Self-help groups

This is a short piece by activist Rita Manchanda on how consciousness raising and capacity building for Federation leadership led to gains that the government did not anticipate. Although the NGOs were to be collaborative partners, they unintentionally took on a confrontational course as conscious raising and capacity building also meant that the women were […]

This article discusses and analyses the experience of women involved in a non-government organisation-funded women’s empowerment project in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Women involved in the project encounter ideas about community development and urban poverty reduction – in particular, outsider-imposed notions of self-help group formation, women’s empowerment, and community solidarity. The article explores the ways in […]

Who controls the income earned by members of women’s self-help groups (SHG) from group activities – the women or their husbands? The answer indicates one dimension of the level of economic empowerment attained by SHG members. This paper examines whether identity of the person controlling the income earned depends upon the political party ruling the […]