scholarly journals The Intersection of Islamic Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment: A Case Study of Baitul Maal Wat Tamwil in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ninik Sri Rahayu
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Critical Groups ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Organizational Vision ◽  
Islamic Microfinance

It is largely assumed that Islamic microfinance institutions (IMFIs) deal with family empowerment instead of women’s empowerment. However, women are the main beneficiaries of Baitul Maal Wat Tamwil (BMT), Indonesia’s first IMFIs. This paper aims to explore the origins, the initiators, and the visions of BMTs and the extent to which they intersect with women’s empowerment. Employing a qualitative approach, this study selected four BMTs in Yogyakarta as a case study. It found that four critical groups that have a significant role in the development of Indonesian BMTs: ICMI (Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectual), Islamic mass organizations, NGOs, and local governments. The issues of loan sharks and poverty alleviation were the primary factors driving the inception of BMTs. Despite women being crucial clients, none of the studied BMTs explicitly invoked women’s empowerment in their organizational vision. To conclude, the BMTs’ preference for women is not based on an understanding of gender inequality, but rather motivated by pragmatic business considerations, particularly the self-sustainability paradigm that underpins their practices.

scholarly journals Microfinance and Women's Empowerment in Bangladesh: A Study of Competing Logics and Their Implications for Accounting and Accountability Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Farzana Tanima
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Accountability Systems ◽  
Social Logics

<p>This study explores the issues of microfinance and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh, and their implications for accounting and accountability systems. The topic is politically contentious. There are debates about what ‘women’s empowerment’ means, how it fits with the other stated objectives of microfinance, how the success of microfinance should be evaluated, whether women are actually being empowered through microfinance initiatives, and concerns about the accountability of microfinance institutions (Kilby, 2006; Rahman, 1999). My study examines these controversies, drawing and building on Mayoux (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) and the work of others on ‘competing logics’ evident in microfinance theory and practice. In particular, it compares and contrasts ‘economic’ and ‘social’ logics and explores their implications for how accounting and accountability systems are conceptualised and operationalised. In recognition of the dominance of economic logics in traditional accounting, it also responds to calls to develop more multi-dimensional accountings and ways of operationalising proposals for greater social accountability (Bebbington et al., 2007; Brown, 2009; Dillard and Roslender, 2011; Kilby, 2006, 2011; Kindon et al., 2007; Molisa et al., 2012). Through a participatory action research case study, my study focuses on the potential of dialogic accounting and accountability systems to address some of the problems and challenges identified in both gender and development studies and accounting literatures.</p>

Globalization and Women’s Empowerment

2019 ◽  
pp. 100-139
Author(s):  
Margaret A. McLaren
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Economic Exploitation ◽  
Material Goods ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter argues that cooperatives, because of their focus on both overcoming social oppression and economic exploitation, foster both economic and feminist empowerment for women. First, the chapter discusses the neoliberal economic policies of globalization, which have a disproportionately negative impact on women. Because economic and gender inequality often coincide, projects to enhance women’s empowerment have focused on economic empowerment. This narrow definition of women’s empowerment does not address gender inequality and sexist oppression; nor does it take into account structural and social change. Development strategies to redress women’s economic vulnerability include access to microfinance institutions. However, an increase in material goods alone does not challenge the social, economic, and political structures that create poverty and social marginalization. Cooperatives explicitly promote social equality and challenge the individualism underlying other social institutions. Cooperatives intentionally develop leadership, challenge inequality, and foster the collective capacities needed to challenge structural oppression and systemic exploitation.

scholarly journals Microfinance and Women's Empowerment in Bangladesh: A Study of Competing Logics and Their Implications for Accounting and Accountability Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Farzana Tanima
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Accountability Systems ◽  
Social Logics

<p>This study explores the issues of microfinance and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh, and their implications for accounting and accountability systems. The topic is politically contentious. There are debates about what ‘women’s empowerment’ means, how it fits with the other stated objectives of microfinance, how the success of microfinance should be evaluated, whether women are actually being empowered through microfinance initiatives, and concerns about the accountability of microfinance institutions (Kilby, 2006; Rahman, 1999). My study examines these controversies, drawing and building on Mayoux (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) and the work of others on ‘competing logics’ evident in microfinance theory and practice. In particular, it compares and contrasts ‘economic’ and ‘social’ logics and explores their implications for how accounting and accountability systems are conceptualised and operationalised. In recognition of the dominance of economic logics in traditional accounting, it also responds to calls to develop more multi-dimensional accountings and ways of operationalising proposals for greater social accountability (Bebbington et al., 2007; Brown, 2009; Dillard and Roslender, 2011; Kilby, 2006, 2011; Kindon et al., 2007; Molisa et al., 2012). Through a participatory action research case study, my study focuses on the potential of dialogic accounting and accountability systems to address some of the problems and challenges identified in both gender and development studies and accounting literatures.</p>

