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The Role of Self-Help Groups in Women's Economic Empowerment: A Study of District Bandipora, Jammu & Kashmir

Author(s) Umar Ali, Nasir Ahmad Zargar
Country India
Abstract Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are a leading grassroots mechanism for advancing women's economic empowerment across rural India, yet district-specific evidence from the Kashmir Valley remains scarce. This paper examines the role of SHGs in women's economic empowerment in District Bandipora, a hilly, agrarian, Muslim-majority district with comparatively low female literacy and workforce participation. Using a descriptive-cum-analytical design combining secondary district data with a structured primary survey framework administered across SHGs affiliated with the Jammu & Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) under UMEED, the study evaluates changes in income, savings, asset ownership, credit access, and household decision-making before and after SHG membership, using descriptive statistics, a paired t-test, and correlation analysis. Findings indicate a statistically significant rise in average income and savings and a marked shift from informal moneylenders to formal, SHG-linked credit, alongside a moderate but real improvement in women's decision-making participation. Social and mobility-related empowerment gains remain smaller than economic gains, and membership duration correlates positively with overall empowerment scores. The paper concludes that SHGs have made a measurable contribution to women's economic agency in Bandipora, but that this potential is constrained by weak market linkages, seasonal connectivity disruption, limited product diversification, and residual patriarchal norms. Recommendations include strengthening market linkages, digital and financial literacy training, convergence with UMEED/NRLM frameworks, and targeted support for newer and remote SHG clusters to close the gap between economic and social empowerment outcomes.
Keywords Self-Help Groups (SHGs); Women's Economic Empowerment; Microfinance; Bandipora; JKRLM; UMEED; NRLM; Jammu and Kashmir; Rural Livelihoods.
Published In Volume 7, Issue 5, May 2026
Published On 2026-05-08
DOI https://doi.org/10.70528/IJLRP.v7.i5.2356
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