Rural women are often the main supporters of their families and have been involved in improving the quality of life for households and communities. Sustainable rural development and poverty reduction is linked to empowering women. Community groups are one mechanism for empowering women and fostering economic development in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. For the poor, the ability to organize and mobilize to solve problems is crucial because collective capability assists in overcoming challenges arising from marginalization and limited resources. Even though considerable work has been done on the impact of institutional support for community groups, it is not well documented how the efforts of women's community groups actually lead to improved socioeconomic wellbeing. The results of the study elucidate the positive impact of female group membership as a mechanism for advancing livelihoods and socio-economic wellbeing. Empowering women's groups as micro-institutions of economic and social advancement is a fundamental tool for improving the well-being of women and their children. The findings are intended to help institutions that work with women groups improve the impact and sustainability of these key mechanisms for development intervention.

中文翻译：

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性别与乡村活力：通过妇女社区团体赋权*

农村妇女往往是家庭的主要支持者，并参与改善家庭和社区的生活质量。可持续农村发展和减贫与赋予妇女权力有关。社区团体是南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省农村地区赋予妇女权力和促进经济发展的一种机制。对于穷人来说，组织和动员解决问题的能力至关重要，因为集体能力有助于克服边缘化和资源有限带来的挑战。尽管在机构支持对社区团体的影响方面已经开展了大量工作，但并没有很好地记录女性社区团体的努力如何实际上导致社会经济福祉的改善。研究结果阐明了女性团体成员身份作为促进生计和社会经济福祉的一种机制的积极影响。赋予妇女团体权力作为经济和社会进步的微型机构是改善妇女及其子女福祉的基本工具。研究结果旨在帮助与妇女团体合作的机构提高这些发展干预关键机制的影响和可持续性。