A Study on the role of NGOS in Empowering

women in Tirunelveli District

Introduction :
 Women - noble creation of God.
 Has the role of daughter, wife, mother, house keeper.
 Personification of tolerance.
 Shaping the personality and character of her children – hence the “character of
the nation “.
 Not only a house holder – but ruler of the nation as Indra Gandhi was
 Great emperor shivaji told him stories of great man and women and moulded
him. He was courageous - Valour
 Napoleon Bonaparte, “Give me good mothers and I will give a good nation”.
 Prime Minister of India, Nehru , “ To awaken the people , it is the women who
must be awakened once she is on the move, the family moves, the village
moves, the nation moves and thus we build the “ India of tomorrow”.

Women – the objects of Exploitation:

 Indian constitution provides for equality of opportunity and the rights to

women but they are not developed so far.
 Economically – most of them poor – have no access to resources –
technology and credit low paid – unorganized.
 Socially – women are old fash ioned – less motivated – unaware of the
environment - tradition bound – objects of exploitation.
 Educationally backward – illiterates – 35 % of them are educated.
 Politically they are not a powerful force. Socio –economic conditions, rural
women has become deplorable and pathetic.
  Weaker section of the society. According to manusmrithi ‘She is protected by
the father in the childhood, by the husband in adulthood and by the son in her
old age’.

Initiatives of the Govt of India:

 Establishment of separate Department in 1985 for the development of women

in the ministry of HRD.
 Creations of women development corporations.
 27 schemes are implemented.
 Development of women and children in rural areas (DWCRA) , support to
employment programme (Step).
 International agencies – UNIVEF,DANIDA,Swiss development
Agency,Ford Foundation CIAD – Financial Assistance.
Poor impacts :
i) Lack of an effective implementation mechanism at the gross – root
level.
ii) Target oriented programme
iii) Not comprehensive enough to bring about a social change in women.
Therefore a new strategy, a new model of women development is
needed. IFAD’s Tamil Nadu women’s development project is an attempt in
this direction.
 Govt of Tamil nadu initiated the process of empowering women through
self – help groups 1989 – 98 with the assistance of IFAD.
 With the active participation of NGOs. SHGs were formed – After 9 years
IFAD fund stopped 31-12-98. The Scheme was introduced in 14 districts
in 97 – 98 collaborated with 230 NGOs all over the state.
 Vision - Plan to empower 10 lakhs – 60, 000 SHGs.
 I Phase 14 districts 97 – 98
II Phase 7 districts 98 – 99 Tirunelveli.
III Phase 7 districts 99 -2000

Statement of the problem:

 Since 1950 – Govt of India - Various programmes to alleriate poverty.
 Funded through backing institutions – they are not fully successful.
 Not sustainable - made them dependent.
 Top 25 % people got benefited.
 75 % of the people has no access to finance
 Exploited by the money leaders.
 Therefore a group approach may be the effective way to reduce the poverty.
 People’s participation in credit delivery and linking of formal credit
institutions
 The study aims at finding out the empowerment of women by the efforts of
self help groups
 No study has been conducted to examine the role of NGOs in empowering
women in tirunelveli district

Choice of the study Area :

It covers tirunelveli district which consists of 19 blocks. All
blocks are covered by NGOs and SHGs.

Objectives :
Overall Objective

To study the status of women in socio and economic perspectives and to study

the role of NGOs in empowering women.

Specific Objectives

1. To study the structure, functions and the performance of NGOs which

mobilise SHGs in Tirunelveli District.

2. To study the performance of the sample SHGs selected for the study.

3. To examine the social status of the families of SHG members in Tirunelveli

District.

4. To examine the economic status of the families and analyze the impact of

SHGs on employment, income, expenditure, savings, indebtedness, asset

creation and repayment debts of the women members before and after

joining the SHGs.

5. To evaluate the social, economic, political, educational and decision making

empowerment of women in the SHGs in Tirunelveli District.

6. To offer suggestions to the NGOs and the Government for effective

functioning of the women groups.

Hypotheses of the Study

The following hypotheses have been framed for the study:

1. There is no significant relationship between the socio-economic factors and

the empowerment of women.

2. There is a significant increase in income and savings of the respondents after

joining the SHGs.

