Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

SHGs as Change Agents in Enhancing the Political Participation 335
Awareness Generation: SHGs helped to disseminate information on
a variety of topics like the gram sabha, health, nutrition, sanitation, education,
and various schemes of government departments such as the
installation of hand pumps and the mid-day meal programme.
Proactive Citizenship: SHGs took proactive roles in decisions related
to the welfare of the village. Their regular and strong presence at the panchayat
and gram sabha meetings ensured that village issues were resolved.
They voluntarily participated in many community activities such as the
plantation of trees, the Pulse Polio campaign, cleaning the panchayat
house, repairing damaged and broken roads, and implementation of a
number of government schemes.
Building Social Capital: There is a distinct change in the attitudes of
villagers towards the activities and meetings of SHGs. The active participation
of women’s groups and the work undertaken by them has helped
in leveraging funds for village development.
Social Inclusion: Past developmental experience has shown that communities
are unable to break the cycle of poverty as long as they remain
socially excluded from the decision-making processes. Women in rural
areas had always formed a large part of this socially excluded group. The
SHG has enabled women to bridge this gap and come in contact with institutions
of governance, namely, the gram sabha and the gram panchayat.
In some cases, they have also been nominated to these institutions. As
women make a space for themselves in the institutions where decisions
are taken, they have also become recipients of information (for example,
process of BPL survey) and have increased access to resources (for example,
leveraging panchayat funds for the construction of a road and a
boundary wall for the school building).
EXTERNAL FACILITATION PROCESS
The VDOs have played a crucial role by educating, organising and mobilising
women purposively and consciously around a common or shared
concern for reducing poverty. A strong organisation of their own, access
to resources and opportunities, strong capabilities built through education,
information, skills and confidence have empowered women with
freedom of choice and action.