has been included in the successive five year plans as a major program for the development of women.

Today women are and integral part of the new economic order and play an important part in the economy. In India, women in lower income groups were the first to enter into the labor market to earn their livelihood who were followed by middle class women. Due to the development of education and technology, the middle class women have greater preference for white collar jobs. The economic and social empowerment of women in any society is influenced by the extent of their involvement in income generating activities outside the household. An important role is played by the Self Help Groups to uplift the economic as well as the social status of women in the society.

Self Help Group is a homogenous group of rural poor voluntarily formed to save whatever amount they can save conveniently out of their earnings and mutually agree to contribute to a common fund, to be lent to the members for meeting their

INTRODUCTION:

“Nature gave women too much power. The law gives them too little”. - William Henry

Introduction:

India is a democratic and political country with a well streamlined administrative structure, and an already existing mixed economy, with a rich experience of private sector operations. Also available in India is a vast stock of skilled manpower and entrepreneurial class, a reasonably good basic infrastructure and a good track record of fulfilling past international obligations.

In this highly competitive world the development of a society is highly influenced by productive contribution from each member. Contributions from women in different walks of life can’t be neglected. But the experiences show that the benefits of development are not equally shared by all sections of the people.

The status of women in the Indian society:

From time immemorial women faced the challenges of coping with a male chauvinistic society. Even after several years of planned development in India, the status of women in our country is low and their socio-economic conditions are much more depressed than that of men. The most important factor that have affected non-participation of women in decision making and governance is the private – public divide associated with men and women. Women’s place is in the private domain is associated with household. Whereas, the public domain is associated with political authority, public decision making, productive work and masculinity .Such assumptions have always hindered women to negotiate in the public domain and they find themselves either being criticized for their inadequacies or patronized by men. The recent experience of structured adjustment reveals that the women are the most marginalized sections. They are destined to a disproportionately larger share of the burden,iiliteracy and unemployment.

Challenges faced by women:
• Gender disparity in school enrolment and literacy rates
• Gender disparity in wage rates
• Women’s employment and livelihood opportunities
• Causes of gender-based poverty
• Infant and maternal mortality rates
• Restrictive fertility control practices
• Violence against women
• Vulnerability of women in crisis situations
• Depiction of women in the media

Grave Disappointment in some areas:

Marginalization of women as a particular species has put women on a footing with inherited handicaps. It is now generally accepted that unless women constitute a 'Critical Mass'of at least one third of those in decision making their presence makes little difference to the outcomes of governance. Experiences from different countries reveal that the struggle is on, but mainstreaming gender as an institution and cultural transformation process should continue to eliminate gender biases in development and governance frameworks.

Impact of education and technology:

The challenge of development in the broadest sense is to improve the quality of life which generally calls for better education, higher standards of health and nutrition, a cleaner environment, more equality of opportunity, greater individual freedom and a richer cultural life. Development, being a human centered process is obvious but until women reach the same footing as men, special attention for empowerment is called for. Empowerment is a multi dimensional process which enables an individual to realize his or her potential. In the light of the above background it is clear that empowering women will change the destinies of nations.

Education is the most important instrument through which human resources can be developed. Education enables people to acquire basic skills and inculcate abilities which are helpful in raising the social and economic status of women. Education helps to expand the economic opportunities for women. Higher female literacy is associated with better hygiene, lower infant mortality, better family nutrition, reduced fertility and lower population growth rates. Education has been included in the successive five year plans as a major program for the development of women.

Today women are and integral part of the new economic order and play an important part in the economy. In India, women in lower income groups were the first to enter into the labor market to earn their livelihood who were followed by middle class women. Due to the development of education and technology, the middle class women have greater preference for white collar jobs. The economic and social empowerment of women in any society is influenced by the extent of their involvement in income generating activities outside the household. An important role is played by the Self Help Groups to uplift the economic as well as the social status of women in the society.

Self Help Group is a homogenous group of rural poor voluntarily formed to save whatever amount they can save conveniently out of their earnings and mutually agree to contribute to a common fund, to be lent to the members for meeting their

nt in India, the status of women in our country is low and their socio-economic conditions are much more depressed than that of men. The most important factor that have affected non-participation of women in decision making and governance is the private – public divide associated with men and women. Women’s place is in the private domain is associated with household. Whereas, the public domain is associated with political authority, public decision making, productive work and masculinity .Such assumptions have always hindered women to negotiate in the public domain and they find themselves either being criticized for their inadequacies or patronized by men. The recent experience of structured adjustment reveals that the women are the most marginalized sections. They are destined to a disproportionately larger share of the burden,iiliteracy and unemployment.

