Priority to Women in Bangladesh Effort To Eradicate Poverty

from Bernama

By Jenny Lanong

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Jun (Bernama) – Oppression from money lenders, family problems and unequal opportunities between the rich and the poor have been identified as the main factors that contribute to poverty among the countries in the South.

Various measures to eradicate poverty have successfully been undertaken by the governments of these countries to reduce the level of poverty.

In his presentation ‘The Experience of Grameen Bank’ at the forum on Poverty Eradication: Sharing Experience and Lessons Learnt Among South Nation, organised by the South-South Information Gateway (SSIG) here Tuesday, Grameen Bank (GB) Vice President A.S.M Mohiuddin said that efforts to eradicate poverty in Bangladesh are focused mainly on the women folk.

For the women of Bangladesh, oppression may come in the form of being divorced, an exhortative dowry, family pressure or an abusive husband. In Bangladeshi, the wife is the last person to partake of any meal in the family.

Politically, socially and economically, Bangladeshi women need assistance and funding to improve the quality of their lives, he said.

In view of this, GB was established to provide financial assistance to the poor in Bangladesh. GB is a bank by the poor for the poor.

“97 percent of borrowers are women and the borrowers own 94 percent equity in the bank with the remaining 6 percent held by the government” he added.

The bank provides mortgage-free loans to borrowers who are given the option of either making weekly repayments or a flexible repayment schedule of their proposal.

GB provides credit facilities such as of term loans, flexible-loans, housing loans, study loans while a scholarship program have been established for the children of shareholders.

According to Mohiuddin, under GB’s scholarship program, daughters are given priority.

The loans have enabled the construction of 646,137 houses for the poor and funded the tertiary education of 17,113 students.

GB’s efforts have proven successful at improving the quality of life for the poor in Bangladesh, he added.

In the three decades of its existence, GB has managed to improve the socio-economic standing of Bangladeshi women.

In 2001, 42 percent of borrowers stood above the poverty level and in 2006, the percentage has increased to 63.6 percent, he said.