THE PATHWAYS OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SHG FEDERATIONS A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO RURAL TELANGANA

Transcription

1 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs T.V Janaki Spcial Issu Vol.1 Issu 1, pp THE PATHWAYS OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SHG FEDERATIONS A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO RURAL TELANGANA T.V. Janaki Aurora s PG Collg, Osmania Univrsity, Hydrabad, India, tnnti.janaki@gmail.com Abstract Social dvlopmnt is mrging as a vry important sctor alongsid Information Tchnology. Scholars lik Amartya Sn. hav focusd on social dvlopmnt and laboratly dalt of how ducation, halth and nvironmnt ar vry ssntial for survival and dvlopmnt of Human kind. Womn Empowrmnt occupis pivotal plac as a tool for social and human dvlopmnt. Many stat govrnmnts in India sinc IX plan idntifid modl of SHG Bank linkag program as bst fit for womn mpowrmnt. SHG fdration modl is an improvd modl of micro financ which is run undr th nam Indira Kranthi Patham in th study ara Rang Rddy district of Tlangana. Howvr, changing tims also obsrv th mlt down of high xpctations about th transformational ffcts of micro financ. Svral doubts ar raisd on gnuinnss of gndr quity that is brought by mr financial hlp. It is now widly flt that a furthr prob is ncssary about th procss of mpowrmnt that xactly taks plac. Th prsnt study is an attmpt to study th impact of that program on SHG mmbr loan bnficiaris. Rspondnts ar dividd into two catgoris namly micro ntrprnurs and passiv bnficiaris and th path of mpowrmnt for both ths groups is idntifid. Multi group analysis is don along with th study of pair wis paramtrs for assssing th statistical significanc of diffrnc in paths. Major finding of th study is th variation in th paths of mpowrmnt of both catgoris. Kywords Womn Empowrmnt, SHG Fdrations, Path of Empowrmnt, Micro Entrprnurs 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 811

2 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs 1. Introduction Aftr th mrgnc of III World countris th attntion of th policy makrs around th world turnd toward th radication of povrty that prmats among ths countris and nullifis all th fforts for growth and prosprity. Bringing ths countris to th lvl of I and II world was ssntial in ordr to hav balancd and sustaind growth. Various anti povrty programs wr dsignd and implmntd by govrnmnts with varid charactristics and objctivs. Howvr sinc th ffctivnss of thos programs was skptical th world startd looking forward for altrnat masurs that fill th gap and incras th fficacy in th fforts of govrnmnts. Th opinions put forward by fminist writrs in thir works wr viwd from dvlopmnt lns and th importanc of participatory dmocracy bcam vivid. It was univrsally accptd th Empowrmnt of womn and wakr sctions volvd on its own as a solution for th sarch of many. It was rathr a bottom-up approach cratd by womn blonging to th dvloping world at mpowrd bings bcom agnts of slf dvlopmnt and ngins for thir progrss. As a rsult as tim passs, womn mpowrmnt is rgardd as an instrumnt for many nds, such as rducing povrty, promoting bttr govrnanc and growth. It is also widly accptd it that microfinanc programms lik th Slf Hlp Group activitis srv as catalyst for th st in of womn mpowrmnt particularly in th conomically disadvantagd classs. Womn Empowrmnt Committd actions: Empowrmnt of womn startd rciving committd actions from various govrnmnts. It was also prhaps bcaus mpowrmnt of womn was idntifid as a powrful mans for th nd gndr quality. Social Summit (1993) in Copnhagn and Intrnational Confrnc on Population and Dvlopmnt (1994) in Cairo witnssd th incrasing commitmnt towards mpowrmnt of womn from various govrnmnts. Th clar action plan of Fourth World Confrnc on Womn in Bijing 1995 stands as a landmark for oprationalization of th commitmnt. It is towards sking mpowrmnt and advancmnt of womn, including th right to frdom of thought, conscinc, rligion and blif, thus contributing to th moral, thical, spiritual and intllctual nds of womn and mn, 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. 812 Availabl Onlin at:

