Abstract
In this article, we explore the impacts and implications of ‘Rojiroti’, a women’s self-help group (SHG) microfinance scheme operating in poor communities in Bihar, India. We focus particularly on how improvements found in women’s circumstances and in children’s health might result from Rojiroti SHG membership. Through data from 5 focus groups and 19 individual interviews with women in communities where Rojiroti operates, we discover how the scheme is regarded and how it affects women’s management of household budgets. Moreover, we explore the relational aspects of SHG microfinance and the ways that it can alter family and social dynamics. Drawing on notions of ‘earmarked’ money and ‘safeguarded’ money, we argue that the money itself has meaning and non-pecuniary value in the form of other currencies, including power and agency, which can lead to the improved well-being and health of families.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 442-461 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Sociological Research Online |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 27 Jan 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors gratefully acknowledge the AHRC-MRC Global Public Health Partnership, which generously funded this research. Award number MC_PC_MR/R024596/1.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
Keywords
- children’s health
- India
- microfinance
- self-help groups
- social meanings of money
- women’s status
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
Access to Document
- Daily bread: women’s self-help microfinance and the social meanings of money
Copyright 2022 The Authors This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.