Chapter I INTRODUCTION

Transcription

1 Chapter I INTRODUCTION Empowerment is a process in which both men and women attain self reliance to overcome all situations in life. It ensures self-confidence, skill development, facing and solving problems and making right decisions. This is not only a social or a political problem but also an individual one. Perhaps Empowerment is not merely a process but an outcome. The term empower literally refers to the power or authority given to a person to have independent control over his/her own life or the situation he/she lives in 1. It enables people to understand the reality of their environment and shape that environment if needed. Empowerment is a process that enlightens the people to go towards their destinations and improve their status. Particularly, empowerment liberates the people both mentally and physically. In every society there are powerful and powerless groups. Power is exercised in social, economic and political relations between individuals and groups. The excellence of power of an individual or group is, in turn, correlated to how many different kinds of resources they can access and control. It is a process of changing the existing power relations in favour of the poor and the marginalized women. It is a long-term process that requires changes in knowledge, attitude and behaviour of not only women, but also of men and the society at large. Therefore, the foremost aim of the empowerment of women is to provide those (women) with economic independence. 1 Elliott et al. Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus. New Delhi: Oxford University Press (2001).

2 2 Need for women empowerment Women represent 50 per cent of the world s population, produce half the world s food supply, account for 60 per cent of the working force, contribute upto 33.3 per cent of the official labour force, perform nearly 66.6 per cent of all working hours, receive 10 per cent of world economy but, surprisingly own less than one per cent of world s real estate. 2 These data apparently justify that there is a need for Women Empowerment which shall be achieved only through providing opportunities and rights to basic civic amenities, education, equal wages; right to question, fight against violence and injustice, make decision and express themselves. Hence, there is an urgent necessity to improve the status of women by well-conceived, planned development programmes which would have active community participation. Empowerment in women should take place from within herself, it cannot be enforced by outer source. Women should exercise their rights to speak out on their own behalf. However, institutions such as NGOs and government agencies could support the process that increase women s self-confidence, develop their self-reliance, and help them to set their own agendas. Women empowerment cannot be a separate form of empowerment. Women s struggles should not be linked with the peace movements, ecology management, working class movements, and human right movements for democratization and for decentralisation of the society. 2 S.K. Matur Rahman et al. Entrepreneurship Development of Women in India: Problems and Prospectus. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House (1998), p.195.

3 3 An empowered woman has a positive self-image and takes an active part in decision making related to herself and her family. She is conscious about herself through and possesses knowledge of herself. She helps in the empowerment of children regardless of the sex. A woman has a greater access to knowledge and the resources, a greater autonomy in decision-making, a greater ability to plan life, a greater control over circumstances that influence life and the ability to overcome the restrictions and constraints imposed by customs, beliefs and practices. It is a state of mind in which a woman does not consider herself inferior but has the confidence and competence to face life and problems supported by economic security. Women, being the highest in population strength, play a vital role in the development of the family, the community and nation, to such an extent, without them, there is no transformation or economic development in any society. In fact, since independence, it has been felt that women have been experiencing poverty to a greater extent than men have ever been. It is apparent that equality, equity, sustainability and empowerment are being insisted to be given for human resources, nationally and internationally, especially for the empowerment of women which paves the way for notable social changes. There will be spread effect of growth if a country gives much importance to the Women Development Programme on which it can exclusively allocate funds. It is often realized that a family, a village, or a country, will see its progress when the women grow basically. It is absolutely true as and when women become the

4 4 mainstream of progress, society as well as economy becomes meaningful. At the same time, a society should not only give much importance to the status of women but also to their empowerment. When a woman attains such independence she naturally becomes the author of her own decisions. Economic empowerment is a necessary condition for enabling women to seek justice and equality. It is, therefore, necessary to seek participation of women as equal partners with men in all fields of work, equal access to all positions of employment, equal opportunities for work related training and full protection of women at work place. Women s economic independence is highly notified by many authors. Money spent in the hands of men is quite different from money in the hands of women. An International Labour Organization study finds that men tend to spend 60 per cent of their income in their home and 40 per cent on themselves, whereas a woman spends only 10 per cent on herself. Thus when a woman handles the household income the family gets more benefits. The World Bank studies have shown that the enhancement of women s earnings would have much profound effect on the welfare of the family as a whole since the increase in women s income results in direct contribution to better education, health and nutrition for children. So, many of the problems of women are due to lack of income. This shows that the economic independence does not only improve the status of women but also the condition of the society in general. Empowerment is essentially a bottom-up process rather than something that can be formulated as a top-down strategy understanding empowerment in this aspect means that development agencies cannot claim to Empower Women, women must empower themselves. The