3 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs individually or in community with othrs and thrby guaranting thm th possibility of ralizing thir full potntial in socity and shaping thir livs in accordanc with thir own aspirations. As a part of action plan Bijing Confrnc put womn s accss to crdit on intrnational agnda. For majority of womn crdit is much mor than accss to mony. It is lifting thm from povrty and improving thir position in family, community and socity. In ordr to crat accss for crdit to womn various govrnmnts launchd various modls of micro financ. In India, SHG Bank linkag program cam out as a succssful modl of micro financ. Growth of Slf Hlp Groups in India: Slf Hlp Group is a mthod of organizing th poor popl and th marginalizd to com togthr to solv thir individual problm. Th SHG mthod is usd by th govrnmnt, NGOs and othrs worldwid. Slf Hlp Group is an affinity group with homognity of conomic conditions of th mmbrs. A rmarkabl stp in this dirction was th commitmnt mad by IX plan ( ) documnt towards mpowring womn as th agnts of social chang and dvlopmnt. Various stratgis wr formulatd for making womn conomically indpndnt and slf rliant. As on of th stratgis, SHGs wr considrd as th chang agnts to bgin th procss of mpowring womn. Aftr th collaps of cooprativ socitis Slf Hlp Groups mrgd as a viabl altrnativ. SHGs, for sur, as found by NABARD wr th ffctiv mans to provid th banking srvic to unbndabl popl. Thy addrss th twin problms at th sam tim, namly banking th unbndabl and mor importantly mpowrmnt of womn which is a mans to othr nds. About th Prsnt study: Whn it is univrsally accptd that micro crdit is th magic bullt (Kabr, 2002) for womn mpowrmnt, still som studis show that th subsidizd loans for womn folk might hav givn som support for thm in purchasing fw assts or mt crtain nds lik claring 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 813

4 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs th old dbt tc., but thy could not crat a biggr chang awaitd by vryon in thir livs. Tru mpowrmnt is a procss that happns vntually as a rsult of innr transformation of popl. It might tak support from th xtrnal sourcs. Examining th ralitis in th light of th dfinition givn by Sn. and Batliwala (2000) 2hich stats that Empowrmnt is th procss by which th powrlss gain gratr control ovr th circumstancs of thir livs. It includs both controls ovr and rsourcs and idology a growing intrinsic capability-gratr slf confidnc, and innr transformation of on s consciousnss that nabls thm to ovrcom xtrnal barrirs. apprhnsions aris about th rol it playd in crtain domains particularly in inculcating gratr slf confidnc that lads to innr transformation, thir nhancd abilitis of making stratgic lif choics, thir sns of agncy (Kabr, 1999). Th prsnt study is an attmpt in th dirction of making th impact assssmnt of microfinanc programm in mpowring womn. To analyz and assss th impact of IKP (Indira Kranthi Patham) modl of micro financ on diffrnt dimnsions of mpowrmnt among th womn mmbrs of Slf Hlp Groups of rural and smi urban aras of Ranga Rddy district in Tlangana. Th loan utilization pattrn is chosn as bas for th study. Objctivs: To valuat th various dimnsions of mpowrmnt scurd by th group mmbrs in th diffrnt domains slctd for th study. To obsrv th domain-wis diffrntials of womn mpowrmnt btwn th two catgoris th micro ntrpris crators and (non ntrprnur group) passiv bnficiaris. To compar th domain wis diffrntials with th hlp of pair wis paramtrs Th six domains of mpowrmnt chosn for th study a) Cognitiv mpowrmnt (Empowrmnt coms from within) b) Economic mpowrmnt c) Empowrmnt within family d) Empowrmnt in public 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 814

