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M i c r o c r e d i t A p p r o a c h o f Wo m e nDevelopment: A Case of Nepal
Guneshwor OJHA

Introduction
Inequality resulting from poverty is a matter of concern among researchersand development organizations from human development perspectives. There
are various discourses on poverty in the developed as well developing countries.
The latest discourse on human development are influenced by people likeAmartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum who are critical of the dominant trend oflooking at human development through the tools of economics like GDP, GNP
and economic growth rate. Nussbaum argues that such tools do not capture theground realities of people living in poverty and the discrimination faced by
women. “Sen and I argue that if we ask not about GNP only, but about what
people are actually able to do and to be, we come much closer to understanding
the barriers societies have erected against full justice for women and the poor,” 1
remarks Nussbaum in extrapolating the concept of capability, scholars like her
and Sen have been presenting as a new way of addressing poverty. She further
says, “Growth is a bad indicator of life quality because it fails to tell us how
deprived people are doing; women figure in the argument as people who areoften unable to enjoy the fruits of a nation’s general prosperity.” 2
The concept of capability in development discourse is relatively new and is
yet to witness practical implementation. Women’s empowerment became apopular concept for the development of women. Microcredit is a dominant toolin practice on women’s empowerment. Of the various tools suggested forfighting women’s poverty and their empowerment such as: institutional reforms,
literacy classes and structural changes, microcredit approach is wide spreada nd favored by development orga nizations, I / NGOs a nd even states indeveloping countries. After examining women’s empowerment from its origin toseveral various implications in practice, this article concludes how women’s
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empowerment as practiced, and discussed in literature as of today is far fromrealizing its true aspiration. To do so, we begin by looking at the term
‘empowerment’ itself.

Ⅰ. Empowerment
Empowerment is a popular term in many disciplines ranging from economics,
religion, political science to sociology and anthropology. However, literature
dealing with it agrees that empowerment has to do with power. Those tracing
the etymology of ‘empowerment’ link it with the manifestation of power withreference to Jo Rowlands, as: power over, power to, power with and power
within. Power over is referred to as the power to control others; power to is
mentioned as the power that “creates new possibilities and actions without
domination,” power with is understood as the combined power of a group that isgreater than the power of an individual, and power within is referred to thespiritual power in a person. 3 Regarding power, Foucault says, “Power must, I
think, be analyzed as something that circulates, or rather as something thatfunctions only when it is part of a chain. It is never localized here or there, it isnever in the hands of some, and it is never appropriated in the way that wealthor a commodity can be appropriated. Power functions. Power is exercisedthrough networks, and individuals do not simply circulate in those networks;
they are in a position to both submit to and exercise this power.” 4 In a morepractical tone, Batliwala (2013) defines power, “…as the degree of control overmaterial, human and intellectual resources exercised by different sections of asociety. These resources fall into four broad categories: physical resources (likeland, water, forests); human resources (people, their bodies, their labour andskills); intellectual resources (knowledge, information, ideas); and financial
resources (money, access to money).” 5
There is no universally accepted definition of empowerment though someauthors have come up with their own definitions while others are cautious due
to multifaceted aspects of the term and therefore avoid defining it.6 Literatureon empowerment view it as being a process where an individual or a group/
community undergoes a change from the state of being powerless to having
access to and the ability to exercise it. Naila Kabeer’s definition is popular in52

Microcredit Approach of Women Development: A Case of Nepal

literature discussing empowerment. According to Kabeer, “…empowerment isabout change, it refers to the expansion in people's ability to make strategic life
choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them.” 7 Thus,
empowerment implies to a shift in the position of a community and theindividuals in it so that they have greater control of their lives in diverse fields
such as economic, social or political, among others. 8 Empowerment as a process
is a means of overcoming oppression or a journey of unequal communities/groups in a society where the march is towards achieving an egalitarian stage.9
The state of empowerment or disempowerment is relational among its members
in a society.
Empowerment, in sociology implies to a process where those oppressed or
those disadvantaged strive to get more share of power and get rid of theirconstricted position. Empowerment as a process involves different stages.
Empowerment of an oppressed person starts with her position of powerlessness.
This state of powerlessness needs to have conscientization where she becomesaware of her oppressed state and connects with other who had similar
experiences. The next stage is followed by interpretation. At this state theoppressed people share their daily experiences and compare their relation with
pat r ia rchy. They ex pa nd t hei r k nowledge a nd ca n ex plore mea ns fortransformation of their position. These women then develop their group/shared
identity. The final state is of mobilization where the group members areengaged in activities towards their empowerment.10
Empowerment is an established notion in women’s development discourse. In
women’s empowerment and women’s development, it can sometimes be
confusing as to what is the means and what is the end. However, researchers
h a v e p o i nt e d o u t t h a t e m p ow e r m e nt i s a m e a n s o r t o o l o f wo m e n’s
d e v e l o p m e nt . 1 1 T h u s , w o m e n’s d e v e l o p m e nt e n c o m p a s s e s w o m e n’s
empowerment.

