Empowerment Dimensions of Tribal Women in Self - Help Groups in Nilgiris District

A study was conducted in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu with the general objective to find out the impact of participation of tribal women in SHGs. Among the six tribal communities dwelling in the district, the Kattunayakars and Paniyas were selected as respondents for the study. The results revealed that exhibits that "we" feeling (2.61) among the members and better group co-operation (2.21) have emerged as the major perceived empowerment aspects in respect of psychological and sociological dimensions, respectively. This is followed by improvement in self-confidence (2.05) and joint decision making (2.03) in psychological and sociological dimensions, respectively. Debt clearance (2.14) and development of savings habit (2.14) have been considered as the major perceived economic and political empowerment items, respectively. With respect to perceived cultural empowerment, both the groups of tribal women indicated cultural enrichment due to their participation in SHG activities and operation of entrepreneurial activities.