The existence of self-help groups (SHGs) are truly helping rural women to develop and empower themselves in an economical and social matter.
What DISHA does with the members of these groups is to con duct their meetings, teaches and trains them to the goals and goods of this membership. The main aim is to provide woman with the necessary tools so that they’ll be able to organize and control their own money, which builds their capacity and skills of accounting and financial management. And by these funds, each member are able to ask for a loan, and by that, they are capable to improve their living conditions or to acquire some utilities that will help them to be more self-dependent. We also have a Federation Meeting which is formed by the representatives of each SHG who chooses to be part of this federation, where the great majority is women. The federation funds management is the same as the SHG, but in a bigger dimension and focused in the women. Here women discuss women issues and what they face in the society, in a social, economical and cultural way.
These meetings are helping women to feel more confident with themselves since they are building new knowledge and becoming less dependent on man, through this, they are also now starting to stand up for their rights and to speak out in front of a audience. Through meetings, seminars and in a local area, DISHA gives information and training social-legal-gender issues, with the aim to spread awareness for changing the mindset of people towards the women in indian society, so that the status of women in the family and community can improve.
Since we encourage women to empower themselves, we also support and help them to an enterprise development in a business that they want to start to develop, and help self employee to obtain welfare facilities, as well as beedi workers.