Opportunities and Limits to Empowerment under MP-SRLM: Gendered experiences of SHG women and CRPs in Guna, Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

This study explores the functioning of Self Help Groups (SHGs) in rural Madhya Pradesh, focusing specifically on the working conditions of SHG members and Community Resource Persons (CRPs) under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) using the lens of intersectionality and empowerment. DAY-NRLM is a program sponsored by the Central government in India which aims to create institutional platforms for the rural poor and enable them to increase their household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services. This study uses a combination of empowerment frameworks to analyze the functioning and success of SHGs within the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, the contextual factors affecting it, and its impact on the lives of members. Additionally, the study also explores the specific impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the lives of SHG members and CRPs, with a focus on the effect of the pandemic on their work responsibilities and formal and informal support mechanisms. SHGs are constituted on the concept of working and growing together and often,ten to twelve women from a village, having similar socio-economic backgrounds, come together to form an SHG. These SHGs This study addresses a significant research gap in the lives of SHG members within communities as well as the contribution of CRPs to the National Rural Livelihood Mission. The study explores the operational concepts of power and choice that inform the concept of empowerment within these frameworks, to understand the exercising of agency of the SHG members. Drawing from Kabeer (1999), the larger frame looks at empowerment in the agency, resources, and achievements framework.