1. From women’s development to women’s empowerment
Since empowerment has to do with power relation and it is about addressing
the situation of an oppressed section of a society, empowerment is closely
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related with gender issues. Gender aspect in development was first revealed bya Danish Economist, Ester Boserup in her work Women’s Role in Economic
Development published in 1970.12 According to Boserup prior to development
efforts by the west in the post-colonial African (and other third world) countries
women had more of a n ega l it a r ia n posit ion w it h ma les t h rough t hei r
involvement in agriculture. With development activities, technology designed tosuit males, priority over cash crop and land reforms were to the advantage ofmales reducing females to subordination. 13 Also women’s work was not
acknowledged and that women were excluded from development drive.14
Boserup’s work was influential in shifting the UN’s perception on womenfrom beneficiaries of development to the agents of development. Thus, the “UN
declared the International Year of Women 1975 and Decade for Women (19761985)” as a measure to include women into the mainstream of development.15
For the UN and other development organizations, the economic aspect ofwomen became of paramount concern. The UN and development organizations
p erc eive d m icro cre d it a s t he pa n ac e a for women’s development a nd
empowerment. Poor women were left out of formal economy since banks would
not loan them money. Therefore, the microcredit practice where women groups
could have access to loans without collateral was most appealing to the UN anddevelopment organizations. “Microcredit became the way to place poor womenon the economic superhighway - as if this one intervention could provide thegood life for women living in poverty.” 16 Microcredit as a tool of women’s
empowerment shall be discussed in a later section. But before doing so, it seems
pertinent here to discuss the idea of women’s empowerment itself.
The term women’s empowerment surfaced in the 1970s among feminists andwomen organizations. However, it was only in 1990s that the term gained
currency.17 It has become a catch phrase among development workers andfeminist activists seeking to address the disadvantaged situation of women or to
bridge gender gap. Women empowerment does not have a universal definitionand has several implications. In their attempt to define and interpret women’s
empowerment, some research works focus on the economic aspect of women’s
position and some on socio-political position or structural aspects of a society.
Some works hold that sharpening the critical faculty in women with an ability
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to analyze their situation in relation to their environment is important for
empowerment. However, it is perceived as a tool to fight against oppression of
women or as a means for women’s advancement towards greater freedom.
Similarly, “some organizations working on women’s empowerment believe inindividual empowerment, whereas others believe in collective empowerment of
women in order to create an egalitarian society.” 18 Improving the economic
status of women has been one of the priority areas of women’s empowerment.
From the perspective of income generating programs, women’s empowerment isdefined as “…an enhanced personal and collective position, in subjective and/or
objective terms, where they realize, and have recognized, fully or partly,
equality in their rights and responsibilities, and as a result, are able toparticipate, both at home and in public, in the decision making process that
affect their lives.” 19 Research works suggest that women’s empowerment isrooted on t he t heor y of conscient izat ion propou nded by t he Bra zilia n
educationalist, Paulo Freire. 20 They hold that women’s empowerment is possible
once women are aware of their oppressed situation or of their position in theirenvironment. This could help women to take necessary steps that would
ultimately empower them. Researchers believe that education as part ofconcientization plays an important role in women’s empowerment. Women firstneed to develop the sense of being critical to their environment by locating
their position in their society. The argument is that women’s subordination islargely because they have internalized patriarchal ideology and belief. Sincemany factors are at play in forcing women’s subordination such as social norms,
values, religion, ideology, politics – which are mostly male centric and controlled
by males, developing a critical ability by women to analyze different social
variables is important for their empowerment. As such, “Empowerment comesthrough recognition of messages previously internalized as truth that had
served to rob women of their sense of self and to limit their aspirations. Withknowledge, skills and confidence, women will be able to bring about real change
in the way women are viewed and treated in their society.” 21That is to say, as long as women are not critical of their situation they do notchallenge the status quo and continue to be submissive to the dictates ofpatriarchy. 22 Or even if women realize their oppressed state and long for
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freedom, since patriarchy is ingrained in their mind, they are confused overtheir state. They long for freedom but are not sure about it and are afraid to go
for it thinking that their desire is not valid. Thus, they become victims of double
oppression: of patriarchy and their own clouded mind. 23 Therefore, many
development programs or I/NGOs in the third world countries as part ofwomen empowerment are engaged in adult literacy classes along with income
generating activities. Such programs are held in late evenings so that womenare relieved of their domestic chores to attend the classes. In such classes,
women are encouraged to nurture self-reflection by discussing words like“water” or “contraception” that affect their life. 24 Having realized their situation
the goals of women empowerment then remain, “to challenge patriarchal
ideology (male domination and women’s subordination); to transform thestructures and institutions that reinforce and perpetuate gender discriminationand social inequality (the family, caste, class, religion, educational processes andinstitutions, the media, health practices and systems, laws and civil codes,
political process, development models, and government institutions); and toenable poor women to gain access to, and control of, both material andinformational resources.” 25
Just like power itself, women empowerment is also multi-dimensional.
Research works on women empowerment speak of various approaches toachieve it ranging from raising critical awareness on women, to institutionalchange (policies/laws) and political mobilization and collective action forstructural change. 26 Research on women’s empowerment as an outcome of aprocess, stresses the change in the condition of women; both internal, that is in
their attitude and also the outcome where they are able to overcome thebarriers of gender restrictions. A definition of women’s empowerment
encompassing its multidimensional aspects is offered by Batliwala (2013) as,“Women’s empowerment is thus the process, and the outcome of the process, bywhich women gain greater control over material and intellectual resources, andchallenge the ideology of patriarchy and gender-based discrimination of womenin all the institution and structures of society.” 27Thus, women’s empowerment is about reconfiguring power relation in asociety so that women through self-realization, in a gender friendly environment
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come out of the cocoon of patriarchy that has captivated them. Writers like
Batliwala cautions that the drive for women’s empowerment should not lead toanother form of hierarchy between male and females but the attempts should
lead in achieving an egalitarian society. “Women empowerment should thus leadto a world where women-and ‘new men’ - ensure that resources are utilized notjust equitably, but sanely and safely; where war and violence will be eliminated,and our earth restored to a clean, green place for the coming generation.” 28
There have been many studies on women’s empowerment since many
act iv it ies have been conducted on t h is f ront by gover n ment a nd nongovernmental organizations across the world. Women empowerment ismeasured by various indicators such as: women’s mobility, access to resources,
decision making, control over their body and political representations among
others, depending on a program and its implementers. It is now plausible to lookat microcredit since, microcredit has been a part and parcel of women
empowerment.

