Women's Self-Help Groups, Poverty Alleviation and Empowerment

In its strategy for poverty alleviation and women empowerment, the government of Andhra Pradesh has provided considerable space for women�s self-help groups. What are the characteristics of the women-based group models of poverty alleviation and women empowerment that are being implemented in the state? How are the poor women organised into groups? How do the groups function? And what has been the contribution of these models to poverty alleviation and women empowerment? This paper attempts to address some of these issues.