Sampling Techniques :
 Two Schedules – One for leaders and one for women group members.
 Each block – an NGO is taken for study
 Random sampling technique
  NGO – respondents – selected – 8 years to 9 years of experience.
 16 Members were selected from each block. By using this technique 310
members were taken for the study.
 5 women group leaders were selected from each block . Totally from 19
blocks 95 totally 405 sample respondents were interviewed for the study.
 Period of Study : The year 2008 – 2009 was taken as the reference year.

Data collection:
Data Collected through primary and secondary sources
Secondary data - books , Journals , reports and policy notes of the govt of
India and T.N NABARD and other institutions .

Frame work of analysis :

For analyzing the primary data the following statistical tools were used . The
statistical tools like Arithematic Mean, Standarad derivation Kruskal – Wallis test ,
NC Nemar test, sen’s index of poverty , sign test, likert’s scale. Gareet’s ranking and
composite index were used in this study.

Limitations :

 The scope of the present study is limited to women SHG members in one

district of the state of Tamil Nadu.

 The study is confined to women SHGs of only those NGOs who were

affiliated to Women Development Corporation of Tamil Nadu. SHGs

functioning independently have not been included.

 Due to the resource and time constraints the sample survey was carried out

only in Tirunelveli District. However to avoid memory bias, the

researcher has taken sufficient measures like cross checking with other

members in the household and other SHG members or notified staff.

  Utmost care was taken to make use of standardized tools and techniques of

data collection, but their accuracy may not be guaranteed. As the

entire investigation is based on individual perceptions and expressed

opinions of the respondents under study, individual biases and

prejudices on the part of the respondents might have influenced the

findings.

However in spite of the above limitations, not much of constraint on the

validity of the findings and conclusions of the study was experienced, because the

researcher had spent considerable years in the development field and the study

remained within the boundaries of impartial data and acceptable logic.

Chapterization:

The research study has been organized and presented in seven chapters.

Chapter One, “Introduction and design of the study”, introduces the statement

of the problem, objectives the study, hypotheses, scope of the study, area of the study,

collection of data, operational definitions, methodology, geographical area of the

study, period of the study, limitations of the study scheme of the report and finally the

Review of related studies.

Chapter Two presents the theoretical background to women empowerment.

Chapter Three deals with an analysis of the role, structure and performance of

the NGOs in Tirunelveli district.

Chapter Four explains the concept of SHG, role, structure and performance of

SHGs in Tirunelveli district.

Chapter Five highlights the impact of SHGs on the economic and social

conditions of the members. It elucidates the economic conditions like assets value,

savings, borrowings, income generation and employment generation and it also

highlights the social conditions like self -confidence, behavioural changes, access to

infrastructural facilities.
 Chapter Six deals with the social, economic, political, educational and

decision making empowerment of women.

Chapter Seven presents the summary of the findings of the present study and

problems faced by SHGs and offers various suggestions for the successful

implementation of SHGs.

NGOs - The Face of Civil Society

One of the great innovations of the twentieth century is the NGO sector whose

existence is so widespread that they influence several aspects of development and yet

remain largely invisible. Representative government is considered to be the great

social invention of the eighteenth century; bureaucracy is seen as the invention of the

nineteenth; and the prevalence and growth of NGOs can be considered as the great

social innovation of the later twentieth century. The globalization processes with the

resultant abdication of responsibilities of the state on welfare measures, coupled with

growing citizen activism, have helped the growth of NGOs. The very presence of

movements and NGOs for social transformation in various spheres of the society

indicates the emergence of a creative society.17 However, the creative responses of the

civil society in the form of NGOs are largely hidden. The media and other public

institutions focus mostly on the state and the functions of the market and leave out

this vibrant sector.

In the literature on Non-governmetal organizations a variety of terms have

gained currency. Some refer to NGOs as part of the voluntary sector or non-profit

sector, while the term ‘Third sector’ is acceptable to some. Marc Narfin 25 calls it the

third sector, perhaps for the first time, to represent people’s power. People’s power,

according to Nerfin is “an immediate an autonomous power, sometimes patent,

always latent … some among the people develop an awareness of this, associate and

act with others and thus become citizens. Citizens and their associations, when they

do not seek either governmental or economic power consitute the third system.