Challenges faced by women:
• Gender disparity in school enrolment and literacy rates
• Gender disparity in wage rates
• Women’s employment and livelihood opportunities
• Causes of gender-based poverty
• Infant and maternal mortality rates
• Restrictive fertility control practices
• Violence against women
• Vulnerability of women in crisis situations
• Depiction of women in the media

Grave Disappointment in some areas:

Marginalization of women as a particular species has put women on a footing with inherited handicaps. It is now generally accepted that unless women constitute a 'Critical Mass'of at least one third of those in decision making their presence makes little difference to the outcomes of governance. Experiences from different countries reveal that the struggle is on, but mainstreaming gender as an institution and cultural transformation process should continue to eliminate gender biases in development and governance frameworks.

Impact of education and technology:

The challenge of development in the broadest sense is to improve the quality of life which generally calls for better education, higher standards of health and nutrition, a cleaner environment, more equality of opportunity, greater individual freedom and a richer cultural life. Development, being a human centered process is obvious but until women reach the same footing as men, special attention for empowerment is called for. Empowerment is a multi dimensional process which enables an individual to realize his or her potential. In the light of the above background it is clear that empowering women will change the destinies of nations.

Education is the most important instrument through which human resources can be developed. Education enables people to acquire basic skills and inculcate abilities which are helpful in raising the social and economic status of women. Education helps to expand the economic opportunities for women. Higher female literacy is associated with better hygiene, lower infant mortality, better family nutrition, reduced fertility and lower population growth rates. Education has been included in the successive five year plans as a major program for the development of women.

Today women are and integral part of the new economic order and play an important part in the economy. In India, women in lower income groups were the first to enter into the labor market to earn their livelihood who were followed by middle class women. Due to the development of education and technology, the middle class women have greater preference for white collar jobs. The economic and social empowerment of women in any society is influenced by the extent of their involvement in income generating activities outside the household. An important role is played by the Self Help Groups to uplift the economic as well as the social status of women in the society.

Self Help Group is a homogenous group of rural poor voluntarily formed to save whatever amount they can save conveniently out of their earnings and mutually agree to contribute to a common fund, to be lent to the members for meeting their

s employment and livelihood opportunities
• Causes of gender-based poverty
• Infant and maternal mortality rates
• Restrictive fertility control practices
• Violence against women
• Vulnerability of women in crisis situations
• Depiction of women in the media

Grave Disappointment in some areas:

Marginalization of women as a particular species has put women on a footing with inherited handicaps. It is now generally accepted that unless women constitute a 'Critical Mass'of at least one third of those in decision making their presence makes little difference to the outcomes of governance. Experiences from different countries reveal that the struggle is on, but mainstreaming gender as an institution and cultural transformation process should continue to eliminate gender biases in development and governance frameworks.

Impact of education and technology:

The challenge of development in the broadest sense is to improve the quality of life which generally calls for better education, higher standards of health and nutrition, a cleaner environment, more equality of opportunity, greater individual freedom and a richer cultural life. Development, being a human centered process is obvious but until women reach the same footing as men, special attention for empowerment is called for. Empowerment is a multi dimensional process which enables an individual to realize his or her potential. In the light of the above background it is clear that empowering women will change the destinies of nations.

Education is the most important instrument through which human resources can be developed. Education enables people to acquire basic skills and inculcate abilities which are helpful in raising the social and economic status of women. Education helps to expand the economic opportunities for women. Higher female literacy is associated with better hygiene, lower infant mortality, better family nutrition, reduced fertility and lower population growth rates. Education has been included in the successive five year plans as a major program for the development of women.

Today women are and integral part of the new economic order and play an important part in the economy. In India, women in lower income groups were the first to enter into the labor market to earn their livelihood who were followed by middle class women. Due to the development of education and technology, the middle class women have greater preference for white collar jobs. The economic and social empowerment of women in any society is influenced by the extent of their involvement in income generating activities outside the household. An important role is played by the Self Help Groups to uplift the economic as well as the social status of women in the society.