scholarly journals The Role of Multi-Actor Engagement for Women’s Empowerment and Entrepreneurship in Kerala, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Murale Venugopalan ◽  
Bettina Lynda Bastian ◽  
P. K. Viswanathan
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
International Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Regulatory Change ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Rural And Urban

Entrepreneurship has been increasingly promoted as a means to achieve women’s empowerment in the pursuit of gender equal societies by international development organizations, NGO’s as well as national and local governments across the world. Against this, the paper explores the role and influence of multi-actor engagement on successful empowerment of women based on a case study of Kudumbashree program in a regional context of Kerala, in South India. Our objective is to examine the women empowerment outcomes of the Kudumbashree initiatives, implemented within a multi-actor engagement framework supportive of women’s empowerment through capacity building and social inclusion programs. The case study demonstrates ‘how multiple-level engagements help enhance women’s development and support broad sustainable social change, in view of their sensitivity to the embeddedness of women’s agency under specific socio-political and cultural contexts’. We find that Kudumbashree programs, through its multi-actor engagement, strives for an equilibrium between social change through policy and regulatory change (top down) and social change via mobilizing the people (bottom-up). From a policy angle, the key learnings from the successful outcomes of Kudumbashree may be considered for designing rural and urban community development programs with a focus on the multidimensional empowerment as well as social and economic inclusion of women and other marginalized communities.

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Microfinance - A Case of Rural Bangladesh

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Saida Parvin
Keyword(s):  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Donor Agencies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

Women’s empowerment has been at the centre of research focus for many decades. Extant literature examined the process, outcome and various challenges. Some claimed substantial success, while others contradicted with evidence of failure. But the success remains a matter of debate due to lack of empirical evidence of actual empowerment of women around the world. The current study aimed to address this gap by taking a case study method. The study critically evaluates 20 cases carefully sampled to include representatives from the entire country of Bangladesh. The study demonstrates popular beliefs about microfinance often misguide even the borrowers and they start living in a fabricated feeling of empowerment, facing real challenges to achieve true empowerment in their lives. The impact of this finding is twofold; firstly there is a theoretical contribution, where the definition of women’s empowerment is proposed to be revisited considering findings from these cases. And lastly, the policy makers at governmental and non-governmental organisations, and multinational donor agencies need to revise their assessment tools for funding.

Revolution, Interrupted: Gender and Microfinance in Nicaragua

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight Haase
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Societal Problems

Now reaching over 100 million families, the burgeoning microcredit movement has come to play a dominant role in the international development agenda. This is especially true in Nicaragua, where microcredit has supplanted the Sandinistas’ more radical approaches to poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment. Survey and focus group data from borrowers with seven prominent Nicaraguan microfinance institutions show that women benefit less than men from microcredit because they get smaller loans and they invest those loans in less lucrative businesses. Also, these women are constrained by household responsibilities. These findings call into question neoliberal notions that market forces can solve societal problems such as gender inequality.

scholarly journals KELOMPOK WANITA TANI (KWT) PELANGI KOPI SEBAGAI INOVASI PEMBERDAYAAN JANDA GUNA MENGENTASKAN KEMISKINAN DI DESA GIRI MULYO

KOMUNITAS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
Doli Witro
Keyword(s):  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Women Farmers ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

This paper intends to explore further about the widow empowerment activities carried out by the Women Farmers Group (KWT) located in Giri Mulyo Village, Kayu Aro Barat District, Kerinci Regency. As it is known, KWT Pelangi Kopi aims to improve the lives of the people of Giri Mulyo Village by prioritizing women who are widows. KWT Pelangi Kopi focuses its activities on local agricultural products, such as coffee, oranges, and turquoise eggplants. Agricultural products are processed into various products to sell, so that it can increase the income of the members. This community is important and interesting to study, because the activities / programs they run are closely related to the poverty alleviation agenda and improving people's welfare which is an important agenda of the government, even in all countries in the world. This community has become even more interesting because its members are only women and are also managed by women. Thus, besides being related to poverty and welfare issues, this community is also closely related to women's empowerment.

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