5 5 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recently adopted a gender in development goal, which includes a commitment to advocating and promoting women in the political and economic decision-making at all levels. 3 As a result, Indian women are being recognized as a separate target group after 1980, and the government begins to direct its effort towards mainstreaming of women into the national development process. Three major approaches have been adopted one after the other by the government towards the development of women, namely, the welfare approach, the anti-poverty approach and the equity/equality approach. While the welfare approach lays stress on the importance of women s role as wife and mother and carriers of family welfare, the anti-poverty approach is built on two strategies: need for recognizing women s participation in development and exposing women s significant contribution to family income. There has been much effort taken to mobilize poor women and provide them with economic support through income generating projects and co-operative functioning. The equity/equality approach focusses on women s actual productive contribution and its aim is to ensure women s rightful and equal position in society through direct programs that would enhance women s activities in both the household as well as market spheres. Thus, the strategy for the empowerment of women has emerged in India. 3 Oxaal, Zoe and Baden, Sally., Gender and empowerment: definitions, approaches and implications for policy. Bridge Development, SIDA-Report, no.40 (1997): Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, p.8.

6 6 Some of the empowerment mechanisms in India could be identified as follows: literacy and higher education, better healthcare (both for herself and her children), higher age at marriage, greater participation in modernized sector, necessarily financial support for self-employment, opportunities for higher powers, a complete knowledge of her rights, selfreliance, self-respect and dignity of being a woman. The following aspects of women empowerments, such as, hundred per cent participation of women in democracy (Political Empowerment), the education of girls (Social Empowerment), the eradication of gender barriers of employment (Economic Empowerment) and land rights and legal machinery (Legal Empowerment) are to be given much importance to improve their basic standards of life. It is indispensable to state that the benefits of poverty eradication programs targeted towards the head of the household did not reach the women. Since then, the Government of India (GOI) has been emphasizing the need for designing development programs exclusively for women in order to receive a greater advantage. This dream came true when the government introduced the five year plans exclusively for improving the conditions of women and integrated them in economic development process. The government also gave a special attention to the empowerment of women in the Ninth Plan. Government of India has initiated a variety of programmes for the welfare and empowerment of women. The Department of Human Resource Development has the prime responsibility of coordinating and monitoring different programmes. A large number of committees and commissions has been appointed to examine the empowerment of women.

7 7 On the recommendation of these committees and commissions, various measures are being adopted to improve the status of women and to stop the discriminatory practices. The principle of gender equality is enshrined in Indian constitution in its permeable and in directive principles. The constitution not only grants equality to women but also empowers the state to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. Programmes like Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), Development of Women and Children Rural Area (DWCRA), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY), Swarnajayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), Mahila Samridhi Yojana (MYS), Rastriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) are the important initiatives which government has taken not only to alleviate poverty, but also to improve the status of women. India, possessing the largest democracy, has various institutional mechanisms devised for advancement for women. The last three decades of previous Millennium have seen women largely playing a central part in the development planning process in India. Many of these efforts are parts of the mainstream programmes directed at the poor, regardless of gender, but with either special provisions or components for women for the sake of convenience of assessment, the programmes are divided into two categories such as the Poverty Alleviation Programmes and the Employment Generation Programmes. Women empowerment and eradication of poverty under micro-finance schemes are possible through the formation of SHGs. The concept of Self-Help Group (SHGs) is catching up as the most visible means of empowerment especially at the grass root level. Women have shown extra-ordinary dynamism in organizing themselves in group

