Empowerment of Women and Sustainable Development through Self Help Groups

Micro finance (MF) in the recent past has emerged as a potential instrument for poverty alleviation and women empowerment. MF intervention refers to provision of access to small loans without physical collateral to the poor, especially the women, while encouraging them to save regularly in order to combine thrift and self-help for their own development.

In the recent period, considerable emphasis has been placed on promotion of micro enterprises in view of perceived inadequacies of existing agencies in providing productive credit to those with little or previous access to formal credit facilities. Micro finance programme through self help group (SHGs) has been effective in making positive social change to the group members.

There is an acute need among the poor for credit, both for consumption and production, which often forms the declining line between survival and succumbing to poverty. It has been found that besides food, credit is also needed for health, housing education. These needs are also critical for survival. Access to credit has received even greater attention in the context of poverty reduction and women's empowerment objectives. The economic empowerment of women requires transfer of skills of management and control of economic activities to women's groups over a period of time to enable women to feel confident and empowered.

The objectives of the study would be to understand the factors that promotes or limits the growth of SHGs. The present paper will also study the changes in terms of employment level, income and assets of the SHG women in the study area.

The present paper will make an attempt to collect primary data in order to understand the contribution of self help group to women empowerment.