Self Help Group: A way to women empowerment

A self help group is a group of women not more than twenty come together to ensure their economic empowerment by producing goods and services at small scale in rural areas. Economically and socially backward sections come together in voluntarily manner to ensure economic independence and to support family to provide better education for their children. They collect their savings to start a small scale industry and sell their product in open markets. They are mainly restricted to rural areas.

Women during 1950's to 1990's were neglected a lot because of government apathy towards women or patriarchal mindset of society. After 1990's it was realized that development is incomplete without women that is why women came together in voluntary manner to develop themselves because neither the government nor the society were interested in their welfare and development. This resulted into the emergence of self group due to drastic failure of government and society.

Origin of self help group can be found in Bangladesh where Mohd. Younis who was the chairman of Bangladesh Gramin Bank had provided liberal financial assistance to women group in rural areas resulting into emergence of self help group movement. Later, it spread to countries like India and Brazil. Then it gained momentum in mid 1990's specially in western and southern India.
In western India, it was pioneered by Ila RAMESH Bhatt who started SEWA(Self Employed Women Association) which is credited with changing the lives of billions of women in India.

Self help group movement is popular only in southern and western part of the country, it has not become popular in rest of the country due to social and cultural reasons. Patriarchal and feudal society had not allowed women to go out and work so, it is not popular in states like UP and Bihar because society thinks that family honor and prestige will be comprised. Illiteracy in society has prevented them from thinking in rational manner and comes in their way of prosperity. Recently, government has started a programme like Mahila Samradhi Yojana where money is allocated for empowerment of women and government is encouraging the self help group to utilize the finances. NGO's and media should also create awareness among the women about the significance of self help group.It will not only improve the social status of the women but will also bring them out of poverty and will provide them a means of livelihood.