Microcredit and Women’s Empowerment. Does Microcredit Promote the Borrowers to Participate in the Household Decision-making Process in Bangladesh?

Type Thesis or Dissertation - Academic Dissertation
Title Microcredit and Women’s Empowerment. Does Microcredit Promote the Borrowers to Participate in the Household Decision-making Process in Bangladesh?
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2016
URL http://tampub.uta.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/99815/978-952-03-0221-4.pdf?sequence=1
Abstract
Women’s empowerment has become a global phenomenon in the contemporary discourse of development. Inclusive governance, sustainable development, poverty alleviation and reduction of gender discrimination are not possible in any country unless and until women are included and associated with mainstream development. Women’s participation in their household’s decision-making process is a cornerstone of their empowerment. In recent decades, micro-credit has gained enormous importance as one of the key tools of women’s empowerment in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, microcredit operations now provide support mostly to the poor and to women involved in informal activities mostly household related. Microcredit programs also offer skill-based training to supplement efficiency, organizational support, and awareness-raising to empower the disadvantaged women. Although, the literature on microcredit highlights its potential to empower women in Bangladesh, there are also contradictory findings and controversial successes and failures. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between microcredit and women’s empowerment i.e. how participation in microcredit programs effect borrowers’ abilities to participate in their household’s decisionmaking process. Specifically, this study asks: does microcredit promote borrowers’ participation in their household’s decision-making process, especially in the areas of education, health, savings, and marriage?

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