Self Help Group is a homogenous group of rural poor voluntarily formed to save whatever amount they can save conveniently out of their earnings and mutually agree to contribute to a common fund, to be lent to the members for meeting their

ally calls for better education, higher standards of health and nutrition, a cleaner environment, more equality of opportunity, greater individual freedom and a richer cultural life. Development, being a human centered process is obvious but until women reach the same footing as men, special attention for empowerment is called for. Empowerment is a multi dimensional process which enables an individual to realize his or her potential. In the light of the above background it is clear that empowering women will change the destinies of nations.

Education is the most important instrument through which human resources can be developed. Education enables people to acquire basic skills and inculcate abilities which are helpful in raising the social and economic status of women. Education helps to expand the economic opportunities for women. Higher female literacy is associated with better hygiene, lower infant mortality, better family nutrition, reduced fertility and lower population growth rates. Education has been included in the successive five year plans as a major program for the development of women.

Today women are and integral part of the new economic order and play an important part in the economy. In India, women in lower income groups were the first to enter into the labor market to earn their livelihood who were followed by middle class women. Due to the development of education and technology, the middle class women have greater preference for white collar jobs. The economic and social empowerment of women in any society is influenced by the extent of their involvement in income generating activities outside the household. An important role is played by the Self Help Groups to uplift the economic as well as the social status of women in the society.

Self Help Group is a homogenous group of rural poor voluntarily formed to save whatever amount they can save conveniently out of their earnings and mutually agree to contribute to a common fund, to be lent to the members for meeting their

has been included in the successive five year plans as a major program for the development of women.

Today women are and integral part of the new economic order and play an important part in the economy. In India, women in lower income groups were the first to enter into the labor market to earn their livelihood who were followed by middle class women. Due to the development of education and technology, the middle class women have greater preference for white collar jobs. The economic and social empowerment of women in any society is influenced by the extent of their involvement in income generating activities outside the household. An important role is played by the Self Help Groups to uplift the economic as well as the social status of women in the society.

Self Help Group is a homogenous group of rural poor voluntarily formed to save whatever amount they can save conveniently out of their earnings and mutually agree to contribute to a common fund, to be lent to the members for meeting their productive and emergency needs. The basic principles on which self help groups functions are group approach, mutual trust, organization of poor, manageable small groups, group cohesiveness, spirit of thrift, demand based lending and women friendly loans. SHG have been fast emerging as a powerful and alternate banking structure to cater to the needs of its members mostly women.

Altogether the self image of the women as respectable source of strength improves significantly within and outside the family, their improved earnings is spent by them for the education and improved nutrition of their children, thus paving the way for human resource development in villages.

*Impact of participation of women in SHGs
( after two to three years )…..(Results from some independent studies)
•Average value of assets (livestock, consumer durables, etc.) per household increased by 72.3 % from Rs. 6,843 (pre-SHG) to Rs. 11,793
•59 per cent of the sample households reported increase in assets.
•Housing conditions improved
•All members developed saving habit as against only 23% of households earlier
•Average annual savings per household registered over threefold increase from Rs. 460 to Rs. 1,444
•Average borrowings per year per household increased from Rs. 4,282 to Rs. 8,341.
•Share of consumption loans declined from 50% to 25%.
•70% of loans taken in post-SHG situation were for income generating purposes.
•Average net income per household increased by 33% from Rs. 20,177 to Rs. 26,88

Impact on Empowerment

Related to Economic Issues
% members
•contributing to family income
65
•% share of contribution to family income
40
•feeling improvement in financial status
89
•feel enhanced contribution to household income after joining the group
74
•feeling consulted in finance related decisions
60

Related to Self Development

•(of those) earlier unable to but now able to write their names (after joining the group
100
•not formally educated, now read forms in banks
42
•read newspapers regularly or occasionally
41
•more confident in taking decisions on their own
66
•feel recognised in family
59
•feel being increasingly consulted by other women
44
•feel more confident in dealing with people
75
•feel more confident in dealing with various

institutions with which they interact regularly
59
•regularly attend Village Meetings
41
•cast their votes in last local elections and 96

Interactions with Others and Local Level Decision Making

*Source: SHG – Bank linkage program status as on 31st march 2004, NABARD.

Recommendations:

•Enable women to overcome barriers and constraints to their economic productivity.
•Addressing gender gaps in governance
•Engendering different institutions for good governance
•To form and strengthen women’s groups to play an active role in the social change.
•Remove illiteracy through women participation in education
•Enable women to use modern science and technology
•Flooding the rural areas with quality SHG
•Encourage NGO’s