Impact Of Micro-Credit On Women Empowerment: A Case Study Of Rural Pakistan

It is widely argued that discrimination on the basis of gender leads to social exclusion and locks people into long-term poverty traps. Thus the need for poverty alleviation schemes that target women and children have long been a priority for development of communities around the world, and also including Pakistan. It is also a widely recognized fact that poverty can be overcome if women are provided access to economic and educational opportunities, as well as autonomy to take advantage of such opportunities. The provision of credit, especially micro-credit, has now become an effective tool and successful strategy for poverty reduction among women. The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of micro-credit on women empowerment, specifically on women mobility. The study analyzes the impact of credit on women’s role in decision-making, besides estimating the changes in their confidence level. It also evaluates the advantages of women keeping assets in their name. Consequently, the study concludes that the impact of micro-credit has played a positive role on women empowerment, specifically in raising awareness in enhancing their capacity to build assets, move around freely and contributes to various household level economic decisions.