Women Empowerment Through Microcredit:

Abstract

For the time being, efforts are continued by the different organizations of Bangladesh to empower rural women who were so vulnerable in their premises that no money-lending organization trusted them. For last few decades, microcredit- a collateral free credit support, has been disbursed for the betterment of women and their empowerment. This study investigates the contribution of microcredit in empowering rural women and how the credit beneficiaries are facilitated by nourishing it. The perceptions of female borrowers are also assessed here. Following the mixed method, 42 female credit borrowers of two root level units equally from Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) are selected for the collection of firsthand data while different credible secondary sources are searched for extra information. The study contributes to formulate public and private policy from the updated findings of empowerment and self dependency of women by dint of existing system of microcredit program. The result explores that the female borrowers are capable of increasing their income and savings that entails declining domestic violence. Few of them achieved the ability to participate in different decision making activities of their personal and family affairs. In addition, microcredit helps to improve personal skills, social status, political consciousness and legal awareness of the credit beneficiaries that really strengthen their morale. Finally, the study finds that the women perceive more empowered after the inflow of microcredit in their everyday activities. Therefore, some pragmatic recommendations based on the findings are proposed for better women empowerment of rural area.