Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment: A Study Using Survey Data

Abstract

Microfinance Programmes for women are promoted not only as a strategy for poverty alleviation but also for women’s empowerment as well. Self Help Groups (SHGs) is largest Microfinance Programme which has grown dramatically over the past decade. In this study the researcher has tried to find out the effect of SHG-Bank linkage on empowerment of women because a large number of women are associated with the programme in recent time. In this study the difference in the levels of empowerment of women members of SHG belonging to different castes and religions are analysed. It is found from the study that there has been significant improvement in the empowerment level of the women in the rural areas who have become the member of the SHGs over their pre-SHG empowerment level. But this gain is remained confined to the general caste women members of the SHGs. The women belonging to OBC, SC, ST and Muslim community have not be as empowered as the general caste women SHG members. Findings of the study clearly show that SHG movement has been an important instrument for empowering, and practically it has brought about a significant social change in the rural areas, though in different degrees to different groups of people classified on the basis of class, caste and religion.