8 activities for income generation, better bargaining power and improvement in quality of life. 8 Promotion of self-help groups Self-help group is a voluntary group formed to attain some common goals, most of its members have similar social identity, heritage, caste or traditional occupations and come together for a common cause and manage resource for the benefit of the group members. These groups are called Solidarity Groups as they provide monetary and moral support to individual members in times of difficulties. It is expected that the members of SHGs would have a better access to credit, which they might not have had earlier. Access to credit would bring in its wake economic benefits in conditions including enhanced consumption levels etc. This is likely to impart a sense of belonging in an individual and may bring about social benefits in terms of increased self-worth and confidence, increased levels of assertiveness within and outside family circles and other positive behavioral changes before one can get access to credit. Besides, saving habit is inculcated among the members and part of the lending is out of the members own savings. In this process, group savings are accumulated which gives the feeling of self-help and mutual help. Because of these features, the credit management by members of the group is expected to be better. It is a firm belief of SHG that access to social development through women programmes as women are considered more cost effective for the long term consideration of benefit to household and communities. The decisions to direct social development programmes more intensively for women relies on their social economic situation, their primary concern for family welfare and the role in transferring attitudes and knowledge to their children.

9 9 The genesis of SHGs could be traced to mutual aid in Indian village community. Self-help is the essence in a form of co-operation. Co-operatives are formal bodies, whereas SHGs are informal. Self-help and reliance are strategies of survival for poor as well as their development from below. SHGs have proved to be successful in addressing the interests of women in a sustained manner. Thus, SHG movement among poor in different parts of the country is emerging as a very reliable and effective mode for technology transfer. SHGs Bank linkage An important vehicle to promote micro-finance in India has been the SHG programme and its linkage with banks. SHG meets the smaller consumption and merging needs of its members from its own savings and common fund generated. As the age of the group increases, the capacity of the group and quantum of credit also increase. By this, the group would have acquired enough experience to manage the finances, but the funds available are not adequate at this stage; the group needs the support of the financial institution. SHG Banking is a programme that helps to promote financial transactions between the formal banking systems in India comprising of public and private sector, commercial banks, regional rural banks and co-operative banks with the external bank loan to provide interest bearing loans to their members. Such loan provides additional liquidity or purchasing power for use in any of the borrower s production investment or consumption activities. It is noteworthy that an estimated 60 million household in the country is in need of financial services. The SHGs bank linkage programme has so far, helped through extending its banking services to more than 45 lakhs poor households in India by March 2001.

10 10 SHGs WORLD LEVEL The SHG, the brainchild of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, was founded by Prof. Mohammed Yunus, the former Head of the Department of Economics, Chittagong University in the year In 1984, the Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and the Agency for Technical Co-operation of the Federal Republic of Germany undertook a series of studies and workshops on rural finance in developing countries which resulted in a new policy of Self-Help Groups. In 1986, the participation of Asia and Pacific Regional Agriculturist Credit Association (APRACA) decided on a Co-ordinate programme for the promotion of linkage between banks and SHGs for rural savings mobilization and credit delivery to the rural poor. In 1989, the central bank of Indonesia with the involvement of Self-Help Promotional Institution (SHPI) started a pilot project entitled Linking Banks and SHGs. The world summit for social development held at Copenhagen in emphasized the easy access to credit for small producers, landless farmers and other low income individuals, particularly for women, urged the governments of various nations to take appropriate actions in order to make easy accessibility of credit to the poor. After the successful operation of the Grameen Bank Model in Bangladesh, the concept of micro-finance has drawn attention of the development economist all over the world. The micro-finance has later grown famous in many under developed countries. India has become home to one of the largest micro-credit programmes in the world. India s share in the Global micro-credit market in 2003 has been 13 per cent of all clients and 16 per cent of the poorest clients. 4 Sabyasachi Das. Self-help groups of micro-credit synergic integration. Kurukshetra, vol.51, no.10 (2003), p.26

11 11 SHGs in India In , SHG was initiated through National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). In , the NABARD launched a pilot project to provide micro-credit by linking SHGs with banks. 5 In , 255 SHGs were linked to banks by NABARD which in turn provided the banks with loan of Rs millions (as finance). SHGs were growing more in numbers chronologically as follows: 620 in ; 2,122 in ; 8,598 in ; 14,317 in ; 6 1,79,091 in ; 22,38,565 in ; 29,24,973 in ; 50,09,794 in Forty eight Commercial banks, 192 Regional Rural banks and 264 Co-operative banks are the banks associated with SHGs and bank-linkage programme. This SHG programme has been operated over 523 districts in and around India NGOs and other agencies have participated in this programme. It is noteworthy to see that statistically region-wise in the year 1998 that SHGs are dominantly functioning in Southern Region and its lion s share is 62 per cent. At this juncture, it is indispensable to mention that out of the total bank loans, million has been disbursed to the Southern Region. Further, 8,877 SHGs, 1,492 SHGs and 1,620 SHGs are in Southern, Western and North-East Regions respectively. Among the states, Karnataka (3950), Andhra Pradesh (2145), Kerala Ibid., p.25. P. Mahendra Varman. Impact of SHGs on formal banking habits. Economic and Political Weekly, vol.40, no.17 (2005), p P. Loganathan. SHGs and Bank Linkages. Kisan World, vol.31, no.3 (2004), p.25.