5 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs ) Political mpowrmnt f) Collctiv mpowrmnt Explanation of th domains chosn Cognitiv Empowrmnt: Empowrmnt is oftn nvisagd as an individual rathr than collctiv and focusd on ntrprnurship and individual slf rlianc, rathr than on coopration to challng powr structur which subordinats womn (Badn t.al, 1997) Stormquist writs that mpowrmnt includs cognitiv and psychological lmnts. Womn must undrstand th rasons for thir subordination and causs for thos conditions. It involvs undrstanding th slf and th nd to mak choics. Somtims th choics may go against th cultural and social xpctations. Thrfor, th statmnts chosn to masur cognitiv mpowrmnt ar about th clarity of goals of womn, thir attmpts to raliz th goals, thir passion to grow indpndntly in lif, thir dsir to gain knowldg and ability to us intrnt facilitis. Economic Empowrmnt: In th procss of mpowrmnt as womn gain gratr control ovr rsourcs than arlir, it is hypothsizd that thy crat fw prsonal assts, thy hav liquid mony in thir hands in ordr to mt crtain unxpctd xpnss, thy scur an ability to support thir familis and most importantly thy gain importanc in making montary dcisions in th family. Th statmnts usd to assss conomic mpowrmnt ar dirctd towards thir achivmnt in crating assts, ability to support family, having liquid cash in hand and incrasing thir rol in making montary dcisions. Empowrmnt within Family: Th procss of mpowrmnt ntails th ability to mak stratgic lif choics. On of th thr intrrlatd dimnsions of xrcising choic is agncy (Kabr, 1999) that includs th procss of dcision making. Intra familial or within family mpowrmnt is a main outcom of 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 815

6 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs th mpowrmnt. Thr statmnts ar chosn for th prsnt study to rflct th mpowrmnt within family. Thy ar th frdom of womn to tak dcisions about thir own lif, thir rol in matrnity and family planning rlatd dcisions and thir rol in dcisions rgarding important issus of family mmbrs. Social Empowrmnt: GEM which was introducd by UNDP s Human Dvlopmnt Rport of 1995 is an indx that is usd to valuat womn s accss to political and conomic posts. GEM is rlatd to th social dimnsion of mpowrmnt. Th social dimnsion of mpowrmnt is vry crucial bcaus th procss of incrasing capacity of individuals, to mak ffctiv dvlopmnt and lif choics and th transformation of th choic into dsird outcom, gnrats social capital that is social organization, intrprsonal trust tc. Community Drivn Dvlopmnt is a mthodology of undrtaking dvlopmnt ntrpriss that givs control of dcisions and rsourcs to community groups. It is by natur an activity. Th statmnts mployd to assss social mpowrmnt ar aimd to masur th admiration commandd by group mmbrs, thir opinions and th valu thy rciv, thir ability to manag bank rlatd activitis, thir awarnss lvls, thir ability to intract with govrnmnt officials, thir intrst to tak up lad rols in public activitis and thir boldnss tc. Political Empowrmnt: Political Empowrmnt is anothr commonly usd dimnsion that has an impact on ovrall mpowrmnt. UN Gnral Assmbly statd that countris should tak and rport on concrt stps to incras womn s political participation, bcaus th tru rflction of mpowrmnt is incrasing numbr of sats (UN, 2012) womn hold in political institutions. Collctiv Empowrmnt: On of th various forms of powr is powr with. It rfrs to th powr that involvs a sns of whol bing gratr than sum of individual, in othr words, popl organizing with a common purpos or common undrstanding to achiv collctiv goals. Th World Bank dfins mpowrmnt as th procss of incrasing th capacity of individuals or groups to mak choics 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 816