Contributing to make patent what is latent, the third system is one expression of the
autonomous power of the People” (quoted in Korten26 1992). Nerfin contrasts the

roles and orientations of the prince (representing government power), and the citizen

(embodying people’s power). NGOs together are part of the private non profit sector,

a term invented in the latter part of the nineteenth century in order to distinguish

between the private sector and the Government (Salamon27, 1987)

Originated from the Latin word ‘Voluntas’, voluntary action implies “will” or

“freedom”. Voluntary action finds expression in an organized form in NGOs. In other

words, the spirit of voluntarism is the essence of NGOs that springs from innumerable

sources. The human proclivity to do voluntary work without expecting anything in

return is fundamentally rooted in the physical structure of the human body itself. The

cerebral cortex of the brain, which is responsible for one’s consciousness, memory,

mental ability and intellect is the seat of voluntary activity in human beings.

(McFarlan, 1992).20

Self-help Groups :

The most important Social innovation to help the poor in recent years has been

the success of thrift and credit based self-help groups especially those formed by

women. They are considered as agents of socio-economic transformation in rural

areas. The characteristic features of SHGs are voluntary membership, participatory

planning, holistic approach, resource mobilization, self management, self-help and

mutual help. Many of the SHGs are formed by women and are supported by NGOs

and they provide revolving credit to them. SHGs have successfully maintained a high

rate of loan repayments and successfully generated additional income, jobs and small

enterprises for their members. The micro-credit facilities provided by financial

institutions help in the formation of more SHGs.

As SHGs are small, economically, homogeneous and affinity groups of rural

poor, they are voluntarily coming together for achieving the following.

1. To save small amounts of money regularly

2. To mutually agree to contribute to a common fund

 3. To meet their emergency needs

4. To have collective decision making

5. To solve conflicts through free loans with terms decided by groups at

market-driven rates.

SWOT Analysis of Selected NGOs in Tirunelveli

People predominantly require the following from the NGOs:

1. Awareness rather than materials

2. Education rather than doles

3. Empathy rather than sympathy

4. Facilitation rather than contribution

5. Guidance rather than gifts

6. Information rather than inputs supply

7. Motivation rather than money

8. Opportunities rather than charity

Based on these expectations, the working of these NGOs are critically studied.

A critical SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) of

selected NGOs is given in the following pages.

Strength

Staff members of the NGOs are very much dedicated and strong enough to

take consistent and constant effort to build up people’s movement. They are very

strong in guiding the group members in the day-to-day functioning of the group. They

are very much dynamic and vibrant in their activities. Staff members are very strong

in their social perception and ideologies and they are highly motivated towards their

vision. The interest and zeal among the staff members are highly appreciated. They

are pro-poor and pro-marginalized. They live with the people and work for the people.

NGO leaders are visionaries of social change. Capacity-building is the prime motto of

NGOS. They try to build up leadership qualities among the people. They are very
strong in their mission and vision. They are governed by high ideologies and good

principles. They make ordinary people into extra-ordinary people. They try to use

‘bottom up approach’ in all their activities. They conscientise the nullified and

oppressed people and try to make aware them of social realities. They are easily

available and accessible. They are value-centred and people-centred. They have a

strong will to unite people to fight against this unjust society. They are the agents of

social change and people’s participation in all of their activities is their prime motto.

They work vigorously for empowering the target people economically. Upliftment of

the marginalized is their prime concern.

Weaknesses

The staff members are successful in getting basic needs through their tireless

effort but they are not competent to take up social issues of wider concern. They are

deficient in the skills of problem solving and enhance the empowering skills the

people’s organization. Though they are committed to people’s work they are by and

large less professional. NGOs work should not be a one man’s show. NGOs work for

social justice and they march towards social change but in certain NGOs these values

are missing in the organization itself. The staff members of many NGOs lack vision,

mission and strategies in their noble work. It is a noblest job and it should not be

taken as a ‘10 to 5’ job. Many NGOs lack ‘check and balance’ with regard to the

management of the 3M’s, Men, Money and Material in the NGOs. Their

communication and orgnaizational skills need to be certainly improved. NGOs may

do wonders in field work but the reporting and documentation skills of the staff need

to be improved. The NGOs very much lack internal and external evaluations on a

regular basis. Self appraisal of the staff members is not found in many NGOs. To get

the work done in time some NGOs grease the palms of the bureaucrats at various

levels. In some NGOs the prime factor is ‘Money’. Some NGOs are found to be

outmoded in their approach. Mutual trust among the NGOs in the field area is found

missing. Though NGOs work in the villages for many years, still people depend on
NGOs. Some NGOs are badly affected by politicians and religious leaders.