12 (1348), Tamilnadu (1307), Orissa (1043), Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have remarkably progressed in the schemes Several states in India recorded a significant increase in the number of SHGs which were financed by banks during the year march 2008 as follows: 10,07,071 SHGs in Andra Pradesh; 61,18,441 SHGs in Tamilnadu and UT of Pondicherry; 5,22,201 SHGs in West Bengal; and 1,11,248 SHGs in Rajasthan. Efforts by the banks in providing financial services to the poor are being supplemented by NGOs. There are hundreds of NGOs in the country working actively in the formation, nurture and stabilization of self-help groups and in the process enabling them to be linked to bank finance. Dissatisfaction with the results of many credit programmes has demanded new modalities to provide effective financial service to rural poor. Experiences in various countries have brought to limelight that SHGs play a significant role in mobilizing substantial amount of savings. It is interesting to note that while considering the average amount of disbursement per SHG by the banking sector as a whole commercial banks (50.34%) are in the first place, RRBs (38.66%) in the second place and co-operative banks (11%) in the third place respectively. 9 History of silent revolution in Tamilnadu Tamilnadu Women s Development Project (TNWDP), Tamilnadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd., IFAD assisted Project. The IFAD assisted Tamilnadu Women s Development Project was first 8 9 M. Lalitha, and B.S. Nagarajan. Self-Help Groups in Rural Development. New Delhi: Dominant Publishers and Distributors (2002), p

13 13 introduced in Dharmapuri district in November 1989 and it was extended to Vizhupuram, Cuddalore and Salem Districts during and then to Madurai, Theni and Ramanathapuram Districts during The Tamilnadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd. was the implementing agency and Indian Bank was the Nodal Bank for the Project. The main objective of the Project was economic and social upliftment of women below poverty line through the formation of SHGs of poor women with active assistance and supervision of NGOs under the scheme, Rs crores were disbursed as credit and Rs crores as subsidy totaling Rs crores to 87,541 SHG members with an average of 85 per cent. About 5207 SHGs with 1,20,960 women members accumulated a total saving corpus of Rs crores under the IFAD scheme which came to a close on By the project was well-established and it was taken up as model for future growth under the State Budget. This project known as Mahalir Thittam which was implemented with the support of Non- Government Organizations and Banks. The NABARD has taken a keen interest in developing SHGs in order to empower the womenfolk economically since In , there were only 22 SHGs, in Tamilnadu, which received loans for Rs lakhs from banks. In 2004, SHGs numbered into 1,62,139; among them, 1,26,404 were in villages and 35,735 in towns which all together had its savings up to Rs Crores. 11 In 2005, the number of SHG increased to 2,20,698 which utilized bank loan upto Rs.16,779 million; in 2006, the SHGs crossed M. Lalitha and B.S. Nagarajan. op. cit., p.56. An Economic Appraisal (2005). Department of Evaluation Applied and Research (DEAR), Kuralagam, Chennai, Government of Tamil Nadu.

14 14 3,15,277 that got Rs.27, million; 3,54,783 SHGs in 2007 when the credit linked to 3,01,496 and in 2008, the SHGs grew into 3,70,312 and saved upto Rs.18, in lakhs. 12 The Tamilnadu Women Development Project and the Swarnajayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) Scheme of the Rural Development Department have been covered a few Rural SHGs; and common guidelines and numbers have adopted. Similarly in respect of SHGs in urban areas, the Swarna Jayanthi Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) exists. Apart from commercial banks, the SHGs open bank accounts under primary agricultural co-operative project norms. Members of matured self-help groups after becoming eligible are linked with banks and other financial institutions to avail credit. As on , 1,24,288 SHGs have been linked with bank credit at a total financial outlay of Rs crores for various rural based activities such as Agriculture, Horticulture, Seri-culture, Animal Husbandry, Cottage Industries and other small business/ Micro-enterprises in urban areas. The Government support and motivate the women from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families to join SHGs. Entrepreneur Development training followed by Vocational and Skill Training is being rendered as a special thrust for the benefit of SHG members to start their own micro-enterprise. The dynamic SHG Movement of Tamilnadu has created a revolution and has become the women s own movement leading to their social, economic and political empowerment. Today, this programme covers almost all the 12 Thanjavur Mahalir Thittam, Project Implementation Unit, Thanjavur, (2004).