2. Microcredit as a tool of women’s empowerment
Microcredit approach has taken a central position in women’s empowerment
initiatives. For a long period, feminists and development activists/organizations
held poverty as the main culprit for gender discrimination. Feminist activists
across the world by 1970s had realized that lack of credit for women was thecrux of the problem because since women did not have collateral they could nothave access to the capital. 29 Even as organizations working for women were
aware of the resourcefulness of women groups across cultures, this became
more evident with the establishment of microcredit institutions like the
Gra meen Ba n k i n 19 8 0 s . 3 0 By t he 19 9 0 s , m icro cred it wa s f avored bydevelopment organizations and feminists alike for impressive repayment rates
by women groups involved in microcredit initiatives. Institutions like the WorldBank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) found the microcredit
approach to women empowerment beneficial both to women to bail themselves
out of p over t y i n re c l a i m i ng equ a l gender st at u s a nd t o t he lend i ng
organizations since investment lost was the least threat. 31 Two events: theMicrocredit Summit in 1997 and the UN declaration of the year 2005 as
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‘International Year of Microcredit’ established microcredit as the panacea forpoverty alleviation. 32 These incidents also established microcredit as the mantraof women’s empowerment emphasizing that women through microcredit haveeasy access to resources, which in return would result in their empowerment in
multiple arena such as: decision making, control over their body and mobility
among others. Thus, microcredit manifested as an indispensable tool of women’s
empowerment as the development organizations and UN believed that it was aneffective way of linking women to the market, ensuring their subsequent
empowerment. 33
M icrocred it prog ra ms a re ca rr ied out i n g roups because a g roup is
mandatory to obtain credit where a member instead of material wealth pledges
the group as collateral. Hence, feminist activists and development workers foundit more ef fect ive to work w it h women g roups to br i ng about t hei r
empowerment. Such women groups are trained by the I/NGOs or government
bodies working for the cause of women not only on obtaining loans but on otherba sic s such a s record keepi ng . Livel i ho o d a nd educ at ion a l prog ra ms(concientization) are also conducted with women groups as part of theirempowerment. Though the promoters of the microcredit approach tend to view
it as bottom up approach since women at grass root level are organized andthey are the actors of empowerment activities. However, it is in fact a top
bottom approach to women’s empowerment since the groups are guided either
by an NGO or a government body.
Several studies on women empowerment through microcredit assert that
activities conducted in groups bestow women with confidence and strength toface and deal with male authorities in the public sphere. Women working in agroup develop a sense of solidarity and their group strength is also capable ofwarding off situations where a woman becomes a victim of domestic violence. 34
Through their economic activities, they contribute in raising the living standardof family. A study of a women’s group called Saptagram in Bangladesh foundthat upon the involvement in the group its members were, “…able to build or
repair their houses; send their children to school, including their daughters;
invest in livestock rearing and paddy husking businesses; purchase land or lease
it for cultivation. They learnt how to care for livestock and poultry; to engage in58

Microcredit Approach of Women Development: A Case of Nepal

silk worm rearing; to measure the quantity of work they did on public works
programmes; and to operate new technologies.” 35 Similarly, a study on women’sgroup in India mentions that the initiatives of empowering women had such aneffect that the women group was strong enough to successfully negotiate
services with government officers. And in turn even, “…male in the village seek
their help to approach government officials for village-related development
works or for community mobilization, e.g., to raise funds to construct a
temple.” 36
Positive impact of women empowerment through microcredit has also beenrecorded in a study after the Tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka. According to thestudy, following the natural disaster in 2004, an NGO was active in organizing
women into “Community-based Women’s Organization (CBEOs)” and initiatedcollective savings. These women saved earnings provided by the UN andOxfam for clearing debris in the post tsunami situation. 37 By loaning moneyfrom the group, its members were engaged in various income generating
activities such as: handicrafts, boutiques, cash crop and vegetable farming
among others. 38 A huge majority of these economically active women werehousewives before the natural disaster. Through their involvement in group
activities they were not only able to manage and run a financial institution but
also went as far as to pressurizing authorities in obtaining their “rights andservices” 39 marking a distinct change in the gender role.
W h i le m ic ro c re d it st i l l c o nt i nue s a s a m aj or c omp o ne nt of wome nempowerment programs across the world, several shortcomings of the approach
have been revealed down the years.

Ⅱ. Is micro credit approach of women’s empowerment a good idea?
Alongside few positive shades of women’s empowerment through microcredit
approach, there are plethora of criticisms surrounding this approach. Criticismsof the microcredit approach of empowerment include: its failure to render
substantive impact on the position of women for its inefficiency on structuralchange, overburdening of women’s work, and domestic violence since women do
not control the loaned money. Another claim is that the microcredit approach
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does not result in the solidarity of women since they are not a homogenous
group. Microcredit approach is also criticized for being an excuse for the state
in withdrawing its hands from its responsibility of welfare activities, holding
women themselves responsible for their well-being or by relegating those
responsibilities to the development organizations or NGOs. Ironically, aconspicuous allegation is the feminization of poverty thanks to the microcredit
approach of women empowerment.

Women not as a homogenous group
Many weaknesses have surfaced over the years with the major tenets ofwomen empowerment activities in a microcredit group. Contrary to popularbelief, women in a group do not identify only through the common identity ofwomanhood. Their behavior is affected by caste, race, class and age including
other such layers of identity even during group activities. One research states,“Poor women are not a homogeneous group, hence sisterhood among the poor isnot simple and straightforward. The expectation that women can be mobilized
as a class of poor women undermines the reality that gender is within multiplesocial stratifiers like caste, ethnicity, religion and race.” 40 Therefore, members ina group experience exclusion either for their status such as caste, either forbeing poor or a migrant.41 Microcredit approach of collective saving is also
discriminatory to ill and physically challenged women who cannot participate in
the program.

