scholarly journals The influence of culture on ethnic women's use of microfinance for empowerment in Luang Namtha Province, Laos

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Souasong Tongnamavong
Keyword(s):  
National Curriculum ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Access To Finance ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
National Approach

<p>The empowerment of women is essential but remains challenging globally. It has been supported by microfinance projects, particularly in recent decades across poor countries. Yet the contribution of microfinance to women’s empowerment remains controversial given the complexity of empowerment itself. It is commonly acknowledged that empowerment starts from within individuals themselves. It is also acknowledged that culture plays a significant role in women’s empowerment. Despite these acknowledgements, the complexities remain unclear in the Lao context which is the target of this study. This study examines the contribution of microfinance to the empowerment of women in Laos with a focus on the elements of culture. It is based on a feminist perspective, with a focus on a personal empowerment conceptual framework which enables the core values of empowerment to be examined. The examination is undertaken by employing semistructured interviews and focus groups for data collection with three ethnic groups in northern Laos, namely Hmong, Khmu and Tai-Yuan, participating in the Access to Finance for the Poor (AFP) project. The results show that the approach of the AFP project tends to meet women’s practical needs rather than their strategic needs. This is because the project’s approach appears to be influenced by the national approach of Laos in which the provision of opportunities for women is emphasised. It is also because ethnic women’s participation in the project is driven by so many practical needs that it makes their strategic needs invisible. The results also revealed that the women’s strategic needs are diverse, due to their particular culture and traditions. The results showed several gaps in the empowerment of women in the country. If these gaps are to be closed, there is a need for efforts from many stakeholders, particularly in the education sector, as the gender agenda needs to be integrated into its national curriculum.  Keywords: women’s empowerment, microfinance, village banks, culture, Laos</p>

scholarly journals The influence of culture on ethnic women's use of microfinance for empowerment in Luang Namtha Province, Laos

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Souasong Tongnamavong
Keyword(s):  
National Curriculum ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Access To Finance ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
National Approach

<p>The empowerment of women is essential but remains challenging globally. It has been supported by microfinance projects, particularly in recent decades across poor countries. Yet the contribution of microfinance to women’s empowerment remains controversial given the complexity of empowerment itself. It is commonly acknowledged that empowerment starts from within individuals themselves. It is also acknowledged that culture plays a significant role in women’s empowerment. Despite these acknowledgements, the complexities remain unclear in the Lao context which is the target of this study. This study examines the contribution of microfinance to the empowerment of women in Laos with a focus on the elements of culture. It is based on a feminist perspective, with a focus on a personal empowerment conceptual framework which enables the core values of empowerment to be examined. The examination is undertaken by employing semistructured interviews and focus groups for data collection with three ethnic groups in northern Laos, namely Hmong, Khmu and Tai-Yuan, participating in the Access to Finance for the Poor (AFP) project. The results show that the approach of the AFP project tends to meet women’s practical needs rather than their strategic needs. This is because the project’s approach appears to be influenced by the national approach of Laos in which the provision of opportunities for women is emphasised. It is also because ethnic women’s participation in the project is driven by so many practical needs that it makes their strategic needs invisible. The results also revealed that the women’s strategic needs are diverse, due to their particular culture and traditions. The results showed several gaps in the empowerment of women in the country. If these gaps are to be closed, there is a need for efforts from many stakeholders, particularly in the education sector, as the gender agenda needs to be integrated into its national curriculum.  Keywords: women’s empowerment, microfinance, village banks, culture, Laos</p>

scholarly journals Micro-finance and Women Empowerment

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Puspa Raj Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Economic Status ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Household Decision ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Credit Programs ◽  
Small Change ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Micro Credit

