This study investigates the role of women’s self-help groups (SHGs) in fostering rural reconstruction through empowerment in Jharkhand, India. Drawing on primary survey data from 105 SHG members in Giridih district, we employ a logistic regression model to analyse how participation in SHGs influences women’s economic autonomy, social mobility and decision-making power within households. Results indicate that income enhancement and awareness of legal rights significantly increase women’s participation in household decision-making and community-level dispute resolution. By situating these findings within Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of rural reconstruction and India’s contemporary agenda of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the study demonstrates how SHGs bridge historical ideals and modern development policy. We argue that SHGs are not only microfinance institutions but also agents of socio-political transformation. The article contributes to debates on grassroots empowerment by providing empirical evidence and policy insights for strengthening SHG-based interventions in rural development.
Al-KubatiN. A. A., & SelvaratnamD. P. (2021). Empowering women through the Self-Help Group Bank Linkage Programme as a tool for sustainable development: Lessons from India. Community Development Journal, 58(2), 283–308. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsab036
2.
AnandS. (2021). Tagore, social responsibility and higher education in India. In Socially responsible higher education (pp. 203–215). Brill.
3.
ArshadA. (2023). Nexus between financial inclusion and women empowerment: Evidence from developing countries. Gender in Management an International Journal, 38(4), 561–580. https://doi.org/10.1108/gm-04-2022-0125
4.
BasakD., & ChowdhuryI. R. (2024). Role of self-help groups on socioeconomic development and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among rural women in Cooch Behar District, India. Regional Sustainability, 5(2), 100140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsus.2024.100140
5.
BayehE. (2016). The role of empowering women and achieving gender equality to the sustainable development of Ethiopia. Pacific Science Review B: Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(1), 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psrb.2016.09.013
6.
BoserupE. (1989). Population, the status of women, and rural development. Population and Development Review, 15, 45–60. https://doi.org/10.2307/2807921
7.
BrodyC., De HoopT., VojtkovaM., WarnockR., DunbarM., MurthyP., & DworkinS. L. (2015). Economic self-help group programs for improving women’s empowerment: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 11(1), 1–182. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2015.19
8.
BrodyC., De HoopT., VojtkovaM., WarnockR., DunbarM., MurthyP., & DworkinS. L. (2016). Can self-help group programs improve women’s empowerment? A systematic review. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 9(1), 15–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439342.2016.1206607
9.
ChattopadhyayM. (2018). Rabindranath Tagore’s model of rural reconstruction: A review. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 5(4), 142–146.
10.
CheekJ. Z., & CorbettP. E. (2023). Public decision making by women’s self-help groups and its contributions to women’s empowerment: Evidence from West Bengal, India. World Development Perspectives, 33, 100549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2023.100549
11.
DahalD. R., & BhattaC. D. (2008). The relevance of local conflict resolution mechanisms for systemic conflict transformation in Nepal. Berghof Foundation for Peace Support.
12.
Das GuptaU. (2008). Tagore’s ideas of social action and the Sriniketan experiment of rural reconstruction, 1922–41. University of Toronto Quarterly, 77(4), 992–1004.
13.
DhakeS. P., & NarkhedeS. P. (2019). Income-generating activity: An avenue to improve the sustainability of SHGs. Annals of Public and Co-operative Economy, 90(4), 737–759. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12238
14.
DroletJ., DominelliL., AlstonM., ErsingR., MathborG., & WuH. (2015). Women rebuilding lives post-disaster: Innovative community practices for building resilience and promoting sustainable development. Gender & Development, 23(3), 433–448. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2015.1096040
15.
DufloE. (2012). Women empowerment and economic development. Journal of Economic Literature, 50(4), 1051–1079. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.50.4.1051
16.
DuttaM. (2023). Creative economy and sustainable development: The context of Indian handicrafts. Taylor & Francis.
17.