Not effecting structural change
Microcredit approach to women empowerment faces the criticism of notaddressing the gender situation thanks to its due attention to the economic
activities of a group. This approach is blamed for maintaining the status quo of
women members in a group and even, reinforcing patriarchy. It has been
pointed out that after women’s participation in microcredit activities, the family
gender relation remains unchanged. Even among women, those in higher
position such as a mother or a mother-in-law participates in the program
whereas a daughters and a daughter-in-law stays home doing domestic chores.
Such women groups are also unable to challenge social ill practice of female60Microcredit Approach of Women Development: A Case of Nepal

discriminations such as dowry practices. 4 2 Though women development
programs involving the microcredit approach enable women to become breadwinners through launching income generating activities, these do not bringchanges in their gendered position. Most of the activities of women for income
generation are consistent to their conventional gender roles such: as tailoring,running a grocery shop, vegetable or cash crop farming etc. Such activities inagriculture or indoor businesses do not expose women to public sphere,
diminishing the prospect of bringing about structural change. According toFaraizi et.al, microcredit through such gender specific activities “legitimize
existing patriarchy authority in a complex and subtle ways.” 4 3 Women’s
increased decision making power upon joining microcredit program has beenchallenged with the suggestion that women in fact, do not have control overresources and that they rather serve the purpose of their husbands. They loan
money for their husbands who decide its use.4 4 It is also suggested that awoman becomes the victim of domestic violence as a “frustrated husband” vents
his ire towards his wife upon the failure of an investment or reimbursement of
the money loaned in turn to his relatives.45 Or in case of her refusal to borrowmoney from her group, a wife faces threats from her husband46. In this sense
women rather become a mere pawn of their husbands.

Feminization of poverty
In recent years mostly, Marxist scholars have been arguing that microcredit
approach of women empowerment is relieving states in development countriesof their welfare obligation, driving women into the hands of the global capitalist
ma rket t hat exploit s t hem t h rough m icrocred it . I n fact , development
organizations are held responsible for forcing states into shying away from their
responsibilities on social welfare. According to Aminul et. al, towards the 1990s,
development organizations like the IMF and World Bank pressurized thedeveloping countries “to divert funds away from health and public welfare.” 47
Similarly, through her observation in Nepal Katharine N Rankin mentions, “As
Nepal engaged with foreign donors in a period of more systematic structuraladjustment in the 1990s, state managers came under increasing pressure fromthe donors and a growing banking lobby to absolve commercial banks ofpoverty lending obligations.” 48
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Instead of emerging out of poverty to reclaim their rights and equal genderstatus, women through involvement in microcredit activities are burdened withextra works and are under pressure to pay the money loaned from the group.
Researchers on this school of thought argue that microcredit served as aneffective way to tap those section of society who were not within the ambit of
the banking industry and that the women empowerment through microcredit
became a part of the ‘profit-making game’ by reaching out to the new types ofclients, i.e. poor women.49

Microcredit as reducing administrative cost
Microcredit approach also became effective since it reduced the cost ofsophisticated administration system. 50 In a microcredit program run by womengroups, its members can sanction loans effectively. Mostly, the borrowers are
the members of the group. Since the members are from the same locality thegroup is well informed on the ability of the borrowers to repay the loan. Since,such enterprises operate at local level, there is less likelihood of costs ontransportation and supervision on loan programs. Furthermore, group members
themselves are the staffs in managing the microcredit such as accountants,
managers, clerks etc. Since, they do not hire external staff the administrative
cost is moderate.
Women in microcredit do not always invest in income generating activities
and use the loaned money to meet family obligations such as marriage, rituals
and festivals. Thus, they could be debt trapped. As for debt collecting, thepressure from their group members can be more harassing and straining to
women than the pressure from traditional money lenders. Involvement in
women development activities through microcredit approach is said to haveincreased women’s work burden. 51 They are burdened with having to attend
meetings and other regular activities of the group, to look after their venture
and also family. 52 It is also suggested that men relax their work load once
women members in a family start contributing to the family income. Thus
women do not seem to be compensated with any leisure despite venturing into
income generating activities. 53
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By promoting microcredit, states in developing countries entrusted the
responsibility on development organizations and NGOs in improving thesituation of women thereby relishing on the doctrine that women are free tojoin the market at their own efforts. 54 On the front of women development drive,
NGOs are criticized as facilitating the capitalist development organizations/donors and states in developing countries. For their ability to reach out to thegrass root level, states and aid organizations encourage NGOs entrusting themwith the work of fighting poverty in developing countries. However, it issuggested that with women development programs such as microcredit, the roleof NGOs is only to better manage the microcredit system and to act as the“debt collectors” rather than actually empowering women. 55
Along with the microcredit approach of women’s empowerment, the notion of
women’s development has been met with criticism for its over indulgence withthe microcredit. Many find fault with women development programs forembracing microcredit as the core approach on women development drive.
Those skeptical on women development programs are now critical of the term
“development” itself. Their argument is that the term having originated in thewest has a prejudiced view on the “Third World” to imposing the same colonial
ideology on the non-western world in the post-colonial era. As such, women in
all third countries are treated as the same impoverished and helpless groupthat stands as a “problem” and in need of development. While the womendevelopment narratives reduced women in the developing countries to “abstract
beings,” development organizations such as the World Bank and IMF put
women in diverse socio-cultural geography of the third world under a single
policy framework.” 56
Authors like Kuttab note that thanks to the intervention of development
organizations with the UN’s backing, the notion of women’s development has
digressed from its spirit which entailed, “…the struggle for social justice,women’s equality through transformation of economic, social and politicalstructures…” 57 She blames the World Bank and the UN for “hijacking theoriginal emancipatory” intention of women development program alleging thatinternational and development institutions have defined and employed women’s
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development program to serve their own purpose. 58 Thus, women’s development
initiatives targeting poor women through the microcredit approach in third
world countries is also reproached for fashioning women into “disciplined
subjects of the west” 59 to serve the interest of the global capital market throughthe microcredit approach.
Having discussed empowerment in relation to women’s development programin general, the section below assesses women’s development program andwomen’s empowerment as a specific case in Nepal.

