Empowering Rural Women Through Self-Help Groups: A Pathway to Financial Inclusion and Economic Independence

Rural women in India abide by diverse shades of obstacles pumpkin Ing poverty, illiteracy, and limited accessibility to financial institutions. The SHG movement is therefore viewed as a transformative force into bridging the twin gaps of gender and financial inclusion by largely empowering women socially, economically, and politically. This study, therefore, attempts to understand the role of SHGs in the financial inclusion of rural women and their economic independence-pertaining issues in accessing credit, savings pattern, decision-making levels, and options for livelihood. Based on secondary data, case studies, and other existing literature, the paper attempts to highlight SHG's strength-building, client's financial literacy, and enhancement of social capital. The paper establishes that SHGs act as a medium of empowerment and inclusion but still pose questions like sustainability, capacity building, and linkage to formal credit mechanisms for the future. It finally prescribes some policy frameworks through which the existing SHG approach can be fortified for inclusive rural development and empowerment of women.