Self-Help Group Intervention for Socioeconomic and Political Empowerment: A Study from Ganjam, Odisha, India

Abstract

The article discusses research on the socio-economic and political empowerment of rural women via Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the Ganjam Division of Odisha, India. The different factors considered as empowerment indicators were examined separately using the data obtained from the women SHG members (through random sampling). The thorough analysis of specific factors and their influence on the previously mentioned empowerment has been examined. Its significance level has been evaluated using the Chi-Square Test and P-value using the statistical data analysis program SPSS. As a result, the Garret Ranking Method has been used to evaluate the degree of empowerment, the order of the elements, and their contribution to the three dimensions of empowerment. According to the survey, there is significant empowerment in each of the three areas. The Garret Ranking Method also estimates that women who participated in SHGs had the most economic empowerment, followed by social and political empowerment. The study will help politicians create policies and raise the degree of women's empowerment in the study area and other rural areas.