Self-Help Groups: Alternative Empowerment Strategy for Rural Women in Selected Communities of Edo and Nasarawa States, Nigeria

Abstract

The poor socio-economic condition of rural women in Nigeria is a common knowledge. In efforts at alleviating the situation, rural women have embraced socio-economic associations in Self- Help Groups (SHGs), with the cardinal objective of promoting self-empowerment for selfreliance. The imperative of such associations notwithstanding, studies had focused largely on the role of women in community development, vis-a-vis, on engagement in empowerment for self-reliance, without which contributing meaningfully to community development is not feasible. This deficit is the core problem of this study. As a corollary, the objective of the study is to examine the economy of rural women, using the instrumentality of SHGs, in selected communities in Edo and Nasarawa States, Nigeria. In the primary survey design, 120 villages was purposefully selected from 6 Local Government Areas from each State. A questionnaire was used in eliciting information from the respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study findings reveal that SHGs were instrumental in the empowerment of rural women in the selected communities resulting in enhanced socioeconomic self-reliance and family well-being. The study concluded that the adoption of women's SHGs was a potent instrument for rural women's socio-economic development and self-reliance; and therefore, recommended that spousal encouragement, and the support of the Local Government authorities and NGOs, should be mobilised toward promoting the Groups' existence in the study areas and across Nigeria.