Empowering women through micro finance in India

Women in India have always been subjected to disparity in the socio- economic status precisely expressed in terms of privilege, power and control, microfinance works with women empowerment as one of its mission and is considered as a means to upgrade the status of women. Microfinance has been widely accepted as a medium to eliminate poverty and socio-economic development of it’s representatives. These representatives are largely women, the empowerment of women through microfinance is a well studied and debatable topic. Microfinance is necessary to overcome exploitation, create confidence for economic self reliance of the rural poor, particularly among rural women. Although it is not a ‘magic bullet’, it is potentially a very significant contribution to gender equality and women's empowerment. Through their contribution to women’s ability to earn an income, it has potential to initiate a series of ‘virtuous spirals’ of economic empowerment, and wider social and political engagement. The paper attempts to assess how microfinance has received tremendous validity as a strategy for economic empowerment of women. An effort is also made to suggest the ways to boost women empowerment.