15 districts, blocks and panchayats of Tamilnadu and soon will make it present in all the hamlets and habitations in the state. 15 There are numbers of studies so far made on the SHGs and their performances in various parts of India, Tamilnadu and abroad. Most of the studies reveal that SHGs have been revolutionising micro-financing field. However, it is observed that the studies have confined to analyze the recovery performance, the factors, precipitate savings and borrowing based mostly on secondary data. The aim of the study is not to deal with various forms of micro-financing of SHGs and their sustainability aspects. Moreover, it is true that the concept of SHGs itself is very recent and hence, this study has been attempted to analyze the Empowerment of Women, both socially and economically through Self-Help Groups in Thanjavur block at Thanjavur district. Statement of the problem Women in India are being totally neglected in all sorts of life. They are not even allowed to involve in the mainstream of development even though they are large in number. They are practically considered inferior to men in all aspects. Thus, the main issue which is still being debated is the kind of strategy to be evolved for raising their status and participation in the process of development. The predicaments of women are dowry harassment, social humiliation (poverty), illiteracy and male-chauvinism. Mostly, they are also deprived of finance, food, education and solely depend upon their male counterparts from their childhood as a child to her father, as a wife to her husband, as a mother to her son. Even though they possess wealth, they are chiefly controlled by their men. In many villages women are not encouraged to get educated and do not have the

16 knowledge in day-to-day affairs. On the whole, they are enslaved and engaged by male-chauvinistic society. 16 These types of problem shall be resolved by providing adequate finance by government, financial institutions and voluntary agencies. Today, the formation of self-help group has empowered the women through the excellent activities with the help of government and nongovernment organizations. The policy makers should pay an exclusive care in promoting these Women s Self-Help Groups by introducing various innovative policies and schemes. Significance of the study It is essential to know something about Self-Help Groups which would be accessible to the readers to perceive the study effectively. SHG is an income generating programme which is solely functioned by the people for themselves. This is a homogeneous gathering of various people which do not usually exceed more than individuals who are welcomed to take part voluntarily in economic activity. This is also called as Voluntary Association as it promotes the social and economic condition democratically. The main purpose of the programme is to create helping tendency among the members of the groups by contributing to the common fund which would mitigate their urgent needs assisting finance to the droppedout children s education, marriage, medical care, funerals and debt redemption. SHGs facilitate to utilize manpower and local natural resources; to scrutinize the rural economy; to induct habits of savings; to stimulate the desire of self-employment; to instill selfconfidence and self-reliance; to elevate the status of women through social awareness.

17 17 The scheme encourages the women to get involved in productive activities and enable them to take over the given up traditional business. The women who are trained by SHGs market their products such as candles, soaps, washing powder, cleaning powder, snacks, pickles, embroidered saris and other cottage products. Furthermore, they themselves lend money at a low rate of interest which ultimately liberates them from the crushing hands of moneylenders. The SHG benefits the women both directly and indirectly. On one hand, it benefits the members of the group individually and on the other, their families and the community as a whole. The formation of the scheme also serves as a platform to exchange the ideas and suggestions among themselves such as AIDS awareness, legal marital laws, and sanitations; banking activities, Entrepreneur Development Programme, Vocational Training and Skill Training. Hence, it is apparent that by providing credit and savings facilities to women, they can be economically independent and (they) shall gain worldly experience, particularly, in the field of marketing. This enhances them to show an extraordinary dynamism in organizing their group for better income generation which improves the quality of their life. Objectives The overall objective of the present study is to examine the empowerment of women through SHG in Thanjavur District, particularly, in Thanjavur Block. The following are the specific objectives of the study: 1. To study the socio-economic characteristics of the members of the self-help groups. 2. To find out the significance of SHGs in promoting social empowerment of women in the study area.