Ⅲ. A ssessing Women Development Program and Women
Empowerment in Nepal
Nepal government started women related programs in 1965, with theestablishment of a facility called Women Training Center under the Ministry ofPanchayat and Local Development. The center trained women on areas:
nutrition, child care, family planning, knitting and sewing, kitchen gardening
etc.60 As such, women were trained to perform better in their private sphere.
They were not considered as part of the country’s development.
The first planned development started in Nepal with a five-year plan in 1951.
However, until the fifth five-year development plan, women were not considered
because the Nepalese state considered development as gender neutral. Upon UN
declaration of women decade, the Nepalese state realized that women need to
be included in the development drive. Therefore, women were first consideredin Nepal’s development in its sixth five-year plan, 1980-1985.61 Due to the impactof ‘Women in Development’ discourse in the international arena, Nepal in thisperiod also set up the Women Development Section (WDS) under the Ministryof Panchyat and Local Development (in 1980). This section started with
providing collateral free loan to women in the form of microcredit and theprogram was funded by ADB. WDS was upgraded to the Women Development
Division by 19 93 a nd since the microcredit prog ra m was appra ised as
successful, the responsibility of implementing the microcredit program towomen was entrusted to NGOs. 62 Right after the Beijing Conference, the
Nepalese state established the ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare64Microcredit Approach of Women Development: A Case of Nepal(MWCSW) in 1995. The Department of Women and Children, under MWCSW
has been responsible for Women Development Program (WDP).
WDP is targeted for poor women of over 20 years of age in the rural regionof the country. “The term, poor women refer to the women: who did not attend
school, a nd even if they did, could not get through the School Leaving
Certificate (SLC) i.e. the tenth grade examination; and those economicallydeprived - such that the family income from its land or its regular income
source is insufficient to sustain it for the whole year.” 63 Women Empowerment
forms the core of the WDP. In the span of over two decades, WDP has been
extended to all the 75 districts of the country.64 WDP first forms groups ofwomen in the local area of each ward of a Village Development Committee(VDC).65 There can be minimum six groups in a ward. A group comprises ofmore than three women members. Right after forming a group, WDP officials
conduct a three-day basic training to the members on: the value of forming agroup, and the activities of a group. The group members also start savingi m med iately a f ter t hey a re for med . A l l k i nds of prog ra ms on women
empowerment are conducted on such groups. For example, providing training togroup members on: livelihood, basic education, accountancy, legal rights,
awareness of gender roles etc.
Groups in a ward form a committee. Such committees from all wards are
merged at the VDC level, ultimately forming a co-operative. Under the current
mechanism of the WDP, a cooperative at the VDC level is the ultimate point on
the expansion of women groups. The co-operative functions as a financial
institution (microcredit) through regular savings and lending. Other womendevelopment programs are also carried out alongside. This model of women
empowerment, i.e. forming poor women into group and initiating microcredit
activities and conducting livelihood and awareness raising programs alongside,is popular among numerous NGOs in Nepal. However, studies and reports
maintain that microcredit approach of women’s empowerment in Nepal have notreached to the critical mass.66 Development activities in Nepal are concentrated
on areas with the ease of transportation facilities, either around the district
headquarters or on the fringes of urban areas. Therefore, thanks to its limited
outreach as one of the reasons, microcredit approach of women’ empowerment
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in Nepal does not have the intended impact.
A cooperative under the Women Development Program
Some shortcomings mentioned in the preceding sections were observed
during the field work at a cooperative of women groups under the WDP, called
Ichhapurna Mahila Sanstha in Nepal in 2015. The cooperative is located inGeetanagar VDC of Chitwan district and is accessible on a fifteen-minute bus
ride from Narayangardh, the nearest town.
According to its officials, the cooperative has around 627 members who aremembers of women groups under the WDP. It includes members from ethnic
communities and Dalits including landless women to those from middle classlevel. The cooperative provides loans at 15 percent interest (which is expensive
as per the market trend) amounting to Rs. 50,000 without collateral to its
members. An interview was conducted with 30 members, of whom a majority(18) were from the upper caste, five were from ethnic communities, five wereDalits and one each belonged to minority community and landless group.
On the positive aspect of the microcredit program, many members said thatthey had gained confidence to speak with people after joining the program,
could easily procure loan and that it was a platform for them to share theirviews among women. However, most of them had understood the program as
being for saving money and obtaining loan. One Dalit woman had quit thegroup for her failure to pay the loaned amount on time. A ward (of the same
VDC) where some upper caste members of the cooperative resided had many
Dalits. However, they were reluctant to join the group. A few Dalits members
interviewed said that the cooperative was only for obtaining loan and saving
money so they were not interested on it. Many members in the interview said
that they had not undergone any livelihood or other trainings that they could
remember. Such members hinted that by participating in a training one is also
rewarded with monetary allowance. Therefore, such trainings were theprivilege of those in ‘power.’ It also emerged that members from the cooperative
had conducted a fishery at a big pond leasing it from one of its members.
However, the member decided to scrap the lease deal in the middle of thetenure and the project had collapsed. During the interview, one member said
66

Microcredit Approach of Women Development: A Case of Nepal

she ran a grocery shop through money loaned from the cooperative and anothersaid that her husband used the loaned money to go for foreign employment.
The interview on a single cooperative may not sum up the entire situation,
but it does reflect the features discussed earlier such as: women are not ahomogenous group and cases of exclusions and hierarchy exist in microcredit
groups; microcredit groups do not necessarily bring structural change and suchgroups cause peer pressure on women who fail in their investment venture.
Microfinance initiatives have not brought any substantial changes in the positionof Nepalese women since the success of such projects is measured only througheconomic prosperity. Regarding a different microcredit program of women
empowerment through similar women group approach in Nepal, one work
mentions how such initiatives fail to empower women. “Women want enhanced
overall well-being out of their involvement in grassroots group. They see
independence, improved health and education for their children, increased social
status, their humanitarian and political rights, a voice in family or village affairs
and a gender friendly family as their aim for participation…Extension agencies
are more interested in increasing production, income and knowledge.” 67
Such women groups have not been able to organize an influential social
movement for structural change. Marriage is universal in patrilocal Nepalesesociety. Son preference is a strong norm. Social pressure for mothers withyoung child is to choose child care over their work career perspectives. 68
Similarly, “Forms of cultural violence, such as dedicating women publicly togoddesses or gods (deuki); condemning whole groups of the population tocommercial sex-work (bandini); discrimination against widows; child marriage,
the knee-burning ceremony in some communities; and banishment of women to
cowsheds during menstruation and delivery (chhaupadi) are still prevalent.” 69

