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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Why SHGs are so popular among women
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Why SHGs are so popular among women

Members of SHGs derive social motivation from regular meetings, explaining its popularity among women, finds study

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(Photo: Mint)

Mumbai: From Kudumbashree in Kerala to Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in Gujarat, self-help groups (SHGs), which were formed for microfinance, have emerged as a widely popular platform for women in India - despite the struggles of the microfinance industry. New research from the World Bank sheds light on why SHGs are so popular and how they can change lives.

Paul Anand and others, in a paper published by the World Bank, examine how women SHGs impact members’ quality of life on a range of measures. To do this, they evaluate the Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (MVP), an SHG in Uttar Pradesh formed 15 years ago and has around 1.5 million members from 49 districts. Though SHGs, like MVP, primarily focus on microfinance they also provide enterprise training, disseminate information on maternal health, deliver nutrition education and promote political involvement.

Using data from interviews conducted in 32 districts where MVP operated, the authors measure if SHG membership enhances different dimensions of well-being such as physical and mental health, social interaction, recreation, safety, support from the community and political expression. They find that the SHG membership does make life better for women compared to non-members on many of these measures. This impact increases with time as long-term members report stronger effects compared to new joiners. However, the researchers note that SHG membership has limited impact for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe members in terms of support from the community, accommodation and social interaction.

Nevertheless, the authors suggest that SHG programmes have evolved into a social security net for women as members derive social and psychological motivation from regular meetings. This could explain its popularity among women despite its marginal value as a financial institution. Thus, the authors conclude that SHGs are a promising model for achieving sustainable development goals.

Also read: Can Women's Self-Help Groups Contribute to Sustainable Development?

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Published: 19 Sep 2019, 03:29 PM IST
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