Women’s empowerment

GBS has been implementing number of activities for empowering the rural women of backward castes and classes with focus on awareness and education, protection of human rights, prevention of violence against women and girls and making them economically self reliance etc.

It mobilizes the poor rural women to form Self Help Groups (SHG) and motivate them to make small savings and deposit in the Bank accounts opened in the name of their groups. Ten to 15 women form such a group, elect a president, treasurer and secretary unanimously. Also they decide several other things i.e. amount of saving to be collected every month, date of depositing in the Bank, rate of interest to be charged from the members receiving the loan from the group, penalty to be charged on late repayment of loan, date of meeting of the group etc. The SHG can apply for a loan from the local Banks after 6 months for their household needs and invest in some income generating activities.

GBS has formed 200 hundred SHG so far and a project of forming other 250 SHG with support from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

GBS raise awareness among the women members of SHG on their rights, reproductive and sexual health and rights, prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STDs/RTIs etc. It has helped in improving the quality of life of the women extensively.