EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN THROUGH FACEBOOK GROUPS: A CASE STUDY

A large percentage of women in India are homemakers and spend most of their time doing household chores which do not result in any additional income. Empowering these women by helping them achieve financial independence is an effective strategy to boost the Indian economy. Social Media, today, has become a popular medium for commercial marketing. The easy accessibility, and wide connectivity has allowed people to network with multiple people residing in different locations by just one click. Social media networking sites, especially Facebook, have provided women, who prefer to work from home, a platform to start their own business from the comfort of their homes. This paper explores and describes how these exclusive women-centric Facebook groups have become a popular medium through which housewives and other women have achieved economic stability by selling a variety of products online. These groups have provided a safe place for the women to conduct transactions without the fear of being duped or maltreated. The detailed case-study of one of the groups shows in-detail how such groups function effectively. The role of these Facebook groups in empowering women and their advantages are then discussed.