This paper examines the effects of women’s participation in group-based micro-credit pro-grams on a large set of qualitative responses to questions that characterize women’s autonomy and gender relations within the household. The data come from a special survey carried out in hill and tarai in 2004-2006 of Nepal. The results are consistent with the view that women’s participation in micro-credit programs helps to increase women’s empowerment. Credit program participation leads to women taking a greater role in household decision-making, having greater access to financial and economic resources, having greater social networks, having greater bargaining power compared with their husbands, and having greater freedom of mobility. Female credit also tended to increase spousal communication in general about family planning and parenting concerns. Ecologically, the higher impact on women’s empowerment was noticed in terai. The reason may be relatively lower social and economic status of terai women at the time of program initiation compared to that of hills. As a result, even a small change in their status would get reflected distinctly. The Journal of Nepalese Business Studies Vol. IV, No. 1 (2007) pp. 16-27

scholarly journals The Influence of Sunflower Commercialisation and Diversity on Women's Empowerment: The Case of Iramba and Mkalama Districts, Singida Region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devotha B. Mosha ◽  
John Jeckoniah ◽  
Aida Isinika ◽  
Gideon Boniface
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Cash Crop ◽  
Cash Crops ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
And Control

There is a growing body of literature that argues that normally women derive little benefit from cash crops. Some of the barriers leading to women having less benefit from cash crop value chains include cultural norms and power differences in access to, and control over, resources among actors in value chains. It is also argued that women’s participation in different forms of collective action help women to increase benefits to them through their increased agency, hence enabling them to utilise existing and diverse options for their empowerment. This paper explores how women have benefited from their engagement in sunflower commercialisation and how culture has influenced changes in access to, and control over, resources, including land, for their empowerment.

scholarly journals Empowerment of Women for Ukhuwah Islamiyah Through Strategies of Jam'iyah Annajah at Tanjungkarang Jati Kudus

2019 ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Muzdalifah Muzdalifah
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Economic Sector ◽  
Religious Knowledge ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Religious Tourism

This research aims to find the empowerment of women through dakwah strategy of Jamiyah Annajah at Tanjungkarang Jati Kudus. The focus of the problem is 1). Perception of women's empowerment, 2). Da'wah strategies used for fostering ukhuwah islamiyah, 3). The results of women's empowerment. Qualitative research methods by collecting data using observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis techniques using the model of Miles and Huberman. The results of the study showed that: 1) women's empowerment is an effort to provide opportunities for women to be able to develop their potential, abilities,  and skills so that they are more advanced and utilized for the family and society at large, 2). The da'wah strategy is carried out by the Annajah jamiyah management in Tanjungkarang Jati Kudus through various activities in the education, social and economic fields. First, empowering the education sector, namely the reading of Yasin and Tahlil, al Barjanzi and Yasin Fadilah, tahtimul quran, commemoration of Islamic holidays (Maulid of the Prophet, Isro 'Mi'roj), parenting and health education, religious tourism; the second is empowerment in the social field, namely quarterly meetings for the management of jamiyah, takziyah and tahlil in the families of jamiyah members for 3 days, donors every month at the Al-Karim mosque in Tanjungkarang village, donors every month in the construction of Muslimat KB and TK Tholibin Tanjungkarang, visit members jamiyah Annajah who was sick and social services for flood victims in Tanjungkarang village in 2014; thirdly, empowerment in the economic sector, namely making calendars at the end of the year, distributing zakat fitrah to the poor and orphans once a year, and donors every month for orphan compensation. 3) The results of empowerment in the form of increasing awareness of religious knowledge for life, increasing solidarity for others namely ukhuwah islamiyah

scholarly journals Do women’s empowerment and socioeconomic status predict the adequacy of antenatal care? A cross-sectional study in five South Asian countries

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e043940
Author(s):  
Asibul Islam Anik ◽  
Md Rashedul Islam ◽  
Md Shafiur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Antenatal Care ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Poor

