Going back to the basics: the theory of change

Family of a member of SHG 

This idea of giving women power sounds compelling. But how does it really work? This blogpost will walk you through my understanding of the process. Please note that although it is informed by my work with TRI, SRIJAN and IMAGO, it doesn't describe the official theory of change of either organization.
It all starts with vulnerable women and their families in rural india: those with the lowest wealth that belong to backward or scheduled castes.  Grasroot NGOs like Srijan contact these women, and encourage them to form Self Help Groups (SHG).  They guide the establishment of these groups, showing them how to elect a leader, monitor participation, and how important it is to particpate regularly. Importantly, the SHG serve as a safe space for women where they question their staus-quo. An important component of SHG is financial inclusion: by belonging to SHG, women access group savings and credits. This serves as an incentive for women to join SHG and for their families to allow them to participate. Additionally, it shows members that they are powerful if they work together. The SHG empower women: members see that they face similar problems, they treat each other as equals and with respect, they see that they can reach a better life when working together.  They gain three types of agency:

1. Personal agency, which is related to have autonomy to go out of the house by themeselves; the possibility to think by themeselves; and a decrease in the domestic violence for instance. 
2. Economic agency,  seen by women getting jobs, having income of their own that they can spend, making decisions regarding sales of purchase of assets in their household, etc.
3. Political agency, which is associated to getting involved in politics by voting, participating in Grahm Sabha meetings, etc.

This agency improves the public service provision of goods and services in a way that responds to the needs of rural families that are in backward tribes or castes. Ideally, this would lead to better welfare (health, education, income, etc.) for the most vulnerable families.

Simplified version of TRI's theory of change