Accountability and transparency are lacking in some NGOs. Value building and

social conscientization do not play a role at all in many NGOs. In some NGOs the

whims and fancies of the staff rule the administration and it paves the way for

dependency of the target people. Training is an important component of Mahalir

Thittam. In some NGOs training is not conducted as per the modules of Mahalir

Thittam. With regard to NGOs’, interventions are product oriented and not process

oriented. NGOS need to be value-driven and not donor-driven. Often NGOs close

their eyes and ears when they come across the corrupt and unethical practices in the

society. The poor pay given to the staff by most NGOs may not be enough to make

both ends meet in their families.

Opportunities

NGOs are considered as a third sector next to the Govt. and Corporate sector.

NGOs are nowadays inevitable in people’s development. The global face of the

economy poses threats to the marginalized and depressed people. NGOs should

challenge this pathetic scenario and awake the people to march against this crucial

problem. The 73rd amendment in the Constitution is a wonderful way to guide the

people towards development. Women empowerment and gender equality is yet

another area for the NGOS to work with the people. The international organizations

like the UN, the World Bank and the UNDP and donor countries have strong

expectations and have an eye on NGOs. There is a wider scope for NGOs to carry out

various community health programmes. The government programmes which are

executed with the support of the NGOs are very much successful. Disaster

management is another area for NGOs to work in the future. Capacity building of the

staff members and the target people are yet to be enhanced. The NGOs should start

their networking of their SHGs into federations.

Threats
 In some places political parties are highly antagonistic towards NGOs.

Mushrooming of NGOs creates a heavy competition among them leading to unhealthy

relationships among themselves. When money flows into NGOs, the work may go

ahead. When money is stopped their work is also stopped. Some NGOs carry out their

work in isolation. When NGOs work with the people for creating a just society the

anti-social elements also may become a threat to some NGOs. Sometimes bigger

NGOs may not have a good relationship with small NGOs. NGOs should not depend

only on foreign funding; they have to search for local funding for their activities.

Some NGOs are not performing facilitators role, but performing people’s role. NGOs

should not try to raise funds from imperfect systems.

Finding of the Study

Level of Performance of SHGs

The performance of the groups has been assessed by adopting a scaling

technique. Different scores were assigned to the indicator which influenced the

performance of the group (Vide Appendix No.C). Based on the scoring scheme,

scores were awarded to the 10 indicators for each self-help group. The total scores

obtained by all the self-help groups were computed. Then, the average score and

standard deviation for the sample self-help groups were calculated. The average score

for the sample SHGs was and the standard deviation was. The sample SHGs were

divided into three categories such as low, medium, and high level performance groups

based on the scores gained by each group. These categories were classified with the

help of the following formula:

Low level performance = Average – Standard Deviation

Medium Level Performance = from (Average – Standard Deviation) to

(Average + Standard Deviation)

High Level Performance = Average + Standard Deviation

Table 4.14 shows the distribution of the sample SHGs according to the performance

of the groups.

Table 4.14

Distribution of the Groups according to Performance

Sl.No Category Number of SHGs Percentage

Low Level Performance - -
1.
Medium Level Performance 20 21.1
2.
High Level Performance 75 78.9
3.
Total 95 100.0
(Source : Primary)

It is evident from table 4.14 that 75 groups were categorized as high level

performers whereas 20 SHGs fall in the category of medium level performers. In this

study there is no low level performers because of the age and experience of SHGs.

