The Effects of Micro Credits on Women Empowerment in Rural Areas of District Faisalabad-Pakistan

Abstract

Women can significantly manipulate the economy of a country. In Pakistan where Women population is 49.1%, without her participation nation cannot make progress socially economically and politically. Women should be empowered through education, equal job opportunities, access to resources and micro credit facilities. Women get loans but all the money are utilized by their male family members and she get only tension and depression that how she will manage repayment of this loan. Women’s empowerment through microfinance has multiple aspects on society like financial sustainability not only at household level but also on national level, hunger and poverty alleviation. Present study was carried out in district Faisalabad. At first stage, one tehsil Faisalabad was selective purposively. At the second stage, two union councils (UC# 85 and UC#258) were selected purposively. At the last stage four villages two form each union council (khujly and Waserna form UC# 82 and Taanda and Lama Pand from UC#258) were selected. From Tehsil Faisalabad 120 women who were getting credit from PRSP selected as respondents through purposing sampling thereby making a sample size of 120 respondents. Interview schedule was prepared to collect the data from respondents. Data were analyzed by using the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results of the study reveals that 30.8 % of the respondents had up to 31-40 year of age while about a half 6.7 % of them had above 41 of age. A major proportion 40.8 % of the respondent were illiterate and about 47.5 % of them had Rs. 5000 to 10000 monthly income while 47.5 % of respondents above Rs. 20000 form all sources. About 5.0 % of them were demand Rs. 40000 and the loan sanctioned above Rs 150000.

Keywords: Women Empowerment, Micro-Credit, Poverty, PRSP, Financial sustainability