Empowering Women through Self Help Groups and Women Cooperatives- A Tool for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Women Empowerment means empowering and emboldening women by political, legal, economic and social means. Women empowerment has been the major goal of every country. Today, Women is by no means less than men in any sphere of life. She contributes equally in the social and economic development of the nation. Both Government and Non-Government agencies play a major role in uplifting the status of women in society by introducing various schemes. Formation of Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) and Women Cooperatives are the various schemes adopted for women empowerment. One of the highlights is that, in India, ninety percent of the WSHGs and Cooperatives have paved the way to boost the confidence of women by providing them regular income facilities, education and training. The paper mainly attempts to study the role of SHGs and Women Cooperatives in women empowerment with the help of success stories of certain SHGs and Cooperatives and how it is one of the most powerful tools of sustainable development.