Women Empowerment: A Phenomenological Study of Perceptions and Experiences of Women using Microcredit Program in Pakistan

Abstract

Women empowerment is a key issue for the development process of countries around the globe for which policy makers strive to attain sustainable position In this context, Microcredit has proved as an effective strategy for women to gain empowerment. This study has explored women’s experiences with microcredit facility for this very purpose. While there is a mutual understanding and general consensus on closer nexus between women empowerment and microcredit, women feel disempowered due to a variety of reasons such as lack of financial resources, being a member of patriarchal society, misinterpreted religious concepts about their role and position in the society, and cultural restraints. However, microcredit is globally promoted as a “miracle cure” for the financially weak segment of the society, especially women who experience difficulties in credit access. This research delineated the experience of women about their economic, social, political, and familial empowerment; familial empowerment representing the overall household well-being of the participant. The study is qualitative in nature and conducted by using abductive approach under the philosophy of hermeneutics with feminism. This approach allows the existence of multiple subjective perceptions, interpretation and construction of knowledge from the perspective of women. This methodology along with the hermeneutic phenomenological philosophy is not only based on the analysis of composite description of the experiences lived by the participant but it also concerns the construction of meaning and accomplishing the sense of understanding of participant experiences with the empowerment phenomenon. The participants are women, who have availed microcredit from microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microfinance banks (MFBs) and have a year of experience of utilizing it. The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, reflective notes by observation and interviews that had been stopped at saturation level. Eighty two women were interviewed for this purpose, selected through purposive multivariate-sampling. Through interpretive phenomenological analysis, that are idiographic and nomothetic analysis, the experiences of women were analysed. Twenty gleaned themes emerged through the process of idiographic and nomothetic analysis. The transcripts were analysed by keeping in view the hermeneutic circle along with the reflexivity. The interpretations of women experiences indicate that microcredit strengthens women in all dimensions except in the political and legal sphere, and they play a more influential role when they are provided with autonomous access to microcredit, support from male family members and facilities from MFIs. Familial empowerment is realized and shared by most women as they had shared their children’s education, nutrition and health facilities. In short, their household’s well-being has increased and economic empowerment is also felt by them however, empowerment in social and cultural context is negligible. The multidimensional women’s stability contributes in recognizing their self-efficacy and alleviating feminization of poverty. Women associate financial stability, self-earnings and happiness within the household with the word empowerment. This research is significant for the microfinance practitioners to design policies for promoting women empowerment according to the sub-cultural and social needs. MFIs must facilitate their women clients with trainings and efficient supervision.