EkesionyeE. N., & OkoloA. N. (2012). Women empowerment and participation in economic activities: Indispensable tools for self-reliance and development of Nigerian society. Educational Research Review, 7(1), 10–18. https://doi.org/10.5897/err10.220
18.
GramL., ParadkarS., SinghC., SuryavanshiA., CislaghiB., OsrinD., & DaruwallaN. (2024). Remedial, institutional or radical? Explaining community responses to violence against women in an NGO programme to prevent violence in Mumbai, India. World Development, 179, 106602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106602
19.
GrownC., GuptaG. R., & KesA. & Projet Objectifs du millénaire. (2005). Taking action: Achieving gender equality and empowering women. Earthscan.
20.
KakumbaU. (2010). Local government citizen participation and rural development: Reflections on Uganda’s decentralization system. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 76(1), 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852309359049
21.
KitoleF. A., & GendaE. L. (2024). Empowering her drive: Unveiling the resilience and triumphs of women entrepreneurs in rural landscapes. Women’s Studies International Forum, 104, 102912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2024.102912
22.
KroppE. W., & SuranB. S. (2002, November). Linking banks and (financial) self help groups in India—An assessment. In Seminar on SHG-bank Linkage Programme at New Delhi, NABARD.
23.
KumarA. (2006). Self-help groups, women’s health and empowerment: Global thinking and contextual issues. Women’s Health and Empowerment: Global Thinking and Contextual Issues (January 21, 2009). Jharkhand Journal of Development and Management Studies, 4(3), 2061–2079.
24.
LiY., WestlundH., & LiuY. (2019). Why some rural areas decline while some others not: An overview of rural evolution in the world. Journal of Rural Studies, 68, 135–143.
25.
MaroP. S. (1990). The impact of decentralization on spatial equity and rural development in Tanzania. World Development, 18(5), 673–693. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750x(90)90017-r
26.
MartínezX. Ú., Jiménez-MoralesM., MasóP. S., & BernetJ. T. (2016). Exploring the conceptualization and research of empowerment in the field of youth. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 22(4), 405–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2016.1209120
27.
MerrellI. (2022). Blockchain for decentralised rural development and governance. Blockchain Research and Applications, 3(3), 100086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcra.2022.100086
28.
MohapatraS., & PohitS. (2024). Charting the path to a developed India: Viksit Bharat 2047 (No. 167). National Council of Applied Economic Research.
29.
MohapatraS., & SahooB. K. (2016). Determinants of participation in self-help-groups (SHG) and its impact on women empowerment. Indian Growth and Development Review, 9(1), 53–78. https://doi.org/10.1108/igdr-04-2015-0016
30.
NayakA. K., PanigrahiP. K., & SwainB. (2019). Self-help groups in India: Challenges and a roadmap for sustainability. Social Responsibility Journal, 16(7), 1013–1033. https://doi.org/10.1108/srj-02-2019-0054
31.
PlatteauJ., & AbrahamA. (2002). Participatory development in the presence of endogenous community imperfections. The Journal of Development Studies, 39(2), 104–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220380412331322771
32.
RahmanA. (2019). Women and microcredit in rural Bangladesh: An anthropological study of Grameen Bank lending. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429503023
33.
RayA., & MisraS. N. (2023, January). A framework for analyzing and improving socio-economic status of women SHGs. In International Conference on Smart Trends for Information Technology and Computer Communications (pp. 331–340). Springer Nature Singapore.
34.
RelampagosJ. P., LamberteM. B., & GrahamD. H. (1990). A study of the operations and performance of selected credit cooperatives in the Philippines. The Institute of Development Studies and Partner Organisations.
35.
RobertF. C., FreyL., & SisodiaG. S. (2021). Village development framework through self-help-group entrepreneurship, microcredit, and anchor customers in solar microgrids for cooperative sustainable rural societies. Journal of Rural Studies, 88, 432–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.07.013
36.
ShylendraH. S. (2018). Federating the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in India: Emerging conceptual and policy challenges. International Journal of Rural Management, 14(2), 154–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973005218798199
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