Ranking of Indicators of Performance of the SHGs

The various indicators identified for measuring the performance of SHGs were

ranked on the basis of total scores. Table 4.15 shows the ranks of the indicators.
 Table 4.15

Ranking of Indicators Measuring the Performance of the SHGs

Sl. No. Indicators Total Score Rank

1. Homogeneity 390 4
2. Regularity in Conducting Meetings 269 9
3. Attendance of Members 424 2
4. NGOs’ Participation in Meetings 340 7
5. Repayment Performance 422 3
6. Decision on Financial Transactions 353 6
7. Proportion of Production Loan to Total Loan 330 8
8. Utilization of Common Fund 361 5
9. Increased Rate of Savings 187 10
10. Adequacy of Training 437 1
(Source : Primary)

Table 4.15 shows that the indicators such as adequacy of training and

attendance of members were major contributors to the performance of the SHGs. It

could also be observed that the indicators relating to increased savings, regularity in

conducting meetings, proportion of production loan to total loan obtained lower ranks

compared to the other indicators.

Findings of Economic Dimensions

* The number of households who borrowed an amount of Rs. 10,000 had declined to

0 from 154 members (49.7 percent) after joining the SHGs. The percentage of

borrowings above Rs. 20,000 had increased from 0 to 79 percent (245 members)

because of their repayment capacity. It shows that after joining the SHGs, the

members borrowed more for productive purposes, which ultimately increased their

income.

* With regard to the distribution of loan according the economic activity, the

expenditure on consumption was Rs.5498.73 before joining the SHGs. After

becoming members the amount on consumption rose to Rs.10876.27. The percentage

had declined from 54.25 to 43.18 percent. At the same time the amount spent on

productive purposes had increased from Rs.4636.85 to Rs.14313.63. The percentage

had considerably increased from 45.75 to 56.82. So the SHGs had a great impact on

the distribution of loan amount according in economic activity.

*Out of the total of 310 respondents 42.95 percent who owned productive

asset worth of Rs.6750 before becoming members of the SHGs had increased to

Rs.6910.48 after becoming the member of SHG. At the same time the value of

consumer durables had declined from Rs.8965.00 to Rs.8880.80. It is understood that

there was an increasing trend in productive asset and decreasing trend in consumer

durables.

*It is observed that 62 (20 percent) members of the household had assets

worth over Rs.15000 before becoming members of the SHGs, whereas 68 (21.90

percent) members had assets having a value of Rs.15000 after becoming members of

the SHGs.

* Among the 310 respondents 145 members (46.8 percent) felt that there was a

decrease in the value of assets after becoming members of the SHGs. 34 members felt

that there was no change even after becoming members of the SHGs. 131 members

strongly registered the opinion that there was an increase in the value of assets only

after becoming the members of SHGs.

*Out of 310 respondents 124 man days were generated in agricultural activity

before becoming members of the SHGs. After becoming members of the SHGs the

man days had increased to 241. In non-agricultural activity 62 man days were

generated before becoming members of the SHGs. It also increased to 138 days. In

allied agriculture activity 41 man days were generated after joining the SHGs. Totally

from 248 days to 482 days, 234 days were additionally generated on account of the

membership of SHGs.

*Out of 310 sample respondents, 19 members (61 percent) fell under the

category with income level utpo Rs.7500 per annum before they became members.
The number of respondents who fell under the category with income level from Rs.

30,000 to Rs. 37,500 was 139 when they were not members of the SHGs, but after

their joining the SHGs, the number of respondents falling under the same category

increased to 233 members.

*It is evident that no one among the 310 sample respondents spent below

Rs.5000/- before joining the SHGs whereas 62 sample members (20 percent) spent

below Rs.5000/- after becoming members of the SHGs. It is also seen that 156 (50.3

percent) sample members spent between Rs.5000 and Rs.10,000 before joining as

members of SHGs. The number increased to 186 members (60 percent) after

becoming members of SHGs.

*The study shows that the expenditure on food was reduced after the

respondents had become members of the SHGs, because of increase in income. But at

the same time the proportion of expenditure on clothing, education and health

increased after the respondents became members of the SHGs. It is also to be noted

that the expenditure on festivals was reduced because of the awareness imparted by

the training programmes organized by the NGOs. So in this study we come to

understand the expenditure pattern of the sample respondents is according to Engels’s

law of family expenditure. The law states that when income increases the amount of

money spent on necessaries like food and clothing decreases but the amount spent on

comforts and luxuries increases. This study shows that the expenditure pattern is same

as Engel’s law of expenditure states.

