Women Community Based Self-help Groups, Access to Credit and the Effect on the Wellbeing: A Case of Kiambu Sub-County
- March 27, 2021
- Posted by: RSIS
- Categories: Gender and Development Studies, IJRISS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue II, February 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
Anne Muthoni Kinyua1*, Maurice M. Sakwa2
1Department of Development Studies, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
2Senior Lecturer, Department of Development Studies, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Corresponding author*
Abstract: Women play a key role in the development of their households because of their day to interaction with issues, needs, and emergencies. Relying on men as sole bread winner for married women, or acting as sole bread winner for single winner may be difficult, if the women do not take action. Through collective agency, many women especially in informal urban settings and rural set-ups are joining self-help groups to enhance their collective capabilities. This study sought to establish the effect of women self-help group credit access on the member’s wellbeing. The study was undertaken as quantitative survey where a targeted 135 members of the 8 different women Self-Help Groups were interviewed. The study happened during COVID-19 disease period and therefore the questionnaires were sent to the women via a mobile-based online questionnaire. The study received 130 questionnaires representing 96.3% response rate. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The study utilised both descriptive and inferential statistics to generate results. Findings indicate that credit access have a positive effect on family wellbeing. It is recommended that banking solutions be tailored to suit women in self-help groups. Secondly, there is need to mobilise more women to participate in SHGs within their locality.
Key Words: Credit, Women Self-Help Group, Wellbeing, Kiambu sub-county.
I. INTRODUCTION
Women have faced numerous discriminations in the society throughout the history and in some cases, they have been viewed as lesser human beings. The discrimination has included perceiving women as having lower thinking capacity, insecure and vulnerable, lacking freedom from their male counterparts. John Stuart Mills who was a male feminist and philosopher, (1806-1873), explains the notion of discrimination as where people claiming their rights through the protection of law. Thus, since rights exist before law which can be manipulated or changed in a certain direction to fit a particular situation, in most cases men being the law makers, they make sure it is to suit their needs. Women suffrage in Britain was fully declared in 1928 where women rights to vote were interfered with. Therefore, suffrage is interference to voting rights.