ObjectivesRelative to the attention given to improving the measurement of adequacy of antenatal care (ANC) in South Asian (SA) region, the influence of women’s empowerment and socioeconomic status (WESES) on adequate ANC services has hardly received any attention. This study aimed to investigate the present scenario of adequacy of ANC in SA and how its adequacy was associated with WESES.Setting and participantsUsing the Demographic and Health Survey data set of five SA countries, that is, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, 48 107 women were selected in this study who received at least one ANC component and had at least one live birth in the 3 or 5 years preceding the survey.AnalysisMultilevel logistic regression models were used to investigate the relationship between adequacy of ANC and WESES.ResultsOnly 30% women received adequate ANC in SA, ranging from 8.4% (95% CI 7.1% to 9.9%) in Afghanistan to 39.8% (95% CI 37.4% to 42.2%) in Nepal. The poor utilisation of adequate ANC services was most prevalent among the women residing in rural areas and that of poor families as well as low empowerment status in SA countries. Different levels of WESES, that is, highly empowered but poor (adjusted OR (AOR): 1.33; 95% CI 1.18 to 1.49), lowly empowered but rich (AOR: 2.07; 95% CI 1.84 to 2.32) and highly empowered and rich women (AOR: 3.07; 95% CI 2.75 to 3.43), showed significant positive association with adequate ANC services than the poor and low empowered women, after adjusting the potential covariates.ConclusionAs unsatisfactory level of adequate ANC services has been observed in SA region, this study suggests a nationwide comprehensive improvement of women’s empowerment status as well as establishment of necessary healthcare centres in remote areas is essential to ensure long-term and sustainable adequacy of ANC services.

scholarly journals The challenges of empowering Kuwaiti women in light of the current political changes: تحديات تمكين المرأة الكويتية في ضوء التغيرات السياسية الحالية

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nouf Nashmi Hassan Al Ajmi
Keyword(s):  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
The State ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Political Empowerment ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Descriptive Approach ◽  
The State Of Kuwait ◽  
Islamic View

This study was conducted under the title of "The Challenges of the Kuwaiti women's empowerment in the light of the current political changes", which aims to clarify the women's empowerment issue in the State of Kuwait, through the identification of the role of the State of Kuwait in the empowerment of women at all levels and to identify the most prominent problems that facing women in the Kuwaiti state. To achieve the objective of this study the researcher used the descriptive approach, by reviewing previous researches and studies relevant to this study topic. At the end of the study the researcher summarized that the main obstacles that stand in front of the Kuwaiti women's empowerment is the customs and traditions of the wrong understanding of religion, as well as the emergence of political empowerment in particular as one of the most common types of empowerment that lacks Kuwaiti women. Therefore, the researcher has worked on finding a set of recommendations designed to increase the empowerment of women, including to conduct several relevant seminars that illustrate the essential role of women, in addition to explain the Islamic view towards women's participation in various critical positions.

scholarly journals Do Access to Finance, Technical Know-How, and Financial Literacy Offer Women Empowerment Through Women’s Entrepreneurial Development?

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anselme Andriamahery ◽  
Md. Qamruzzaman
Keyword(s):  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Access To Finance ◽  
Know How ◽  
Entrepreneurial Development

The motivation of the study is to gauge the effects of access to finance, technical know-how, and financial literacy on women’s empowerment through establishing women’s entrepreneurial development. A sample of 950 women-owned SMEs was considered, and structured questionnaires were sent from getting target responses. After careful assessment through the data cleansing procedure, it was found that only 795 responses are suitable for further investigation, implying the sample response rate for the study is 74.71%. The study implemented structural equation modeling and multivariate regression analysis for gauging the causal association that is direct and indirect effects of target variables. According to findings, a positive statistically significant linkage was revealed with women’s entrepreneurship sustainability and women empowerment. Furthermore, the mediating effects were also established for women’s empowerment. According to the study findings, it is suggested that for women entrepreneurship sustainability, effective policies surrounding financing accessibility, technical knowledge expansion, and financial understating have to be promulgated in the economy, which allows bringing women empowerment at large.

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