Women empowerment: in which ways???

[Suman Chowdhury Mony]

Many people including women leaders and social workers are excited about women empowerment in development and under developed country. It is true that in those countries, there have been created many opportunities to empowered women and now women especially poor women of those countries are empowered themselves than last decades. Access in Micro finance and borrowing microcredit and getting working opportunity in garment sectors and another big or small industries or business and other institutions make them financially solvent. Now Micro finance organizations help them to start a small or medium business and by getting these opportunities they can earn and help others to be solvent women.  Now they can income money for themselves and able to contribute in families which wasn’t thinkable in few years ago in development and under developed countries. They also play a good roll in the economic growths of those countries.

 

However, is financially solvencies can only the factor of empowering someone?

 

Maybe not, especially when the person is uneducated.

 

In developing and non-developed countries, most of the poor women are uneducated or have little education. They have no clear idea about law and rights. They are deceived from modern technology in their own life. In addition, they are in the dark about modern and developed countries, societies, and cultures and status and situation of women of those arenas. For this reason, they can’t play a vital roll in decision-making process in their families. Also, can’t use their earned money as their willingness. Only education can change and improve their existing life and livelihood to a beautiful and brightening life.

 

The women business persons who have no education or little education and have no facility or opportunity to learn and use the modern knowledge and training, have also faced the same problem at their small and medium business institutions. Without taking proper education and useful training no one can empower own self. Also no one or organization can empower others.

 

When Micro Finance organizations are lending micro credit to some people (most of them women) then they have only trained the borrowers about their proposed works or projects. However, it is same in garment sectors. But, there are no scopes to educate the workers about several matters that are helpful to smoothly lead their life and empowering themselves.

 

So we should to think, in which way women will be really empowered.

 

If we aren’t able to educate our poor women we can’t fully empowered them. We should teach and instruct them about several subjects that are valuable for their life. If they can’t read and write then teach them how to read and write. They have to aware about their rights and law and encourage playing a vital roll in family’s decision-making process. In this way, our women can really empower themselves.

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Thanks for your posting Suman. Please share an example of how women have used micro credit to finance their business initiative.