Self-help groups

A seed for intrinsic empowerment of Indian rural women

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6058734
AutoresPallavi Mathur (0000-0003-1019-4948, JECRC University), Parul Agarwal (0000-0002-7497-8162, JECRC University)
Año2017
Volumen36
Número2
Páginas182-196
Fecha de publicación2017-03-13
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEqual Opportunities International (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1758-7093 • E-ISSN: 2040-7149
EditorialEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/edi-05-2016-0039
OpenAlexW2606050734
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas18

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of self-help groups (SHGs) in providing an environment for the empowerment of Indian rural women. The authors argue that the SHG empowerment strategy paves the way for the process of development of bottom-up empowerment of women. The authors argue that SHG is a systematic strategy and is not solely based on credit, but also incorporates many other dimensions necessarily required for developing an empowerment process. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was the choice of design due to the inherent inability of the structured surveys to understand women empowerment (Mayoux, 1998), as this study was basically interested in the women’s perception of their own empowerment. To explore their experience, a series of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. Findings The authors stand by the application of SHG empowerment strategy in India and go against the rhetoric statements that “top to bottom” approach does not lead to a significant bottom-up empowerment. Originality/value The survey was conducted by the authors in the vicinity of rural Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Moreover, during the survey, it was found out that participation in SHG facilitates women to know the current state of disempowerment and provides them strength, capacity to come out from the status of drudgery, poverty and seclusion

Business · Economic growth · Economics · Empowerment · Focus group · Originality · Perception · Political science · Poverty · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Marketing