7 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs and to transform thos choics into dsird actions and outcoms. Cntral to this procss ar actions which both build individual and collctiv assts, and improv th fficincy. Th statmnts usd to assss collctiv mpowrmnt ar th information gains du to group mmbrship, nd fulfillmnt, intrst in taking lad rols in groups, scurity and achivmnts du to group mmbrship. Impact variabls wr chosn for ach domain sparatly. Thirty variabls covring all aspcts of mpowrmnt wr chosn. Sampling: Thr ar 11,500 SHGs rgistrd in RR district. Each group consists of 10 to 15 mmbrs. All th group mmbrs compris th univrs of th study. From it, 372 popl wr slctd as rspondnts for th study. Th slction pattrn wnt in th following way. Th SHGs oprating in Rang Rddy district ar ssntially in two catgoris. I) Groups ngagd in ntrprising activity by stting up micro ntrpriss II) groups which ar not ngagd in any such activity. Th numbr of groups in first catgory is xtrmly lss compard to th scond catgory. Only 3.5% of th groups ar in ntrprising activitis. As th motiv of th study is to s and masur th impact indicators in micro ntrprnurs and non ntrprnurs sparatly, compar th diffrntial impacts sam numbrs of popl wr randomly slctd from ach of both kinds of groups. On hundrd and ighty four mmbrs wr slctd from I catgory groups and on hundrd and ighty ight popl wr slctd from II catgory. Tabl 1: Impact Variabls Usd in th Study Sl. No Impact Variabl Empowrmnt domain 1 Prsnt Lif with grat Satisfaction and happinss 2 I hav clarity about my goals in lif 3 Satisfaction from prsnt fforts that thy match with goals Ovr all mpowrmnt Cognitiv Empowrmnt 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 817

8 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs 4 Wish to continuously upgrad Knowldg 5 Passion to grow indpndntly in lif 6 Ability to us th Intrnt facilitis 7 Cration of Prsonal Assts 8 Ability to support th family Economic Empowrmnt 9 No Pinch of Cash 10 Importanc in making montary dcisions 11 Frdom to mak indpndnt dcisions about slf Empowrmnt within Family 12 Rol in matrnity & Family Planning rlatd dcisions 13 Valu givn by Family Mmbrs in crucial dcisions 14 Sn as a Rol Modl 15 Valu rcivd by th opinions in mtings 16 Intracting with govrnmnt officials to gain awarnss Social Empowrmnt 17 Capability of managing Bank Rlatd Activitis 18 Intrst in taking lad rols in public activitis 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 818

9 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs 19 Ability to spak boldly in mtings 20 Clar viws about political ladrship 21 Awarnss about th problms in th locality 23 Intrst in contsting th local lctions Political Empowrmnt 24 Intrst in political mattrs 26 Group Support in th achivmnts 27 Group Support in bcoming informd 28 Nd fulfillmnt as group mmbrs Collctiv Empowrmnt 29 Intrst to tak activ rol in group 30 Scurd Fling as a group mmbr Analysis: Structural Equation Modling is a comprhnsiv statistical approach to tsting hypothss about rlations among obsrvd and latnt variabls (Hoyl, 1995). Structural modl shows how th constructs ar intrrlatd to ach othr. Hypothsizd rlationships ar shown by arrows. Path Analysis is a spcial cas of Structural Equation Modl. Causal path modling is a tchniqu that graphically dscribs and dpicts causal rlationships within a st of variabls (.g. Pdhazur, 1982). Modl Fit: Aftr a causal path modl has bn constructd, it is normally tstd for its data fitting proprtis, which rfrs to whthr th modl fits th particular st of data on which it is basd. Modl fit is th prdictiv accuracy that is dtrmind for th modl as a whol Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 819

