A STUDY ON WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SELF-HELP GROUPS IN CENTRAL TAMIL NADU

Abstract

The Government of Tamil Nadu introduced the concept of Self-Help Groups (SHG) for the empowerment of women in the 20th century, considering it a key instrument that empowers, especially, rural women. In its credit guidelines for SHGs, the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd. (TNCDW) defines a SHG as a small, economically homogenous, like-minded group of the rural poor; voluntarily formed to save and contribute to a common fund that is to
be lent to its members, in accordance with decisions taken by the group and for the shared goal of working together for the social and economic uplift of the family and community at large. The women organize themselves, at the grassroots level, to find innovative solutions to specific problems so as to develop self-esteem, self-reliance and self- confidence. The study aims to assess the degree to which empowerment has helped women who constitute self- help groups. The
present study was conducted in the central districts of Tamil Nadu, defined as the central part of Tamil Nadu-district-based geographical location. Data were collected from seven central districts: Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Pudukkottai and Nammakkal. A standardized women's empowerment tool was used for data collection to assess the touchstone of empowerment. The sample size of the present study is 315. The researcher applied statistical tests like one-way Anova to arrive at and ascertain differences in terms of the respondents' educational qualifications, income, type of training programmes attended, and how the said programmes aided the empowerment of these women. Karl Pearson's coefficient of correlation was used to establish the relationship between the number of training programmes attended by the respondents, and the degree to which they felt empowered thereafter. On the whole, the study reveals that participation in self-help groups assists women better their socio-economic and educational status, enabling and strengthening their psychological well being and paving the way for political empowerment as well.