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Establish a Quick Contact |
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Despite
many international agreements
affirming their human rights,
women are still much more
likely than men to be poor,
malnourished and illiterate.
They usually have less access
than men to medical care,
property ownership, credit,
training and employment.
They are far less likely
than men to be politically
active and far more likely
to be victims of domestic
violence.
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Key
Issues : |
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Economic
empowerment:
More women than
men live in poverty.
Economic disparities
persist partly because
much of the unpaid
work within families
and communities
falls on the shoulders
of women and because
they face discrimination
in the economic
sphere. |
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Educational
empowerment:
About two thirds
of the illiterate
adults in the world
are female. Higher
levels of women's
education are strongly
associated with
both lower infant
mortality and lower
fertility, as well
as with higher levels
of education and
economic opportunity
for their children. |
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Political
empowerment: Social
and legal institutions
still do not guarantee
women equality in
basic legal and
human rights, in
access to or control
of land or other
resources, in employment
and earning, and
social and political
participation. Laws
against domestic
violence are often
not enforced on
behalf of women. |
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Experience
has shown that addressing women’s
empowerment requires strategic
interventions at all levels.
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Our
Interventions : |
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One of the interventions is
Micro Credit:
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Micro
credit in India hinges on
four pillars i.e. micro saving,
inter loaning, micro enterprise
and micro insurance. The whole
micro credit system has led
to empower women to a great
extent and initiate small
enterprises like dairy, poultry,
honey production, seed production,
Milk Processing, vermi composit
etc. and small cottage industries
at the rural level besides,
meeting out social and personal
expenses. Therefore in our
Integrated Community Development
with special focus on Empowerment
of women and girl children
we give more emohasis to micro
saving, inter loaning, micro
enterprise and micro insurance.
In this we give more importance
to formation and linkages
of SHGs. We form SHGs and
link it with the banks.
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Our
Experience over the years
shows that participatory micro-credit
system is one of the best
way by which micro saving,
inter loaning, etc. can be
successfully performed by
the SHG members. We provide
motivation for SHG formation.
Thus, we help in the formation
of social capital and strengthen
their economic activities.
A Self Help Group (SHG) is
a small economically homogeneous
and affinity group of rural
poor generally not exceeding
20 members voluntarily coming
together
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To save small amounts
regularly; |
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To
mutually agree to
contribute to a common
fund; |
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To
meet their emergency
needs; |
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To have collective
decision-making; |
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To
solve conflicts through
collective leadership
and mutual discussion. |
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To
provide collateral
free loans with terms
decided by the group
at market driven rates
for productive as
well as non productive
work. |
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Components
of participatory micro-credit
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The
components of participatory
micro-credit include micro
saving, micro-finance/inter
loaning, micro-enterprise
and micro insurance. Micro
finance has emerged as one
of the most sustainable and
effective tools for enabling
the poor and disadvantaged
sections of the society to
excess institutional credit.
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The
Role of SHGs in micro saving,
credit appraisal, monitoring
and recovery of loans. |
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Contribution
by individuals to group saving
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The
saving forms an important
component of the functioning
of the SHGs. It is the basic
idea upon which the whole
concept of economic empowerment
of weaker section persons
is conceptualized.
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Inter-loaning
among the members : |
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Inter-loaning
was the key component of micro
credit system. Inter loaning
process became possible through
SHG formation. Inter loaning
helps SHG members in the following
way -it decreases the ill
effects of borrowing from
money lenders, easier and
quick to obtain loan from
their group, gives better
freedom of spending to members
specially women, helps to
start micro enterprises for
economic viability and also
increases the belief on the
concept of SHGs. |
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Micro
enterprises :
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Micro
enterprise was an activity
based work started by SHG
members for their betterment.
The economic viability of
an enterprise is the first
condition for the success
of particular enterprise.
Micro enterprises are the
mainstay for sustaining the
SHGs. In the study area several
micro enterprises were running.
In district Farrukhabad and
Kanpur Nagar, many agro based
allied activities/enterprises
were being adopted by SHG
members. Among these enterprises
dairy farming, bee keeping,
vegetable seed production
were most prevalent in both
the districts due to better
opportunities of income and
marketing of the products. |
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Formation
of self help groups improves
the feeling of security, recognition
in society and easier and
quicker internal loaning.
These three points are very
important for development
of poor.
It also showed greater improvement
in socio-economic conditions
of group members. The other
important perceptions revealed
were enhanced knowledge level
about how to get things done
in public life, decreased
ill effects of borrowing from
money lenders, desire to work
more, save more and improve
the standard of living, intensity
of desire to earn more money
and increase in the sphere
of contact from public and
private, taking up more responsibilities
in public life, added strength,
and communication skill and
marketing techniques.
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