Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that women ‘s self-help groups (SHGs) should take the leadership of the movement for social change in the State. Women self-help groups will be made a movement of women empowerment. Poverty will be eliminated by linking the women members of these self-help groups with employment.
Women self-help-groups have become leaders of social change in the State. Chief Minister Chouhan was addressing a women self-help group convention here at the CM House on Monday.
Women members of self-help-groups constituted under Madhya Pradesh State Rural livelihood Mission took part in the convention. Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargav was present at the convention.
Chouhan said that the one lakh 69 thousand self-help-groups working in the State under the livelihood Mission should work with commitment to eliminate the stigma of poverty from the State. The movement of the women self-help groups of Madhya Pradesh will set an example all over the world. Women from the self-help groups have developed leadership capacity in the livelihood Mission. All poor women of the State will be linked to self-help groups. A strategy for distribution and publicity of the products made by the self-help groups will be made. A suggestion to give the work of manufacturing school uniforms to these self-help groups would be considered. Arrangement to purchase self-help-group products will be made in government purchase. Place for self-help groups products will be fixed in big shopping malls. Difficulties faced by self-help groups in procuring loans from banks and finance from micro finance companies would be removed. He urged women members that they should pay special attention to the education of their children. The State Government has initiated the Medhavi Vidyarthi Yojana under which the Government will pay the fees of children who secure more than 75 per cent marks in 12th for their admission in higher education institutions. Women self-help-group convention will be organised in all districts.
Women members of self-help groups put forth their viewpoint, discussed their activities, difficulties being faced by them and gave suggestions during an informal discussion in the programme. The women members said that buildings should be constructed in the villages for meeting of self-help groups. One day should be fixed in banks for women of self-help groups to withdraw funds. Bank sakhi should be appointed in all banks. livelihood Mission products should be known by a specific name in the market. Names of daughters should be added in land rights. Computer training facility should be provided for self-help groups.