Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

SHGs as Change Agents in Enhancing the Political Participation 325
For poor women, PRIs as governance institutions are central to the
fulfilment of their basic needs as they provide essential services,
ensure livelihood and promote sustainable development based on
equity and social justice.
Lack of capability in women is largely due to a lack of resources,
agency and organisation. SHGs empower women economically by
expanding their individual choice and by fostering self-reliance.
Economic empowerment, both depends on, and contributes to
social and political empowerment. The formation of groups, and
active participation in them, has contributed to women’s involvement
in political processes. In fact, SHG membership can be seen as
a training ground for PRI participation. (Deshmukh-Ranadive 2005).
Being community-based organisations, SHGs contribute to building
social capital by providing the marginalised women in the villages
with information, social networks and associations. This in turn
helps build their self-confidence and strengthens their ability to
exercise agency.
The participation of SHGs in the planning process and their clear
articulation of poor women’s concerns can make the governance
mechanisms accountable to them. It can enhance the efficacy of
PRIs by acting as a pressure lobby to advance the interests of women
and their communities.
The efficacy of SHGs will depend on a number of conditions. These
include a strong organisation, access to resources and opportunities,
and strong capabilities built through education, information,
skills and confidence. External facilitators such as VDOs play a
crucial role by educating, organising and mobilising women purposively
around a common concern. This can be an effective catalyst
in the process of social change, as it strives to bring to the fore women’s
concerns in local self-governance.
PROFILES OF SHG-PROMOTING ORGANISATIONS
AND OF SHGS
In Uttarakhand, HARC promoted the capacity of women’s SHGs for
collective entrepreneurship. In Madhya Pradesh, Samarthan formed SHGs
under the Swa-Shakti project of the Mahila Arthik Vikas Nigam (MAVN).