*From the study it is evident that the significant value (0.0000) is less than

0.05 in all economic variables except creation of asset. So the null hypothesis is

rejected except for creation of asset. So there is significant difference in economic

variables before and after joining the SHGs. Only in creation of asset there was not

significant difference before and after joining the SHGs.

*It is evident from the study that 12.4 (40 percent) members had income

below poverty level before joining the SHGs. But after joining the SHGs, only 47
(15.2 percent) members had income below poverty level. With regard to income

above poverty level 186 (60 percent) members had income above poverty level before

joining the SHGs. But 263 (84.8 percent) members had income above poverty level

after joining the SHGs. This indicates that a large number of members have been

elevated above poverty line after joining the SHGs.

*From the study it is learnt that before the respondents became members of

the SHGs the poverty index was 0.27 and it declined to 0.07 after they became

members of the SHGs. This indicates that the SHG programme has had a positive

effect on alleviation of poverty.

*It is observed from the study that the distribution households according to the

value of composite index clearly brings out a shift. The estimated average composite

index was 47.44 before joining whereas it was 78.41 after joining, and it indicates an

increase of 30.97 points. The index based on economic indicators rose from 65.28 to

82.59 after joining while the social indicators rose from 32.25 to 75.74.

*It is evident from the study that the calculated value of Z for social,

economic, and composite index is less than the table value of 0.000 at 5 percent level

and hence the null hypothesis is rejected. So it is concluded that there is significant

difference in social and economic impact on members before and after joining SHGs.

Findings of Empowerment Dimensions

Various Dimensions of Empowerment

The researcher has identified 20 components to study the social, political, economic,
educational and decision-making empowerment of the SHG women in Tirunelveli
district
Overall view of the empowerment scores

To ascertain the significance of the five categories of empowerment, the

average, median and standard deviation have been calculated.

Table 6.6 shows the details of the various types of empowerment of the

respondents.
 Table 6.6

Details of empowerment scores of the respondents

Various Co – efficient of
Sl. No. Mean Std. Deviation
Empowerment variation
1. Social 72.30 8.078 11.17
2. Economic 74.75 5.240 7.01
3. Political 66.07 10.527 15.93
4. Education 67.43 11.607 17.21
5. Decision-making 66.11 7.271 10.99
6. Overall Score 346.66 30.350 8.75

It is evident from table 6.6 that the Economic empowerment takes the first

place (Mean 74.75 and Std. deviation 5.24) followed by Social empowerment.

Education empowerment occupies the third place. Decision-making empowerment

and Political empowerment take the fourth and fifth places respectively.

Extent of Opinion of Various Types of Empowerment

With a view to finding out the extent of opinion on various types of

empowerment of the sample members the average score and standard deviation have

been computed. The extent of perception falls under three categories low, medium

and high.

Low Below (Arithmetic Mean – Standard Deviation)

High Above (Arithmetic Mean + Standard Deviation)

Medium From (Arithmetic Mean – Standard Deviation)

To (Arithmetic Mean + Standard Deviation)

The overview of the respondents’ empowerment scores is depicted in table 6.7.

 Table 6.7

Overview of Respondents’ Empowerment Scores

Sl.No. Various Empowerment Low Medium High

1. Social Empowerment - 154 (49.7) 156 (50.3)
2. Economic Empowerment - 48(15.5) 262(84.5)
3. Political Empowerment - 201 (64.8) 109 (35.2)
4. Educational Empowerment - 216 (69.7) 94 (30.3)
5. Decision-making Empowerment - 201 (64.8) 109 (35.2)
Overall score - 171 (55.2) 139 (44.8)

(The figures within the brackets are percentages)

It is clear from table 6.7 that with regard to empowerment no member falls

under the low category because of the tenure of membership existence of the group.

With regard to overall impact, of 171 (55.2 percent) members fall in the medium

score category and 139 (44.8 percent) members fall in the high score category.

Ranking of various kinds of empowerment

The sample respondents were categorized into five ranks that is to say 1,2,3,4

and 5. The ranking was done on the basis of the scores of each respondent for each

empowerment. Altogether there are five kinds of empowerment and hence there are

five ranks. The number of respondents for each kind of empowerment with ranks

1,2,3,4 and 5 are arranged in rows and the D value is applied by using the Kalmogoror

– Smirnove one sample test (vide chapter 1).