Conclusion
On evaluating the microcredit approach of women’s empowerment activities
championed by the UN and development organizations, Jain (2005) including
authors such as Rankin, Aminul et.al and others have found it a failure indelivering empowerment to women. Weaknesses of the approach overweigh the
67

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ambitions and spirit of women empowerment. Following an assessment of them icrocred it approach on women’s empower ment , I t h i n k t hat women
empowerment itself has been rendered to an ambiguous term. The microcredit
approach does not foresee an overall empowerment of women since it only
stresses on the economic prosperity and a few aspects of empowerment suchas: decision making ability in the family, overcoming domestic violence andincreased confidence in women in expressing themselves in the public. But the
microcredit in particular and women development discourse in general do not
focus in enabling a full empowerment of women through structural change at
the state and local level. As such, women’s empowerment efforts continue under
the shadow of unchallenged patriarchy offering only filtered empowerment towomen. Thus, from the perspective of feminism women empowerment throughmicrocredit approach could be conceived in a negative sense. While theeconomic empowerment of women through microcredit approach in some cases(not always) is commendable, such limited results should not constrain the very
spirit of women’s empowerment. True empowerment of women results when
women not only have access to and control over just resources and few otherdimensions of life such as: decision making in the family and on their health but
when they can be the agents of their life and where they can realize their full
capacity. Much more can be written on the situation of women, mostly in thethird world countries where a woman cannot live as a complete person. Many
women sacrifice their personal ambitions and dreams after marriage since theyshould strive either to become a good wife or a good mother or a gooddaughter-in-law. Therefore, further work is required to explore the definition,
concept and implementation of women’s empowerment in such a way that itconceives women as agents who are indeed fully empowered to lead a full andresponsible life with dignity.

68Microcredit Approach of Women Development: A Case of Nepal

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注1	Marth C. Nussbaum, “Poverty and Human Functioning: Capabilities as Fundamental
Entitlements” in Poverty and Inequality, 1st edition Ed. David Grusky and Ravi Kanbur(Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 2006), p. 48
2	Ibid., p. 49
3	Katamreddy Shamatha, Empowerment of Rural Women, an Evualation of Development
Programs (Germany: Scholar’s Press, 2014), p. 6.; Srinivas Raj Melkote and H. Leslie
Steeves, Communication for Development in the Third World: Theory and Practicefor Empowerment, 2nd edition (New Delhi ; Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications
Pvt. Ltd, 2001), p. 36
4	Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended: Lectures at the Collège de France, 197576, 1st ed (New York: Picador, 2003), p. 29
5	Srilatha Batliwala, Engaging with Empowerment: An Intellectual and Experiential
Journey (New Delhi: Women Unlimited, 2015), p. 41
6	Rekha Datta and Judith Kornberg, “Conclusioin: Assessing Women and Empowerment”
in Women in Developing Countries, Assessing Strategies for Empowerment, Ed. Rekha
Datta and Judith Kornberg (USA: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc, 2002), pp 165-167
7	Naila Kabeer, “Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of
Women’s Empowerment,” Development and Change 30, no. 3 (July 1, 1999): 435–64, p.
43
8	Sita Ram Basnet, Empowerment of Women in Nepal, Role of Income Generation
Programme (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmnH & Co. KG Dudiler Landstr, 2010), p. 48;
Srinivas Raj Melkote and H. Leslie Steeves, Communication for Development in the
Third World: Theory and Practice for Empowerment, 2nd edition (New Delhi ;Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd, 2001), p. 37
9	Mary A Alvarado Tezozomoc, Empowering Women of Nepal: An Experience ofEmpowerment in the Land of Himalaya (USA: UMI Dessertation Publishing, 2010); p.
107; Douglas D. Perkins and Marc A. Zimmerman, “Empowerment Theory, Research,
and Application,” American Journal of Community Psychology 23, no. 5 (n.d.): 569–79,
doi:10.1007/BF02506982, p. 57
10	E. Summerson Carr, “Rethinking Empowerment Theory Using a Feminist Lens: The
Importance of Process,” Affilia 18, no. 1 (February 1, 2003): 8–20, pp. 13-19
11	Md Aminur Rahman, “Women’s Empowerment : Concept and Beyond,” Global Journalof Human-Social Science Research 13, no. 6 (November 13, 2013), p. 11.; Sarah Mosedale,“Assessing Women’s Empowerment: Towards a Conceptual Framework,” Journal ofInternational Development 17, no. 2 (March 1, 2005): 243–57, p. 252
12	Devaki Jain, Women, Development and the UN, A Sixty-Year Quest for Euality andJustice (USA: Indiana University Press, 2005), p. 51
13	Ibid., p. 52
14	Chandra Bhadra, “Gender and Development: Global Debate on Nepal’s Development
Agenda,” CNAS/TU 28, no. 1 (January 2001): 107, pp. 95-96
15 I bid., p. 96
16 D
 evaki Jain, Women, Development and the UN, A Sixty-Year Quest for Euality andJustice (USA: Indiana University Press, 2005), p. 13
17	S a ra h Mo seda le , “As ses si ng Women’s Empower ment : Towa rds a C oncept ua l
Framework,” Journal of International Development 17, no. 2 (March 1, 2005): 243–57, p.
257

