Essay On Poverty Empowerment

INTRODUCTION

In the past 69 years since independence, several poverty alleviation schemes have been launched in India by the state and central governments. For the betterment of women in rural areas of the country who are quite vulnerable, there are many schemes which can ameliorate their conditions. The Government of India and state authorities alike have increasingly realized the importance of devoting attention to the economic betterment and development of rural women in India. The Indian Constitution guarantees that there shall be no discrimination on the grounds of gender. However, despite all such provisions, rural women have harder lives and are often discriminated against with regard to land and property rights and in access to medical facilities and rural finance. Women undertake the more onerous tasks involved in the day-to-day running of households, including the collection of fuel wood for cooking and the fetching of drinking water, and their nutritional status and literacy rates are lower than those of men. There are a plethora of schemes or interventions for these women which aim to improve their socio-economic conditions. Their empowerment through various Self Help Groups is one such intervention by the state and non-state players in our country.

Self help groups have also contributed a lot in women empowerment in all these years in many

Self-help as a strategy for social development places emphasis on self-reliance, human agency and action. It aims to mobilize people, to give them voice and build people’s organisations that will overcome barriers to participation and empowerment. Central to the idea of self-help is the formation of groups, concept of a community and the development of egalitarian relationships that will promote people’s well- being. Self Help Groups serve as a medium of delivering micro credit to the