The distribution of sample members based on the ranks of each kind of

empowerment is shown in table.

Table 6.8

Distribution of members based on ranks of various kinds of empowerment

Kinds of Ranks
Sl.No. Total
Empowerment 1 2 3 4 5
78 78 78 61 15 310
1. Social Score
(25.2) (25.2) (25.2) (19.7) (4.7) (100.0)
2. Economic Score 123 77 47 63 0 310
 (39.7) (24.8) (15.2) (20.3) (100.0)
46 62 47 109 46 310
3. Political Score
(14.8) (20.0) (15.2) (35.2) (14.8) (100.0)
32 15 154 62 47 310
4. Educational Score
(10.3) (4.8) (49.7) (20.0) (15.2) (100.0)
Decision-making 31 78 48 60 93 310
5.
Score (10.0) (25.2) (15.5) (19.3) (30.0) (100.0)
Overall score

From table 6.8 it may be observed that most of the members (123) gave the

highest score for economic empowerment and it confirmed the highest average score

got by the economic empowerment shown in the table 6.6 also. The second highest

score given to social empowerment by most of the members (78) and it also

confirmed shown in the table no 6.6. The third highest score given to political score

and fourth and fifth highest scores given to educational and decision making

empowerment respectively.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The suggestions offered in this chapter are based on the field experiences

gained in and the findings of the study. The suggestions are given so that the impact

of the programmes could still be strengthened and the programmes carried forward

with fewer problems in the future.

The suggestions are classified into three groups: one addressed to the

Government and the financial institutions, another to the NGOs and the third to the

women groups.

A. To the Government

1. The Government Poverty Allviation programmes targeted towards the most

vulnerable sections should continue for the benefit of the poorest of the poor.

2. The Government can play an active role through NABARD in the capacity

building of the NGOs by taking up microfinance activities through

 conducting training programmes for the NGO staff and supporting

infrastructure development in the NGOs.

3. The Government should encourage periodical search and assessment of the

programmes preferably by persons professionally competent and

independent of the NGOs and the Government on various aspects of the

programmes. The best practices must be documented and disseminated to

be useful to others.

4. The banks should be advised not to reduce the quantum of priority sector

lending from the stipulated level of 40 percent of their entire lending. The

practice should be continued for the promotion of micro enterprises and

loans given to SHGs either directly or through NGOs. Therefore

commercial banks have even a greater role to play in the micro-finance

sector for the benefit of the rural poor.

5. NABARD should continue both with the Bank - SHG Linkage programme

and the Bulk Lending Scheme for the economic empowerment of women.

6. There is much delay in sanctioning loans by banks and in certain cases it

extends even upto many months. Hence the banks should take the necessary

steps to distribute the loans quickly and within a stipulated period of time.

7. The rural people have little knowledge about business and the various

marketing related aspects of production and distribution. So the Government

and NGOs should offer guidance on the various types of business which are

suitable for the group, the places of business and the steps to be taken for the

promotion of their business.

B. To the NGOs

1. Members of certain families sometimes join more than one SHG. This should

be avoided so that the membership is broad based. Membership from the

same family in different SHGs operating in close vicinity should also be

 discouraged, especially when such persons are the dependents of the single

family.

2. Whenever external loans from NGOs are given to SHG members in addition

to loans from the group it is better to fix different dates for repayment of

instalments relating to different loans. This would reduce the difficulty of

the members in looking for a big amount for repayment.

3. The interest rate charged on the loans to members should not exceed 24

percent p.a. at any cost. Ideally it should be around 18 percent p.a. taking

into account the general interest rate reduction in the banks.

4. The rural women do not understand the need for insurance. NGOs should play

an active role in creating awareness on the importance of insurance among

rural women.

5. Even though members have a proper understanding of the programmes, they

lack sufficient knowledge of the programme in its totality. The NGOs

should take special efforts to disseminate information about the programme

structure, administration and the role of members.

6. The concept of small savings has brought about a remarkable success in the

level of economy in the lives of the village people. Many times EDP is not a

successful programme among the women group members because of the

ignorance and non-cooperation of the villagers. So it is the important for the

NGOs and SHGs to liberate the rural women by taking up EDP programmes

and also educating them.

