Women Empowerment through Self Help Groups: Problems and Prospects in Ethiopia

Abstract

Women empowerment is a process in which women are facing numerous challenges with existing norms and cultural values to promote their wellbeing of the life. In this contemporary scenario, the participation of women in self-help groups made impacts on their empowerment in social as well as economic aspects. The purpose of the study addresses the issues relating to women empowerment through Self-help groups in Ethiopia. The primary and secondary data were collected for the study purpose. The main objective of the study is to identify the problems and prospects of rural women and analyze the factors contributing to the socio-economic status of rural women. The data were collected from the member of SHGs in Amhara Region using a structured questionnaire. Percentage analysis, one sample t-test, and factor analysis were used to find out the problems and prospects of women SHGs. For the study purpose, 262 women SHGs were selected using purposive sampling. Women SHGs helps for self-reliance through building up of small business through income and employment generation which is an important indicator for women empowerment.