Published Paper Details:

ABSTRACT: Indian society and family is dominated by male and women are less involved and totally have been neglected while making decision making process especially in financial decision. Their family obligation, limited access to finance, gender discrimination in family, illiteracy, low management or more such issues etc are the most important hurdles in the path of empowerment. Rural women today have been suffering a lot due to the feeling of helplessness and lack of decision making capabilities in financial matters. Self help groups (SHG�s) are the most recent development for them which could enable them to come forward to make them self dependent and self employed. These SHG�s are informal groups of women where members pool their savings and re-lend in the groups on rational basis, depending upon the individual consumption, production or investment needs. But it�s all operated very secretly keeping away a word from lead of the family. Thus SHGs have been able to provide rudimentary banking services to the members on cost effective basis and meet urgent micro-credit requirements in time as for as employment of women is concerned the women self help groups in India have been recognized as an effective strategy for the employment of women in rural as well as an effective strategy for the employment of women in rural comparatively urban areas, bringing women together from all spheres of life to fight for their rights. This study high-lights whether SHGs have succeeded in empowering women and making them socially, politically, culturally and economically strong and optimistic.