Reasons to join self-help groups with reference to Haryana state

Pages: 451-453
Rijul Sihag (Department of Sociology, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana)

Empowerment is defined as the method by which women take control and ownership of their lives by expansion of their choices. The main elements of empowerment have been defined as gender power structures, self-esteem and self-confidence (Kabeer, 2001). Empowerment can take place at hierarchy of different levels-individual, household, community and societal. Self help groups are small informal association of the poor created at the grass root level for the purpose of enabling members to reap economic benefits out of mutual help and joint responsibility. The present study is conducted with the objectives to understand the reasons of joining Self-help Groups and also grading them on basis of their functioning. The primary data were collected through a structured, non disguised questionnaire. A total of 300 respondents from four villages of two districts of Haryana formed the sample size of the study. The study found that these groups consisted of mostly 15- 20 members, mostly belonging to lower castes and poorer sections. The outcome of the study revealed that most of the members of groups joined it to generate personal income including training facilities, availability of workplace etc. Also, grading was done on basis of the functioning of groups.

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Pages: 451-453
Rijul Sihag (Department of Sociology, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana)