Importance Of Political Empowerment

Though we are not looking for the importance of SHGs on political empowerment of the poor and marginalized women, but it is very important to understand that political empowerment helps the women in analyzing the things happening around her which may have direct or indirect impact on her or on her community. Political empowerment also helps the rural poor women in organizing events and mobilizing resources to enhance the process of economical and social transformation (Deininger, 2009). Since 1991, Constitutional provision on 33 percent of seats reservation for women in Gram Panchayat level election came into existence, but in last one decade the process of participation of women in Gram Panchayat level election has significantly increased due to the success of SHG movement. They have understood that the change can be brought through active participation of women in the local political affairs. In many regions the SHGs are working as local pressure group and constantly putting pressure on the local governing system to cater their demands. In many regions the SHG leader is also elected as the Sarpanch and SHG helped the member to enhance her leadership skills. In the SHGs also encourages the poor and marginalized women to participate in village political affairs become politically empowered. Thus, SHG helps the women to become socially, economically and politically empowered through self-help system and to make her own position strong in the male dominated Indian society in