10 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs Pair wis Paramtrs: Th Multi group analysis of AMOS nds up with studying pair wis paramtrs. It shows whthr th two paths ar statistically diffrnt or not. For instanc thr ar two paths a1 and a2. To s whthr a1 diffrs from a2 or not pair wis paramtrs ar computd. Th valu that is rprsntd by ach cll of th pair wis paramtr matrix is a z-tst for th diffrnc btwn cofficints from Modl 1 to Modl 2, and for a two-taild tst, w want this valu to b gratr than 1.96 (absolut valu of 1.96) for th diffrnc btwn paths to b statistically significant at p <.05. In othr words, w hav vidnc to suggst that th paths ar not qual across th two modls. Rsults and Discussions: Th maximum liklihood stimats ar calculatd. Th standardizd rgrssion wights (Tabl: 2) rval that thr is dfinitly nhancmnt of mpowrmnt in both th classs. But th path of mpowrmnt has significant variation. In th class of micro ntrprnurs cognitiv occupis highst plac followd by mpowrmnt within family, conomic mpowrmnt, social mpowrmnt, collctiv mpowrmnt and lastly political mpowrmnt. In th class of non ntrprnurs social mpowrmnt occupis th first plac followd by political mpowrmnt, conomic mpowrmnt, collctiv mpowrmnt, cognitiv mpowrmnt and lastly mpowrmnt within family. Tabl 2: Maximum Liklihood Estimats Domain of mpowrmnt Micro Entrprnurs Non ntrprnurs Cognitiv Empowrmnt Economic Empowrmnt Empowrmnt within family Social Empowrmnt Political Empowrmnt Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 820

11 Empowrmnt in Family Social Empowrmnt PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs Collctiv Empowrmnt Sourc: Primary Data Th rgrssion cofficints of impact variabls ar summarizd in Tabl: 3 Impact Assssmnt Modl E Cration of Prsonal Assts Cognitiv Empowrm nt Clarity about goals in lif Satisfaction about fforts Ability to Support Family Dsir to updat knowldg No Pinch of Cash Importanc in mony dcisions Economic Empowrmnt Passion to grow Ability to us intrnt Sn as a rol modl Indpndnt dcisions for slf Valu for opinions in mtings Intracting with Govt. officials Rol in matrnity dcisions Capabl for bank activitis Valu of opinion in family Intrst in public activitis Ovrall mpowrmnt.09 Collc tiv mpo wrm nt Ability to spak boldly in mtings Group support in achivmnts Information bnfits in group Nd fulfillmnt as group mmbr Intrst to tak lad rols Scurd flings in group Clar viws about politics Awarnss about local problm Intrst in lctions Rasons for intrst in politics Political Empow rmnt Prsnt lif Satisfaction 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 821

12 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs Micro ntrprnurs Passiv Bnficiaris Tabl 3: Rgrssion Cofficints Sl.No Impact Variabl Empowrmnt domain Micro Entrprnurs Non Entrprnurs I hav clarity about my goals in lif Satisfaction from prsnt fforts that thy match with goals Wish to continuously upgrad Knowldg Passion to grow indpndntly in lif Ability to us th Intrnt facilitis Cration of Prsonal Assts Ability to support th family Cognitiv Empowrmnt Economic Empowrmnt Rg. Cofficint p.valu Rgrssion cofficints p. valu *** *** ***.676 ***.671 ***.424 *** No Pinch of Cash *** 9 Importanc in making montary dcisions Frdom to mak indpndnt dcisions about slf Rol in matrnity & Family Planning rlatd dcisions Valu givn by Family Mmbrs in crucial dcisions Empowrmnt within family ***.746 ***.612 *** 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 822

13 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs Sn as a Rol Modl Valu rcivd by th opinions in mtings Intracting with govrnmnt officials to gain awarnss Capability of managing Bank Rlatd Activitis Intrst in taking lad rols in public activitis Social Empowrmnt ***.628 ***.649 ***.834 ***.637 *** *** Ability to spak boldly in mtings Clar viws about political ladrship Awarnss about th problms in th locality Political Empowrmnt *** ***.794 *** Intrst in contsting th local lctions Intrst in political mattrs Group Support in th achivmnts Group Support in bcoming informd Nd fulfillmnt as group mmbrs Intrst to tak activ rol in group Scurd Fling as a group mmbr Sourc: Primary Data Collctiv Empowrmnt.993 ***.910 ***.845 ***.655 *** ***.841 ***.023 ***.909 ***.528 ***.820 *** *** Modl Fit: Modl fit rfrs to th ability of a modl to rproduc th data (i.., usually th varianccovarianc matrix) Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 823

