Abstract:

In India, the emergence of liberalization and globalization in early 1990’s aggravated the problem of women workers in unorganized sectors from bad to worse as most of the women who were engaged in various self-employment activities have lost their livelihood. Despite in substantial contribution of women to both household and national economy, their work is considered just an extension of household domain and remains non-monetized. In India, Microfinance scene is dominated by Self Help Group (SHGs) as an effective mechanism for providing financial services to the “Unreached Poor”, and also in strengthening their collective self-help capacities leading to their empowerment. Rapid progress in SHG formation has now turned into an empowerment movement among women across the country. Micro finance is necessary to overcome exploitation, create confidence for economic self-reliance of the rural poor, particularly among rural women. Although no ‘magic bullet’, they are potentially a very significant contribution to gender equality and women's empowerment. Through their contribution to women’s ability to earn an income, these programmes have potential to initiate a series of ‘virtuous spirals’ of economic empowerment, and wider social and political empowerment. The results from these self-help groups (SHGs) are promising and have become a focus of intense examination as it is proving to be an effective method of poverty reduction and economic empowerment. Mainly on the basis of secondary data analysis, this paper attempts to highlight the role of Microfinance and SHGs in the empowerment of women in India.

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