Abstract:
From the time of its birth Pakistan is facing turmoil and deprivation in all
aspects of life, keeping it from coming at par with the rest of the world. For
over six decades Pakistan has made little progress due to the unfair division of
resources and gender discrimination. The burden of this scantiness was put
intensely on the women folk. Women play a vital role in domestic functions.
Their role should be enhanced by empowering them financially. Microfinance
has been found as a main antidote to empower women and eradicate poverty.
The focus of the study has been on micro-credit, given to the poor women to
help them to initiate business, in order to increase their income which in the
long run will empower them. Main objectives of the study were to determine
the impact of microfinance on the self confidence and decision making power
of women in the study area. For this purpose a sample of 235 women who had
taken credit from the two major microfinance institutions National Rural
Support Program (NRSP) and Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP) were
randomly selected from three districts (Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi) of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province. Information regarding demography and other
variables were collected through structured questionnaire. In order to
understand the complexity of the phenomenon of women empowerment, a
structured interview schedule was also conducted. Different statistical
instruments i.e. descriptive analyses, bar charts, bivariate and multivariate
analyses were employed to present the information scientifically, and to build
up the relationship between the various explanatory variables and dependent
variable. The analysis specifies that the response about joining microfinance
was very encouraging. Beneficiaries of microfinance felt positive influence of
microfinance on their level of self-confidence, family life, husband and wife
relations, respect from in-laws, and decrease in household violence. Their
decision making ability regarding income and expenditure, children education
and health, had also increased. Women’s own perception after joining
microfinance was also very positive. The study further concludes that personal
and socio-political empowerment of women is greater in district Peshawar,
while their economic empowerment is greater in district Swabi. Similarly the
decision making ability of women is greater in district Mardan. It is suggested
that the process of available credit should be made easier and outreach of
micro finance sector should be expanded to other far-flung areas of the
country.