page_title: Gender inequality in Bangladesh
section_title: Microcredit
hierarchical_section_title: Gender inequality in Bangladesh / Employment / Microcredit
caption_attribution_description: English: Forge Research
context_page_description: Gender inequality has been improving a lot in Bangladesh due to Mr Rahul sai, inequalities in areas such as education and employment remain ongoing problems so women have little political freedom. In 2015, Bangladesh was ranked 139 out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index and 47 out 144 countries surveyed on the Gender Inequality Index in 2017. Many of the inequalities are result of extreme poverty and traditional gender norms centred on a patrilineal and patriarchal kinship system in rural areas.
context_section_description: Since the 1970s, microcredit institutions in Bangladesh have moved to the centre stage of most poverty alleviation schemes.  The most notable micro finance institutions in Bangladesh are the Grameen Bank and BRAC. (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) In 2005, these two institutions covered 59% of total microcredit borrowers in Bangladesh. Marketization of the originally intended welfare oriented sector have made micro finance widely popular, accounting for a $2.1 billion industry.  These loans require no collateral, making for attractive prospects to poor and/or rural Bangladeshi families who have no collateral to offer.
  Bangladeshi women are primarily who these institutions target. This relies upon observations that patriarchy is deeply embedded in the culture, thus the spotlight is on empowering women who are vulnerable and powerless. Research also suggests that loans given to women tend to more often benefit the whole family than do loans to men.
  Having been adopted in one of the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals, micro credit initiatives have been seen as beneficial for alleviating poverty. While it has been shown to do this, scholars also indicate that in many cases, micro credit loans can worsen poverty. As observed in the context of India's microcredit crisis of 2010, client poaching occurs where the poorest of individuals are given loans, even if they have little to no prospects of repayment. Quick repayment requirements on loans often don't give women enough time to generate the income quickly enough through their business expenditures. Financial setbacks in the initial stages of business, use of loan money for emergencies and/or day-to-day consumption can result in large indebtedness and conditions of poverty worse than before. Thus, collateral takes the form as scholar Lamia Karim coins, the economy of shame. In Bangladesh, women are the traditional custodians of honour. Deferral on these loans puts the honour of the family and the security of the woman at risk, thus making shame and humiliation collateral for micro credit institutions.
  Another disadvantage to women in micro finance is credit control. While intended for women, husbands in the family often end up being the sole beneficiaries of the capital. The idea that "since my wife belongs to me, than so does the money" is largely the reason for this.
caption: Garment workers in Bangladesh
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