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@article{170521,
        author = {B. Radhika and Dr. K. S. Gopala Krishna},
        title = {Stree Shakti Groups – A pathway for women empowerment: A study},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2024},
        volume = {5},
        number = {12},
        pages = {296-300},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=170521},
        abstract = {Existence of Chronic poverty is the major concern for the country and mitigating it has been the core of all developmental efforts. Post independence, several poverty alleviation programmes initiated by the government have resulted in the overall development of the poor but these programmes were not able to achieve the targeted success. Lack of capital and inaccessibility to credit is the serious constraint to the development and inhibits poor from responding to the opportunities created by the process of development. Empowerment of women is the most important means of poverty eradication.  Despite considerable improvement in the status of women post independence, they still constitute the largest section of deprived population. Certain problems such as poverty, illiteracy, lack of skills, availability of proper health care facilities, ignorance etc., which are persistent in rural economy, cannot be tackled individually but could be effectively solved through group efforts.  Hence attacking the problem through collective efforts yields better results. Today such collective group efforts are called as ‘Stree Shakti Groups”, which has become a powerful tool in initiating the change and transforming the lives of crores of poor and marginalized women across the country. Stree Shakti Groups are a small, homogenous affinity group of rural poor, comprising of not more than 20 members each.  These groups represent and foster true democratic culture, wherein all members of the group take active part in decision making. The membership is open, voluntary and group is primarily formed to practice voluntary savings and thrift on a regular basis. SSG programme has been successful in strengthening the collective self-help capacities of rural women leading to their empowerment. Women empowerment is seen as an integral and inseparable part of a wider process of social transformation and converting poor women of villages as role models for change.},
        keywords = {Poverty, Collective effort, Group, Women empowerment, Self Help, Unity.},
        month = {December},
        }