There is a huge debate going on about the women's reservation bill. While some of them who are genuinely interested in not seeing this go through, have taken recourse to the extreme step of disrupting assembly proceedings, the vast majority still belong to those who seem to be indifferent to the whole issue. However, there are still others like my good friend Sukumar, who wonders whether this reservation can be extended to other walks of life too, including corporate life. The microfinance movement in that sense has been a great leveler. With women being the preferred clients of more than 99% of the microfinance institutions, urban and rural women among the poorer sections of society seem to be wielding greater influence in their own lives as well as that of their families, and to some extent the societies they live in.
I was privileged to be one of the guest speakers at the recent Business Line Guest Lecture series conducted at the Saveetha University's School of Management. Mr. Vasudevan of Equitas who was presented the special address spoke of the role of microfinance in empowering the women in these societies. While Microfinance may not actually alleviate poverty, what it certainly has managed to do is to make women go beyond the portals of their homes and become even more independent. It was quite a revelation to either discover that more than 60% of the women who are part of the microfinance movement are widows, or have been abandoned by their husbands; the vast majority of those who did have husbands living with them, were probably worse off than those who did not have a male member supporting the family! And in a society where the woman has predominantly been viewed as someone who cooks and cleans, microfinance has been their source of deliverance – given them new respect in their families, and in society. They are now independent, and thanks to their ability to bring home the money, have started having a say in their personal lives.
Why are women preferred over men for offering microfinance services? Well, according to most MFIs, women are more reliable and trustworthy. They are a lot more responsible than men, and have a better understanding of how to stretch the rupee to meet their monthly expenses. More importantly, women are more conscientious about returning the money they have borrowed – which perhaps accounts for the incredibly low default rates we see among MFIs.
How does this translate to reservations or women empowerment? Microfinance has allowed women to start playing a role that extends beyond the fireplace. They now are beginning to have a say in how the money is spent, and are able to influence decisions on savings, education and healthcare for their children. More importantly, some of them assume leadership roles in the SHGs, and this in turn is giving them the power to voice their opinion in community meetings. This is surely transformational in nature, and with SHGs forming clusters, these women will begin to expand their circle of influence. If the MF experience is anything to go by, then we should definitely see a positive impact of women getting into politics. And until such time that this does not happen through a process of natural selection, it may be necessary to introduce legislation to create that momentum.
Yatra Naryastu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devata
Where women are worshipped, there live the Gods.
I believe that we do need reservation, if nothing else to help in restoring balance…or help tilt the scale a wee bit to the feminine side.
