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Prologue

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Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is characterized by inequality. Approximately half of the total population of the country is comprised of women but males dominate in this patriarchal society. The majority of the women in rural Bangladesh live in abject poverty, with only a few having access to various types of rural enterprises that can help them to break out of their inhumane economic conditions. Neither the government nor the market has been able to reverse this and meet the welfare needs of the majority of the population. This situation paves the way of NGOs’ growth and development. This chapter analyzes the evolution of NGO sector since pre liberation war of Bangladesh. NGOs radically transformed their role after the liberation war from relief and rehabilitation to target group approach. Various key concepts of the research have been described in this chapter so that the reader gets a clear understanding about the core concepts that have applied throughout the book. This chapter highlights overview of the total research design adopted for this research. The chapter provides the justification behind the choice of research frame, research sites, methods and overall research process.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Proja is a Bengali term for tenants; it refers to a person who holds or possesses for a time lands or tenements of another, usually for rent.

  2. 2.

    It is broadly discussed as a separate chapter in the book.

  3. 3.

    The Grameen Bank provides services to 97% of villages in Bangladesh with 2565 branches across the country. The bank has over 8 million borrowers and among them 97% are women. The Grameen bank is also famous around the world due to its unexpected loan recovery rate of over 98%.

  4. 4.

    Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur—one who undertakes an endeavour. An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture, idea or becomes involved in income-generating activities (IGA) and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome.

  5. 5.

    MFIs and NGOs are used alternatively in the study. Nowadays NGOs are named as MFIs since they are the key providers of microfinance.

  6. 6.

    If one person acquires power, this may necessitate the other person giving up some of it.

  7. 7.

    The framework was developed by a group of researchers at Harvard Institute of International Development in collaboration with USAID’s Office of Women in Development.

  8. 8.

    Kabeer sees agency as the capacity to define one’s goals and act upon them which includes decision making, bargaining and negotiation capacity. Kabeer suggests that achievement is not actually what a person achieved but what one is willing to attempt to change things. The issue of achievement is more about giving women a sense of agency, a sense of change, rather than actually winning the gains that one is looking for. Achievements are the capabilities of being and doing that are valued by people in a given context. They are gained by combining resources and agencies together.

  9. 9.

    Women borrower is alternatively used as microfinance client in the book.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Administration, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

    Faraha Nawaz

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  1. Faraha Nawaz
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Nawaz, F. (2019). Prologue. In: Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13539-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13539-3_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13538-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13539-3

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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