Women-Empowerment Through Self-Help-Group (SHG) (with Reference to Micro-Credit)

Abstract

A significant development in recent years has been the mushrooming of community-based organizations and initiatives at the local level for women. Reports indicate that self-help programmes, often in the form of savings and credit or microcredit schemes, have succeeded in changing the lives of poor women, enhancing incomes and generating positive externalities such as increased self-esteem. However, in recent years, counter-arguments have also been advanced, suggesting that there could be negative effects or that the results have not been as encouraging as previously reported. This paper shows the challenging issue of whether self-help microcredit programmes are tools for empowering poor women.