THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVES IN FOSTERING THE RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Abstract

Women empowerment is imperative to the socio-economic well-being of not only women but also the future generation of a nation. On the other hand, cooperatives: the "silent giants", are independent social entities with closer proximity by rural women. Despite the long-lasting importance and its greater recognition of both aspects in the economic pursuit, hardly a single study has tested the contribution of cooperatives in boosting women empowerment in the context of rural women. Thus, the present study examines the contribution of cooperatives, in particular their social, economic, political, and environmental contributions, towards inspiring rural women empowerment. A randomly drawn sample of 2600 female members representing 152 Sri Lankan cooperative societies covering all the rural administrative districts (except Jaffna) was surveyed. The guided survey was instrumentalized with a self-administrative questionnaire of 50 items. The results generated empirical evidence on the cooperatives' critical role in enhancing rural women empowerment. Notably, the social, economic, political, and environmental contributions find crucial in affecting the economic, social and political empowerment of rural women. However, the study fails to generate sound evidence to support the role of age, level of education, and experience on the established relationships. Implications are drawn to promote the awareness and engagement of rural women while enhancing functions and diversity of activities on the part of policymakers.