Abstract:
The empowerment of women is a vital issue in developing countries. This paper evaluated
the impact of microcredit on women empowerment in rural areas. It is a unique innovation
of credit delivery technique to enhance income generating activities. The main objective
of this study was to explore and describe some of the selected characteristics of the women
credit borrowers and their relationships with the impact of micro credit program. The study
was purposively conducted at Sujanagar upazilla under Pabna district. The information
has been collected from 85 respondents through open-ended structured questionnaires. The
data obtained from different respondents was analyzed and presented by tabular form by
using computer-based software SPSS. A significant proportion of respondent’s 69.4
percent were of the aged group 31-40 years. The highest proportion 47.1 percent source of
family income of microcredit women borrower`s had crop production compared to 20
percent of them having other source of income. Maximum respondent’s 49.4 percent taken
the credit for crop production purposes compared to 14.1 percent of them receiving the
credit for poultry farming. So, monthly income of respondents has been increased after
joining
with programs from Tk. 12707.79 to Tk.32446.10. Most importantly this study
shows that microcredit programs are successful in empowering w
omen. It is concluded that
rural women have improved their socio-economic well-being as well as sustainable
livelihood by participating microcredit programs in Bangladesh. Also, self-perception
about microcredit programs of respondents was increased to improve social awareness and
confidence in problem facing criteria. High rate of interest identified as the main problem
of the respondents in accessing credit services. Also, it opens doors for further research in
order to explore the socio-cultural factors which influence women empowerment.
Description:
A Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty of Agribusiness Management
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka
In partial fulfillment of the requirement
For the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS)
IN
DEVELOPMENT & POVERTY STUDIES
SEMESTER: January - June, 2020
