With advice from the group, she has figured out a way to double the fleet with a second loan as soon as the first is repaid. But four years ago, Peara took out a WED loan to start a sari business. Today, she takes a bus weekly to garment plants in small towns and brings back saris to sell door to door in Dhaka. I no longer get looks from people questioning my morals because I'm out alone. On the advice of Khatun, she also recently bought two rickshaws to launch her own fleet.
Male backlash is frequently the chief obstacle to such change.
Dien Bien Phu were often accepted instead by their husbands. In Bangladesh, men are angrily questioning why aid is gender-targeted. He also becomes antagonistic when his wife gets the loan, as he thinks he's being humiliated. Over time, Yunus says, male attitudes are changing. Most marital problems emanate from money problems.