18 18 3. To examine the role of SHGs in promoting economic empowerment of women. 4. To analyze the performance of the self-help groups in the study area in Thanjavur block. 5. To suggest suitable measures to promote SHG in the study area. Hypotheses The following Null Hypotheses (H o ) are framed for this study. 1. The level of empowerment of the respondents is independent of their socio-economic characteristics (religion, community, age, education, marital status and family size). 2. Membership in SHG has no influence on the self worth of the members. 3. There is no change in the reaction of the members towards social evils even after joining SHGs. 4. SHG membership has not created any impact in the behaviour of the members in problematic situations. 5. There is no difference in the availing of the amenities by members before and after joining SHGs. 6. The level of performance of SHGs is independent of the socioeconomic characteristics (religion, community, age, education, marital status and family size) of the respondents. Methodology Sample Design In the present study, a diligent survey was done in Thanjavur block to collect both secondary and primary data. Of them, the latter has particularly been collected using the Stratified Random Sample Method.

19 19 First of all, Mahalir Thittam of Tamilnadu Women Development Corpaoration was approached to gather information regarding NGOs as well as SHGs. The then Project Officer extended his help in providing secondary data which included block-wise details. It is identified that there are thirty-four NGOs, recognized by Mahalir Thittam, those having experience in organizing SHGs in Thanjavur District. It is also noteworthy that only five among these NGOs have four-year completed SHGs, namely Sri Jayendra Educational Society for Self-Service (SJESSS), Thanjai Jana Seva Bhavan (TJSB), Thanjavur Multi-Social Service Society (TMSSS), Gandhian Welfare Development Educational Society for Youth (GAWDESY) and Periyar Organisation for Women Empowerment and Renaissance (POWER). Besides, these five NGOs came forward to co-operate in providing data for the study. Hence, they are chosen in attempting to analyze whether women in SHGs are empowered after acquiring benefits through these programmes. The total SHGs in Thanjavur Block have been considered as the Universe from which 112 SHGs have been selected for the study. As said earlier, the Stratified Random Sample Method is used to collect the primary data with the help of structured questionnaire from 336 households by choosing three members from every selected SHG (Even though many a NGO prefers to work at rural places which increases more rural SHGs, this study gives equal importance to both rural and urban SHGs). Data collection The primary data are collected by conducting a preliminary survey among 112 SHG women who have successfully completed four years of

20 20 membership in SHGs, from the above said NGOs, availing loan and initiating some activities. These women members are thus chosen for the sample. The field work has been carried out since November The main sources of secondary data exclusively collected in this study are the contributions from District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Mahalir Thittam, Tamilnadu Women Development Corporation, NABARD, Lead Bank and District Statistical Department. In addition to this, information was also gathered from websites. Period of Study The data have been collected during Tools of Analysis With a view to finding out whether there is any significant difference in the social conditions of members before and after the period of joining the SHGs, the McNemar test and the Sign test has been applied. Mc Nemer Test Mc Nemer test is one of the important non-parametric tests often used when the data happen to be nominal and relate to two related samples. As such, this test is specially useful with before after measurement of the same subjects. The experiment is designed for the use of this test in such a way that the subjects initially are divided into equal groups as to their favourable and unfavorable views about, say, any systems. After some treatment, the same numbers of subjects are asked to express their views about the given system whether they do favour it or do not favour it.

21 21 McNemer Test Before Treatment After Treatment Do not favour Favour Favour A B Do not favour C D Since A + D indicates change in people s response (B+C shows no change in responses), the expectation under null hypothesis H O is that (A+D)/2 cases changes in one direction and the same proportion in other direction. The test statistic under Mc Nemer Test is worked out as under. 2 2 ( A- D -1) = with d.f = 1. (A+ D) Sign Test ( n 1) K 0.98 n 2 To study the economic empowerment conferred by the SHGs on their members, the factors such as the value of the assets possessed, the level of income earned by the members, the expenditure pattern of the members and the level of savings by the members before and after their becoming members of the SHGs have been considered. t test t test has been used to test the significant differences between the means of the quantitative variables like income, expenditure, savings, assets and loan amount before and after the joining of the SHGs members in the SHGs. The t test based on paired observations has been defined by the formula:

