Self help group: Impediments factors that suppress the empowerment of women in all walks of life

ASelf Help Group is a small economically homogeneous affinity group of the rural poor voluntarily coming together to save a small amount regularly, which are deposited in a common fund to meet member's emergency needs and to provide collateral-free loans decided by the group. In India Self Help Group (SHG) represents a unique approach to financial intermediation. Women's empowerment is “a process whereby women become able to organize themselves to increase their self-reliance, to assert their independent right to make choices and to control resources which will assist in challenging and eliminating their subordination". Women in SHGs were challenged in diverse ways and also the groups can face numerous challenges and hurdles which make their operations difficult. Hence the present study was conducted to find out the various hurdles, group members faced in terms of empowerment deprivation. A sample of eighty respondents was purposively selected from three talukas of Rajkot district covering ten operational villages by a purposive random sampling method. Results found that majority of the respondents were from a young age group, educated up to higher secondary, and had an occupation as agriculture and allied activities. Results also revealed that women faced the foremost impediment isa problem in record maintenance with a WMS=3.2 and thus scored 1st rank followed by dealing with a bank as the procedure of internal loaning and loaning through banks (WMS=3.04) scored 2nd rank. Moreover, more impediments like a problem in taking group decisions (WMS=2.83) and a problem in saving money(WMS=2.65) scored third and fourth ranks respectively. Very little hurdle faced by the targeted group while conducting meetings (WMS=2.55) and lack of coordination among members (WMS=2.32) and thus hold 6th and 7th or last rank respectively.