Self Help Groups and its Impact on Women Empowerment

Self Help Group abbreviated as SHG’s is the financial committee of men/women ranging between 10-20 people. Members of the committee will save the fixed amount of money on a regular basis, depending upon their economic status ranging from daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Members of the group can borrow the money for their basic financial needs and agreed to return in a fixed duration. There may be small interest if there is any government financial intermediary or it will be interest free in many cases.

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Why women need to be empowered:

The social status of women in rural areas of India is very bad and need to be addressed to bring the change. More than 70% women population in rural areas are unutilized. By empowering women in these regions, financial institutions can bring change. By forming as SHG’s women can share and gain knowledge, raise funds for their needs and create opportunities to one another.

“Women do not need to be developed. It is the other way round. Development needs the support of women.” - Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

The development of Self Help Groups in Sothern states of India is more when compared to northern states.

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Growth of SHG’s in Andhra Pradesh:

Indian government introduced DWCRA “Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas” in 1982 to develop women and children of rural areas who are in below poverty line. There are a lot of SHG’s formed under this scheme and AP eventually listed as top in the list.

“Women experience hunger and poverty in much more intense ways than men. If one of the family members have to starve it is an unwritten law that has to be the mother.
A poor woman in our society is totally insecure – insecure at her husband’s house… She is insecure in her in-laws’ house for the same reason she was in her parents’ house…”
-- Dr. Muhammad Yunus - Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

Quick Facts about SGH in Andhra Pradesh:

1. There are 705487 SGH’s in the state with more than 7130385 women members.
2. There are 13Zillas and 698 Mandal’s in the state
3. The Finance for SHG’s increased from INR 45,000 per SGH in 2004-05 to INR 3.69 Lakhs in 2016-17.
4. Andhra Pradesh is on top of the country list with SGH-Bank linkage.
5. The Share of Andhra Pradesh in SHG-Bank linkage is 37%

All images are taken from respective websites as given in source, and quotes are collected from Books as given.