By Sheikh Nissar
On international women’s day, we count the social, political, economic and cultural achievements of women symbolic of the historical journey around the world. On this women’s day, let us see how rural women empower themselves, #ChooseToChallenge the economic hardships and become self employed with an effort to eliminate economic disparity. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge indicates a “challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change”. Self Help Groups (SHG) for women are such effort that has revolutionized the lives of millions of women across the India.
India’s earliest self-help group started in 1972 with Self Employed Women Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad working with poor, self-employed women in the informal sector. The group tried to help women get work, income and food security. Gandhian thinking was the guiding force for SEWA’s poor, self-employed members in organizing for social change. Nowadays, SEWA is single largest women’s workers central trade union in India. In 1980s, the idea of micro-credit facility (microfinance) gained popularity in Bangladesh with efforts of Muhammad Yunus. The economist and noble prize laureate’s revolutionary concept of microfinance helped millions to escape poverty. Following the concept of microfinance, in the 1990s, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in India started supporting self-help groups. In 1993, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed the groups to open savings accounts with banks to carry out formal transactions. In this way, micro-credit became a system beyond the boundaries of Bangladesh.
In 1999, Government of India (GoI) introduced Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarojgaar Yojana (SGSY) to promote self-employment in rural areas through formation and skilling of Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The programme evolved as a national movement in 2011 and became National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). At state level, SRLMs are working strenuously to form, nurture and strengthen SHGs. NRLM, by design, is more focused, time bound and outcome based programme. The programme was renamed in November 2015 as Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY – NRLM).
An SHG is a voluntary association of homogenous class with similar socio-economic background striving for common goals of social and economic empowerment. It is typically groups of 10-25 women who meet once a week to collect money from their members, connecting them to banks and loaning them money at low-interest rates. SHGs, also known as mutual help, mutual aid or support groups. SHGs are the groups of people who provide mutual support for each other. It is a self-governed group of self-employed women from rural areas with weak economic base. The members voluntarily organize themselves into a group for the eradication of poverty of the members. They voluntarily save amount whatever they save conveniently from their low income. Then they mutually agree to a common fund and lend to a member for meeting their productive and emergent needs. For example, one of groups known to me, each member saves ₹ 50 a week, deposit it in a bank account and later lend to the needy member of the group. An SHG inculcates idea of entrepreneurship, team work, utilization of local resources, to create habit of saving, develop leadership qualities, group activity, etc.
An SHG have the potential to bring together the formal banking structure and the rural poor for mutual benefit. After conducting surveys, studies have found the importance of SHG Bank Linkage. Banks have been advised to meet the entire credit requirement of the SHG members. Bank lending have been included in branch credit plan, block credit plan, district credit plan and state credit plan of each bank. As per the operational guidelines issued by NABARD, an SHG may be sanctioned savings linked loans by banks—varying from a saving to loan ratio of 1:1 to 1:4. However, in case of matured SHGs, loan may be given beyond the limit of four times the saving as per the discretion of the bank.
As per reports 44,803 women SHGs are operational in J&K, which was 38,500 at the end of year 2018. Today, more than 1,000 groups are registered. The total member base of these groups is 3,89,516. District Baramullah tops list, both in total numbers of groups and total number of participant members (5,437 group and 43,154 members) while Srinagar is at the bottom (491 groups and 4,679 members). Normally, the number of members should not exceed 25. If it exceeds, registration becomes compulsory. Generally, a SHG consists of 10-25 persons. It would be better, if all the members of group would come from BPL families. However, if necessary, a maximum of 20% and in exceptional cases a 30% of members would be taken from APL families. Further, APL members should not become office bearers. SHGs go through three stages of evolution: Group formation, Capital formation and Skill development to take up an economic activity to create revenue.
An SHG encourages collective efforts to fight social evils like dowry, empowered women to participate more actively in public affairs, ensure social justice and voice of the depressed class. Through SHG bank linkage programme, NABARD has made access to credit easier and reduced the dependance on traditional money lenders and other non-institutional sources. It also encouraged members of the group to save from their little income and act as a conduit for the formal banking services to reach them. SHGs are instrumental in poverty alleviation. At house-hold level, the economic empowerment through SHGs provide women a confidence in decision making. The movement is eventually expected to reduce gender inequalities in the country and encourage entrepreneurship.
An SHG has to face many challenges for its survival. For example, lack knowledge to take up suitable and profitable livelihood options ceases the functioning of the group. Similarly, the primitive thinking and social obligations discourages women from participating in SHGs thus limiting their economic avenues. Lack of rural banking and insecurity also put a question mark on survival of a group. That is why, only a minority of the Self-Help Groups are able to raise themselves from a level of micro-finance to that of micro-entrepreneurship, thus discouraging newer groups to take up an initiative.
Sheikh Nissar can be reached at sheikhnissar@outlook.com
Opinions are personal.