22 22 d n t S where, d = The mean of the differences S = The standard deviation of the differences n = The number of sample women beneficiaries The value of S is calculated as follows: S d 2 2 n( d) n 1 Degrees of freedom = n - 1 Likert s Scale Likert s scale has been used to analyse the effective functioning of SHGs. To study the performance of sample SHGs, 25 statements are framed and for each statement Likert s five point scale have been used. The scores for the statement are Strongly agree-5, Agree-4, Moderately agree-3, Disagree-2 and Strongly disagree-1. By using this scale the scores intensity value has been calculated for each statement. Factor Analysis To find out the performance of the self-help groups and their effective functioning, the factor analysis has been used. Analytical Framework of Factor Analysis Mathematically, factor analysis is somewhat similar to the multiple regression analysis. Each variable is expressed as a linear combination of the underlying factors. The amount of variance and variable shares with

23 23 all the other variables included in the analysis are referred to as communality. The co-variation among the variables is described in terms of a small number of common factors together with a unique factor for each variable. These factors are not over observed. If the variables are standardized, the factor model might be represented as: X i A ij 1 F A 1 i j2 F 2 A i j3 F A 3 i j m F m V U i i where, X i = i th standardized variable, A ij = Standardized multiple regression co-efficient of variable i on common factor j F = Common factor, V i = Standardized regression co-efficient of variable i on unique factor i U i = The unique factor for variable i m = Number of common factors The unique factors are uncorrelated with each other and with the common factors. The common factors themselves could be expressed as linear combinations of the observed variables. F W X W X W X W X k i i1 1 i2 2 i3 3 ik where, F i = Estimate of i th factor W i = Weight or factor score co-efficient K = Number of variables. It is possible to select weights or factor score co-efficients so that the first factor explains the largest portion of the total variance. Then a second set of weights could be selected, so that the second factor accounts

24 24 for most of the residual variance, subject to being uncorrelated with the first factor. The same principle could be applied to selecting additional weights for the additional factors. Thus, the factors could be estimated so that their factor scores, unlike the value of the original variables, are not correlated. Further more, the first factor accounts for the highest variance in the data, the second factor for the second highest variance in the data and so on. 13 Chi-square In order to examine the relationship between the socio-economic factors and the level of empowerment and performance of SHGs, the Chisquare test is employed. It is calculated by adopting the formula. 14 where Chi-square = O = Observed Frequency E = Expected Frequency E = ( O E) E Row Total X Column Total Grand Total R = Number of rows C = Number of columns with (r 1) (c 1) Degrees of freedom Fred N. Kerlinger. Method of Factor Analysis, Foundation of Behavioural Research, New York: Holt Rinchart Winston Inc. (1973), pp C.R. Kothari. Research Methodology Methods and Techniques. 2 nd Revised edn., New Delhi: New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers (2009), pp

25 25 Limitation of the study The present work has certain limitations, which must be reckoned with for the purpose of specificity and limited nature of the research undertaken. Errors may occur both in samplings and in social sciences due to inaccurate details given by the NGOs or indifferent attitudes of human beings in answering. Nevertheless, much care has been taken to minimize these types of errors in the course of study. In certain cases, women are influenced to answer by their group members. As there are not much necessary secondary data updated, it will not enable one to compare and contrast the primary data with those of secondary. The study does not aim at an evaluation of the Women s Empowerment Programme as it is a much wider task which needs detailed collection as well as analysis and which would digress from the base. Therefore the present study, though is micro in form, it is useful and futuristic as it deals with various aspects of empowerment of women and intervention strategies by the Government and NGO in the empowerment of women. Chapter scheme The first chapter is an Introduction which includes statement of the problem, significance of the study, and need for the study, objectives, hypotheses, methodology and tools of analysis, period of study, limitation and chapter scheme. The second chapter presents Concepts and Review of Related Literature. The third chapter deals with the Profile of the Study Area and Sample NGOs. The fourth chapter analyses the Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Sample SHG Members.

26 26 The fifth chapter analyses the Social and Economic Empowerment of Women Through SHGs. The sixth chapter examines the Performance of Self-Help Groups. And the seventh chapter one contains Summary of Findings, Suggestions and Conclusion.