Self-Help Group as a Platform of Women-Led Development: A Case Study of Churchu Block of Hazaribagh District, Jharkhand

Women empowerment refers to the development of a suitable environment for women. In the contemporary world, gender equality is considered as a paramount important part of social development. By empowering the women, the dream of ‘gender equality’ can be achieved. Empowerment of women not only makes a woman economically viable but also provides her respects, freedom of thoughts and reduces the violence against women. This study is basically analytical and empirical in nature and focuses on some specific ways of empowering women in rural areas of Churchu block of Hazaribagh district, with a special reference to Self-Help Group (SHG). The main source of livelihood in this block is agriculture, though the people are also depended on the other occupations, i.e. animal husbandry, daily wage labour, non-timber forest product collection and production, etc. SHG has enhanced the potential livelihood-promotion activities by establishing a common mutual understanding and social bonding among the women. This paper explains the causes for joining the SHG, the socioeconomic condition of beneficiaries, the potential women leadership, different types of benefits from SHG and the success of SHGs as a platform of women-led development. In this area, how economic condition is developing through SHG has been find out from this study. The problems related to SHGs are in sight with suggestions.