Examining women's empowerment in border area districts through self-help groups: an investigation of Pithoragarh District in Uttarakhand

The objective of this research is to investigate the role of self-help groups (SHGs) in awareness building, capacity building, and in decision-making skills and to measure social empowerment and economic empowerment of women through SHGs in a border area district of India. The study uses qualitative research with descriptive research design for objectives 1, 2 and 3 and quantitative research for objective 4. The collected data is analysed by narrative analysis technique for first three objectives and univariate analysis for fourth objective. The data gathered through semi-structured interviews indicated that most of the women acknowledged that SHGs has a positive impact on awareness building, capacity building and decision-making skills of women. The study also gives evidence of economic empowerment and social empowerment of women through SHGs. The findings of this study would be beneficial for policy makers in other border area districts of Uttarakhand and India.