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18	Eileen Kuttab, “Empowerment as Resistance: Conceputalizing Palestinian Women’s
Empowerment,” in Feminisms, Empowerment and Development, Ed. Andrea Cornwall
and Jenny Edwards (London, Zed Books 2014), p. 207
19	Sita Ram Basnet, Empowerment of Women in Nepal, Role of Income Generation
Programme (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmnH & Co. KG Dudiler Landstr, 2010), p. 49
20	Srilatha Batliwala, Engaging with Empowerment: An Intellectual and Experiential
Journey (New Delhi: Women Unlimited, 2015), pp. 46-47; Mary A Alvarado Tezozomoc,
Empowering Women of Nepal: An Experience of Empowerment in the Land of
Himalaya (USA: UMI Dessertation Publishing, 2010), p. 20
21	Mary A Alvarado Tezozomoc, Empowering Women of Nepal: An Experience ofEmpowerment in the Land of Himalaya (USA: UMI Dessertation Publishing, 2010), p.
28
22	Sita Ram Basnet, Empowerment of Women in Nepal, Role of Income Generation
Programme (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmnH & Co. KG Dudiler Landstr, 2010), p. 47
23	Aminul Faraizi, Taskinur Rahman and Jim McAllister, Microcredit and Women’s
Empowerment, A Case Study of Bangladesh, First (USA and Canada: Routledge, 2011),
p. 18
24	L au ren G . L eve , “ B et ween Jes se Hel ms a nd R a m Ba hadu r : Pa r t icipat ion a nd
Empowerment in Women’s Literacy Programming in Nepal,” Political and Legal
Anthropology Review 24, no. 1 (2001): 108–28, p. 111
25	Rekha Datta and Judith Kornberg, “Introduction: Empowerment and Disempowerment”
in Women in Developing Countries, Assessing Strategies for Empowerment, Ed. Rekha
Datta and Judith Kornberg (USA: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc, 2002), pp. 2-3
26	Rekha Datta, “The State, Development and the Empowerment in India” in Women in
Developing Countries, Assessing Strategies for Empowerment, Ed. Rekha Datta andJudith Kornberg (USA: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc, 2002), p77; Aminul Faraizi,Taskinur Rahman and Jim McAllister, Microcredit and Women’s Empowerment, A
Case Study of Bangladesh, First (USA and Canada: Routledge, 2011), p. 13
27	Srilatha Batliwala, Engaging with Empowerment: An Intellectual and Experiential
Journey (New Delhi: Women Unlimited, 2015), p. 46
28	Ibid., p. 53
29	Devaki Jain, Women, Development and the UN, A Sixty-Year Quest for Euality andJustice (USA: Indiana University Press, 2005), p. 139
30	Ibid.
31	Ibid.; S. Acharya et al., “Empowering Rural Women through a Community Development
Approach in Nepal,” Community Development Journal 42, no. 1 (July 12, 2005): 34–46, p.
36; Lakshmi Lingam, “Domains of Empowerment: Women in Micro-Credit Groups
Negotiating with Multiple Patriarchies,” in Ed. Carolyn M. Elliott, Global Empowermentof Women: Re s pon se s to Glob alizat ion an d Polit icized Relig ion s, 1st ed. ( UK :Routledge, 2008), p.119
32	Aminul Faraizi, Taskinur Rahman and Jim McAllister, Microcredit and Women’s
Empowerment, A Case Study of Bangladesh, First (USA and Canada: Routledge, 2011),
p. 10
33	Devaki Jain, Women, Development and the UN, A Sixty-Year Quest for Euality andJustice (USA: Indiana University Press, 2005), p. 140
34	La kshmi Linga m, “Doma ins of Empowerment : Women in Micro - Credit Groups
Negotiating with Multiple Patriarchies,” in Global Empowerment of Women: Responses
to Globalization and Politicized Religions, Ed. Carolyn M. Elliott, (UK: Routledge,72Microcredit Approach of Women Development: A Case of Nepal

2008), p.133-134
35	Naila Kabeer and Lopita Huq, “The Power of Relationships, Money, Love and Solidarity
i n a L a n d l e s s Wo m e n’s O rg a n i z at i o n i n R u r a l B a n g l a d e s h ,” i n Fe m i n i s m s ,Empowerment and Development: Changing Women’s Lives, Ed. Andrea Cornwall andJenny Edwards, (UK: Zed Books, 2014), p. 260
36	La kshmi Linga m, “Doma ins of Empowerment : Women in Micro - Credit Groups
Negotiating with Multiple Patriarchies,” in Global Empowerment of Women: Responses
to Globalization and Politicized Religions, Ed. Carolyn M. Elliott (UK: Routledge, 2008),
p. 12737	Ruwani Renuka and Eka Srimulyani, “Women after the Tsunami: Impact, Empowerment
and Changes in Post-Disaster Situations of Sri Lanka and Aceh, Indonesia,” Asian
Journal of Women’s Studies 21, no. 2 (April 3, 2015): 192–210, p. 196
38	Ibid., p.198
39	Ibid., p. 199-2000
40	La kshmi Linga m, “Doma ins of Empowerment : Women in Micro - Credit Groups
Negotiating with Multiple Patriarchies,” in Global Empowerment of Women: Responses
to Globalization and Politicized Religions, Ed. Carolyn M. Elliott (UK: Routledge, 2008),
p. 13541	Ibid., p. 134-135.; Rebecca M. Klenk, “‘Who Is the Developed Woman? ’: Women as a
Category of Development Discourse, Kumaon, India,” Development and Change 35, no. 1(January 1, 2004): 57–78, p. 59
42	La kshmi Linga m, “Doma ins of Empowerment : Women in Micro - Credit Groups
Negotiating with Multiple Patriarchies,” in Global Empowerment of Women: Responses
to Globalization and Politicized Religions, Ed. Carolyn M. Elliott (UK: Routledge, 2008),
p. 12943	Aminul Faraizi, Taskinur Rahman and Jim McAllister, Microcredit and Women’s
Empowerment, A Case Study of Bangladesh, First (USA and Canada: Routledge, 2011),
p. 11544	Ibid., p. 15.; Lakshmi Lingam, “Domains of Empowerment: Women in Micro-Credit
Groups Negotiating with Multiple Patriarchies,” in Global Empowerment of Women:
Responses to Globalization and Politicized Religions, Ed. Carolyn M. Elliott (UK:
Routledge, 2008), p. 121
45	Sita Ram Basnet, Empowerment of Women in Nepal, Role of Income Generation
Programme (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmnH & Co. KG Dudiler Landstr, 2010), p. 8
46	Aminul Faraizi, Taskinur Rahman and Jim McAllister, Microcredit and Women’s
Empowerment, A Case Study of Bangladesh, First (USA and Canada: Routledge, 2011),
p. 15
47	Ibid., P.11
48	Katharine N. Rankin, “Governing Development: Neoliberalism, Microcredit, and Rational
Economic Woman,” Economy and Society 30, no. 1 (January 2001): 18–37, p. 24
49	Esther Hertzog, Patrons of Women, Literacy Projects and Gender Development in
Rural Nepal (USA: Berghahn Books, 2011), p. 9
50	Katharine N. Rankin, “Governing Development: Neoliberalism, Microcredit, and Rational
Economic Woman,” Economy and Society 30, no. 1 (January 2001): 18–37, p. 29
51	Eileen Kuttab, “Empowerment as Resistance: Conceptualizing Palestinian Women’s
Empowerment,” in Feminisms, Empowerment and Development: Changing Women’s
Lives, Ed. Andrea Cornwall and Jenny Edwards (UK: Zed Books, 2014), p. 204
52	La kshmi Linga m, “Doma ins of Empowerment : Women in Micro - Credit Groups

