Sociology of Dalit women: a micro-level study of self-help groups in India

This study explores the neoliberal perspective on the social inclusion of women, highlighting the shift from mandatory benefits to the voluntary use of resources. It examines the role of successive governments in promoting women's empowerment through self-esteem, financial inclusion, and social integration, especially for those from marginalized communities. Over four decades, the focus has been on organising women into SHGs as a strategy for financial inclusion and addressing social issues. However, in the last fifteen years, there has been a pivot towards less government intervention, emphasizing self-governance and community involvement. This article presents an empirical study involving 10,213 households from the Scheduled Castes (SCs) across 33 districts in Telangana state, focusing on the functioning of SC Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Using a multi-stage stratified sampling method, households from rural and urban settings were selected. The extensive study examined three questions: (i) whether the socio-economic context of the Dalits is conducive to taking up economic activity; (ii) what the operational dynamics of SHGs are and their impact on economic activities, household welfare, and women's social empowerment; (iii) whether small-scale economic activity could withstand the open market system.