Collective Action, Envisioning the Future and Women’s Self-help Groups: A Case Study from South India

Abstract

In this article, I discuss women’s perceptions of and experiences with self-help groups and collective action in two agricultural communities in Tamil Nadu, India. Focusing on women’s social and political activities, particularly in terms of the struggle for the approval and construction of a new road, I argue that in these communities, self-help groups offered a conceptual space that encouraged collective actions, and contributed to processes of change in the ways women perceived and experienced their personal power and their social positions within their households and communities. I demonstrate how these groups offered a way for members to add their voices to political struggles and articulate their visions of the future, even as they recognised everyday gender inequities.