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Negotiating with Multiple Patriarchies,” in Global Empowerment of Women: Responses
to Globalization and Politicized Religions, Ed. Carolyn M. Elliott (UK: Routledge, 2008),
pp. 128-129
53	Devaki Jain, Women, Development and the UN, A Sixty-Year Quest for Euality andJustice (USA: Indiana University Press, 2005), p. 140
54	Katharine N. Rankin, “Governing Development: Neoliberalism, Microcredit, and Rational
Economic Woman,” Economy and Society 30, no. 1 (January 2001): 18–37, p. 20
55	Aminul Faraizi, Taskinur Rahman and Jim McAllister, Microcredit and Women’s
Empowerment, A Case Study of Bangladesh, First (USA and Canada: Routledge, 2011),
p.114
56	Rebecca M . K lenk, “ ‘ W ho Is the Developed Woma n? ’: Women as a Category ofDevelopment Discourse, Kumaon, India,” Development and Change 35, no. 1 (January 1,
2004): 57–78, pp. 60-65
57	Eileen Kuttab, “Empowerment as Resistance: Conceptualizing Palestinian Women’sE m p owe r m e nt ,” i n E d . A n d r e a C o r nw a l l a n d Je n ny E dw a r d s , Fe m i n i s m s ,Empowerment and Development: Changing Women’s Lives (UK: Zed Books, 2014), p.
197
58	Ibid.,
59	Aminul Faraizi, Taskinur Rahman and Jim McAllister, Microcredit and Women’s
Empowerment, A Case Study of Bangladesh, First (USA and Canada: Routledge, 2011),
p 20
60	Chandra Bhadra, Harinder Thapaliya, Puspa Ghimire and Neera Shrestha, “Study: The
Effectiveness of Programmes Targetted to Women” (Kathmandu: Central Department ofHome Science and Women’s Studies Programme, Padma Kanya Campus, June 2003), p. 3
61	Sita Ram Basnet, Empowerment of Women in Nepal, Role of Income Generation
Programme (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller GmnH & Co. KG Dudiler Landstr, 2010), p. 58
62	Chandra Bhadra, Harinder Thapaliya, Puspa Ghimire and Neera Shrestha, “Study: The
Effectiveness of Programmes Targetted to Women” (Kathmandu: Central Department ofHome Science and Women’s Studies Programme, Padma Kanya Campus, June 2003), pp.
3-4
63	“Women Development Program, Operational Guidelines” (Department of Women andChildren, Nepal Government, November 2015), p. 1
64	“Women Development Program, Annual Report 2013/2014,” Annual (Lalitpur, Nepal:
Department of Women’s Development, Nepal Government, June 2015), p. 47
65	A VDC is the smallest unit of administration. Conglomeration of VDCs make amunicipality.
66	Puspa Raj Sharma, “Micro-Finance and Women Empowerment,” Journal of NepaleseBusiness Studies 4, no. 1 (May 13, 2008): 16–27, p. 25.; Sita Ram Basnet, Empowermentof Women in Nepal, Role of Income Generation Programme (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller
GmnH & Co. KG Dudiler Landstr, 2010), p. 46
67	K a m a l G a i re , G r a s s r o o t s Wo m e n ’s G r o u p s i n N e p a l : U n d e r s t a n d i n g T h e i r
Sustainability (USA: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2011), p. 71
68	Meena Acharya, “Socio-Economic Transformation under Globalization: The Case of
Nepalese Women,” in Global Empowerment of Women: Responses to Globalization and
Politicized Religions, Ed. Carolyn M. Elliott (UK: Routledge, 2008), p. 62
69	Ibid., Pp. 67-68

74

Microcredit Approach of Women Development: A Case of Nepal

Abstract

M i c r o c r e d i t A p p r o a c h o f Wo m e nDevelopment: A Case of Nepal
Guneshwor Ojha

Women’s empowerment through the microcredit approach is popular among
governments, development organizations and NGOs in developing countries.
Often, programs on women empowerment are run by organizing women ingroups with the ideology that women’s working in a group fosters solidarity
wherein they become aware of their subordinate position and identify with theircommon goal of challenging patriarchal oppression. Often, programs on women
empowerment involve saving and credit groups where women obtain loans
without collateral and are engaged in economic activities. However, suchprojects have been criticized with arguments that women in any societies are
not a homogenous group and that such groups may not cater to the common
good of members from diverse age, caste and ethnic strata.
Many I/NGOs are working on women’s empowerment in developing countries
through microcredit approach. The term empowerment finds extensive use inmany disciplines, from management to psychology. Women’s empowerment has
been defined and understood in many forms such as: a process, an outcome or acollective or an individual action. Women’s empowerment is expressed andmeasured through indexes like: decision making, mobility and control overresources, among others. This work attempts to assess literature surrounding
women’s empowerment and criticisms facing it through microcredit approach.
In doing so, it also presents a case of women’s empowerment program in Nepal.
Key words: Women Empowerment, Microcredit, Development, Nepal

75