7. The consistent and continuous efforts of the NGOs make the women get

empowered. Women develop courage to go to the Collectorate, Union

office, Panchayat office and the like. After becoming members of SHGs the

women are able to take part in rallies and public meetings without any fear.

It is difficult for the women to contest in local elections due to lack of

 economic resources and so the NGOs should render support to those women

who are in need of money and help.

8. The NGOs and SHGs should come forward to educate the villagers in social

realities and social analysis. The SHGs should reduce the gap between

women of different castes. If the NGOs and SHGs want to promote a

casteless society they still need to go a long way.

9. If the want to achieve the target number of SHGs within a limited period then

they should have a rule of ‘One village, one NGO’. It is better that while one

NGO is working in a village the other NGOs do not work in the same

village. Otherwise it leads to unnecessary complication and avoidable

confusion among women.

10. Some of the staff members have developed an attitude of just performing their

routine assignment because of their displeasure towards the administration

of the NGOs. The working environment should be cordial at all levels so

that the staff could develop a sense of belonging and perform their duties

with much interest and satisfaction.

11. The NGOs and SHGs must be politicized through awareness education and

promote constant action for sustainable development.

12. It is suggested that the entire staff with the chief functionary of NGOs should

organize meetings themselves for their experience sharing. Based on new

strategies course of actions would be evolved for strengthening the peoples’

organization.

13. The NGOs should regularly monitor the utilization of the loans by women,

and if they found it was utilized not by the women but by their husbands,

further sanctioning of loans to those women members should either be

delayed or restricted. Otherwise, the very purpose of the credit programme

would get defeated.

 14. The NGOs should think of withdrawing themselves from the SHGs so that the

women group members can act independently and they can successfully

march on towards empowerment.

C. To the SHGs

1. The meetings conducted in the villages leave little time for any business other

than collection of savings and disbursal of funds. Therefore it is suggested

that the meetings must be conducted for a long time for discussing social

issues.

2. The interest rate charged on the loans to members should not exceed 24

percent p.a. at any cost. Ideally it should be around 18 percent p.a. taking

into account the general interest rate reduction in the banks.

3. Many SHG members would like to play a passive role in the group and would

not like to take up leadership roles. NGOs should motivate them to come

forward and participate in the training and developmental programmes

besides taking up leadership roles.

4. Women group members must attain functional literacy through the group.

Health and environmental education should be given much importance. The

members should be conscientized about the importance of formal education

for the empowerment of women.

5. Training programmes have brought about significant changes in the lives of

rural women. The women should know the importance of attending training

programmes for the self-development of the members. The training should

impart communication skills and promote self actualization and self-esteem.

6. Instead of going to the money lenders for emergencies the women members

should make use of the bank resources, because micro credit is a powerful

tool to eradicate poverty among the women folk.

7. All the members in the women groups should be trained in such a way as to

speak boldly in the meetings and execute the group activities without fear
 and hesitation. Proper training should be conducted for the leaders

continuously to raise their voice against social atrocities.

8. The NGOs and SHGs should take the initiative to prepare second row leaders

among the women group members with a view to making them hold key

positions in the SHGs for sustaining the groups.

9. The leaders of SHGs should be given skill development programmes like

problem solving and critical reflection on societal issues for improving their

capactities.

10. There is lack of co-operation among the members of the SHGs. Hence the

animators and authorized representatives should create and develop team

spirit and co-ordination among the members of the SHGs by providing

adequate and upto date information.

11. The SHGs should be federated at the Panchayat Union Level at first and

should have definite objectives and functions to perform. Finally as a joint

responsibility with the upward and downward linkages, union federation,

district federation and state federation should be strengthened in the days to

come.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY:

Based on the experience of the researcher the following topics are suggested

for pursuing research in future.

 A comparative study of the SHGs developed by DRDA and “Valzhnthu

Kattuvom” projects.

 A transaction cost analysis with reference to SHGs

 There is also a need for undertaking quality ethnographic studies with a

view to formulating policies and programmes in empowering women and

weaker sections in India.

  Scientific analysis can be attempted for making the training programmes

more effective and relevant ways and means of improving leadership

qualities and entrepreneurial skills among women can also be devised.

If the study helps the future researchers who are in the field of NGOs and SHGs to

achieve their goals even in a simple way, the researcher will feel that he has been

amply rewarded.