14 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs Modl consists of 689 dgrs of frdom. Th CMIN of th indpndnc modl is Th CMIN of unconstraind modl is CMIN/DF is CMIN/DF is calld as th minimum discrpancy. Whaton t al (1977) suggstd that if th minimum discrpancy is lss than 5 th modl is rasonabl fit. Th valu of CFI (Tabl: 4) is.635. It can b said as th modl fit is abov avrag. Th modl contains 70 variabls with 28 obsrvd and 42 unobsrvd variabls. Thr ar 35 xognous and 35 ndognous variabls. Modl is rcursiv. Tabl 4: Baslin Comparisons Modl NFI RFI IFI TLI Dlta1 rho1 Dlta2 rho2 CFI Unconstraind Masurmnt wights Masurmnt intrcpts Structural wights Structural rsiduals Masurmnt rsiduals Saturatd modl Indpndnc modl Pair wis Paramtrs: Th Multi group analysis of AMOS nds up with studying pair wis paramtrs. It shows whthr th two paths ar statistically diffrnt or not. It is sn that th comparison of path cofficints (Tabl: 5) across th modl stats that nin statmnts hav th pair wis paramtr valu gratr than ± Thy ar I hav clarity of goals, my prsnt fforts ar satisfactory according to th goals, I hav importanc in making montary dcisions, I hav a crucial rol in matrnity rlatd dcisions, I intract with govrnmnt officials to gain awarnss, I am intrstd in taking lad rols in public activitis, I hav ability to spak boldly in mtings, my nds ar fulfilld bcaus of group mmbrship and lastly I fl scurd bcaus of group mmbrship. Thrfor, it can b intrprtd though to crtain xtnt thir paths ar similar, as thy blong to sam socio conomic groups; as far as fw important lif changing statmnts ar takn thir paths lading to mpowrmnt ar significantly diffrnt Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 824

15 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs Tabl 5: Pair wis Paramtrs Sl. No Impact Variabl Pair wis Paramtr 1 Prsnt Lif with grat Satisfaction and happinss I hav clarity about my goals in lif Satisfaction from prsnt fforts that thy match with goals Wish to continuously upgrad Knowldg 5 Passion to grow indpndntly in lif Ability to us th Intrnt facilitis Cration of Prsonal Assts Ability to support th family 9 No Pinch of Cash 10 Importanc in making montary dcisions Frdom to mak indpndnt dcisions about slf 12 Rol in matrnity & Family Planning rlatd dcisions Valu givn by Family Mmbrs in crucial dcisions Sn as a Rol Modl 15 Valu rcivd by th opinions in mtings Intracting with govrnmnt officials to gain awarnss Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 825

16 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs 17 Capability of managing Bank Rlatd Activitis Intrst in taking lad rols in public activitis Ability to spak boldly in mtings Clar viws about political ladrship 21 Awarnss about th problms in th locality Intrst in contsting th local lctions Intrst in political mattrs Group Support in th achivmnts 27 Group Support in bcoming informd Nd fulfillmnt as group mmbrs Intrst to tak activ rol in group Scurd Fling as a group mmbr Sourc: Primary Data Th study rvals that mor that mor than accss to crdit, loan utilization path shows an impact on th various aspcts of mpowrmnt. If as statd by Stormquist mpowrmnt includs cognitiv and psychological lmnts, thn th mpowrmnt procss should start from within. Study rvals that micro ntrprnurs undrgo such procss of mpowrmnt. Empowrmnt is oftn nvisagd as an individual rathr than collctiv and focusd on 2015 Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 826

