1):95_101.
Ahmed S, Chowdhury M (2001) “Micro-Credit and Emotional Well-Being: Experience of
Poor Rural Women from Matlab, Bangladesh.” World Development Vol. 29, No. 11, pp.
1957±1966.
Dalal K (2011), Does economic empowerment protect women from intimate partner
violence? J Inj Violence Res. 2011 January; 3(1): 35–44.
Harden A (2010) “Mixed-Methods Systematic Reviews: Integrating Quantitative and
Qualitative Findings,” The National Centre for the Dissemination of Disability Research
(NCDDR) Technical Brief, No. 25.
IFAD (2003) “Empowering Women Through Self-Help Microcredit Programmes.” Bulletin
on Asia-Pacific Perspectives 2002/03.
Kabeer N (1999) "Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of
Women's Empowerment." Development and Change 30:435-464.
Malhotra, A, Schuler SR, and Boender C. 2002. "Measuring Women's Empowerment as a
Variable in International Development.” International Center for Research on Women and the
Gender and Development Group of the World Bank
UNIFEM, Progress of the World’s Women (New York: UNIFEM, 2000).
United Nations Population Information Network (POPIN) and the UN Population Fund
(UNFPA) (1996) “Guidelines on Women's Empowerment” Document of the Task Force on
ICPD Implementation. New York, NY.
Walsh, D. and Downe, S. (2006). Appraising the quality of qualitative research. Midwifery,
22(2), 108–19.
Hashemi, S. M., Schuler, S. R., & Riley, A. P. 1996. Rural credit programs and women's
empowerment in Bangladesh. World Development, 24(4).
Kabeer, N. 1998. Can't buy me love? Re-evaluating gender, credit and empowerment in rural
Bangladesh. IDS Discussion Paper No. 363. Institute of Development Studies, Sussex.
Kabeer, Naila. 1999. Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of
Women’s Empowerment. Development and Change Vol. 30, Institute of Social Studies,
Oxford, UK.
Kabeer, N. 2001. Conflicts over credit: Re-evaluating the empowerment potential of loans to
women in rural Bangladesh. World Development, 29(1), 63–84.
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research (Multi-subject journal)
Page 433
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
Krishnaraj, Maithreyi and Thelma Kay. 2002. Report of review of IFAD gender
mainstreaming projects in Asia. IFAD
Mayoux, L. 2000. Microfinance and the empowerment of women: A review of the key issues.
Social Finance Unit Working Paper, 23, ILO, Geneva.
Narayan, Deepa. 2002. Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Source book. Washington:
World Bank.
United Nations Development Programme. 2001. Participatory governance, people’s
empowerment and poverty reduction. UNDP Conference Paper Series.
Zaman, H. 2001. Assessing the poverty and vulnerability impact of micro-credit in
Bangladesh: a case study of BRAC. In World Bank, World Development Report 2000/2001,
Washington, World Bank.
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research (Multi-subject journal)
Page 434