Purpose of forming the groups and benefits arisen therefrom: The basic logic behind the womens group

coming together is that economic independence of women is linked with an increase in their social status, and that this will in turn lead to a decrease in various forms of gender discrimination. It has enabled a large number of women to lift themselves and their families out of dire poverty. By virtue of its autonomy and independence both from promoters as well as much of the external environment, it has given the women members a voice of sorts a representation in the wider social and political process. A women-centric group in the strongly patriarchal rural setup would be expected to draw some societal opposition. However, according to the members, they did not face too much opposition in the beginning, since most of the villagers perceived the groups as a form of bank. Since poverty was the main issue in the village, anything that would lessen their indebtedness and improve their economic status was welcomed. Since it is perceived that the women are responsible for running the family, and money is the most important concern for most families, people did not oppose it too much on the grounds of it being run only by women. Interestingly, the perception that women are less prone to corruption and other unethical activities has also been very helpful in getting the acceptance of the villagers. An insight about the status of women emerged: while women are given a low overall social status in this area, in practice they are seen as responsible for running the household and hence derive whatever social status they have from being strongly associated with the concept of the home and hearth. Over time, it has been so found that men encourage their wives to join the cooperative as it gives them an avenue to deposit their savings and provides access to credit facilities. Micro-finance has really played a big role in the village in improving the standard of living by providing new opportunities for employment generation. The women who have come together and pooled in their savings have utilised the funds generated in a very positive manner. To quote one such example of the usage of micro-finance, one of the women members of the group borrowed Rs. 50000 from the group. She & her husband have used this fund to purchase a steam ironing machine through which they are able to generate a good amount of money. They have some clients who supply them with the clothes and after ironing, they pack it and send it back to the clients. They earn around Rs 15000-Rs 16000 per month from this business and have also hired two workers for operating the machine. Looking at the success of this business, they are planning to buy a couple more of these machines and expand their business.