Combatting Gender Oppression: Applying Intersectionality in Microfinance Self-help Groups

Microfinance studies indicate the varied impacts of access to credit on women and suggest the need for programmes to address the diversity of women. An intersectional approach offers contextualised understanding of inequality for different women. This study investigated the provision of credit to women via the self-help group (SHG) model, implemented by a women’s non-government organisation in Gujarat, India. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis and non-participant observation. The programme’s utilisation of an intersectional approach was associated with the generation of indepth knowledge on forms of oppression affecting different SHG women. Such knowledge was important for the incorporation of programme objectives and strategies which were responsive to the concerns and needs of different women in the programme. As such, programme agendas and priorities must be informed by the self-articulated concerns of women themselves, reaffirming the need for donors to support bottom-up approaches.