17 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs ntrprnurship and individual slf rlianc, rathr than on coopration to challng powr structur which subordinats womn (Badn t.al, 1997). On th othr hand Th World Bank dfins mpowrmnt as th procss of incrasing th capacity of individuals or groups to mak choics and to transform thos choics into dsird actions and outcoms. Cntral to this procss is actions which both build individual and collctiv assts, and improv th fficincy. It is thrfor, undrstood that mpowrmnt procss has mor than on pathways. Th study provs that th pathways ar diffrnt for micro ntrprnurs and non ntrprnurs. If it is viwd as intrnal procss thn ntrprnurship has to b promotd in th socity REFERENCES Batliwala, S.(1994): Th Maning of Womn s Empowrmnt: Nw Concpts from Action. In G. Sn., A. Grmain and L. C. Chn (ds.), Population Policis Rconsidrd: Halth, Empowrmnt and Rights, pp Boston: Harvard Univrsity Prss. Brgr, M. (1995): Ky Issus in Womn s Accss to and Us of Crdit in th Micro- and Smallscal Sctor. Womn in Micro- and Small-scal Entrpris Dvlopmnt. L. Dignard and J. Hav. London, ITS Publications Btill, a (1999): Empowrmnt, Economic and Political Wkly, March 6-13 Cain Mad, Syda Rokya Khanam and Shamsun Nahar (1979), Class, Patriarchy, and Womn s work in Bangladsh, Population and Dvlopmnt Rviw, Vol. 5, Sptmbr, PP Colman B., 1999: Th Impact of group lnding in Northast Thailand, Journal of Dvlopmnt Economics, (60) 2: Dyson, Tim and Mick Moor (1983): On kinship structur, fmal autonomy, and dmographic bhavior in India." Population and Dvlopmnt Rviw 9(March): i.org/ / Frank Tsoriro (2006): Strngthning communitis through womn's slf hlp groups in South India, Community Dvlopmnt Journal, July 2006 PP Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 827

18 PEOPLE: Intrnational Journal of Social Scincs Gotz AM and Gupta RS (1996): Who taks th crdit? Gndr, powr, and control ovr loan us in rural crdit programms in Bangladsh, World Dvlopmnt, Vol.24, No.1. org/ / x(95)00124-u Holvot N (2005): Th Impact of Microfinanc on Dcision-Making Agncy: Evidnc from South India, Dvlopmnt and Chang, vol. 36 (1) x C.P. Yadav. (2000): Empowrmnt of Womn, Vol.1, Lakshmi Sikhs Sam than, 2000 Jakimow, T. (2012): Pddlrs of Information: Indian Non-govrnmnt Organizations in th Information Ag, Bloomfild, and C.T.: Kumarian Prss. [ISBN ] Kabr, N. (1994): Rvrsd Ralitis: Gndr Hirarchis in Dvlopmnt Thought. London: Vrso NABARD 2000: Banking with th Poor, Financing Slf Hlp Groups, NABARD 2000 Narasaini Laxmi & Naidu (1998): Rol of Banking in Rural Dvlopmnt, Discovry Publishing Hous, Nw Dlhi, Nasrin Tabibian (1985): Womn and Rural Dvlopmnt in Africa: A Cas Study of Womn's Incom-gnrating Activitis in Swaziland, Univrsity of Massachustts at Amhrst, 1985, rprint Sn. A.K. (1999): Dvlopmnt as Frdom, Oxford Univrsity Prss, Oxford Nwyork Sn., A.K., (1985): Commoditis and Capabilitis. Amstrdam: Th Nthrlands. Sn., A.K., (1985): Commoditis and Capabilitis. Amstrdam: Th Nthrlands. Zo Oxaal & Sally Badn (1997): Gndr and Empowrmnt: dfinitions, approachs and implications for policy: BRIDEGE dvlopmnt gndr Rport No 40 ISBN Sn., A.K., (1990): Gndr and Co-oprativ Conflict, in I. Tinkr (d.) Prsistnt Inqualitis, Oxford Univrsity Prss, Nw Dlhi. Sn., A.K., (1990) Gndr and Cooprativ Conflicts in I Tinkr (nd) Prsistnt Inqualitis: Womn and World Dvlopmnt Oxford Univrsity Prss. Sn., A.K. & Nussbaum M.C. (d.), 1993: Capability and Wll-Bing, in th Quality of Lif Th author and GRDS Publishing. All rights rsrvd. Availabl Onlin at: 828