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Microcredit As a Poverty Alleviation Strategy, Women's Empowerment

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Microcredit As a Poverty Alleviation Strategy, Women's Empowerment © [2011] Kumar Bhargavi Valsala Kumari ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MICROCREDIT AS A POVERTY ALLEVIATION STRATEGY, WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND GENDER RELATIONS by KUMAR BHARGAVI VALSALA KUMARI A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Women‘s and Gender Studies written under the direction of Professor Leela Fernandes and approved by ______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey May, 2011 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION MICROCREDIT AS A POVERTY ALLEVIATION STRATEGY, WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND GENDER RELATIONS By KUMAR BHARGAVI VALSALA KUMARI Dissertation Director: Prof. Leela Fernandes This dissertation is about how women are empowered when they gain access to small loans (microcredit) and how that alters or reinforces existing gender relations. My study shows that ―the poor‖ is not a monolithic entity but is an aggregation of differentiated categories with the most vulnerable segments of society occupying the lowest rung of society. The state-civil society synergy that is so characteristic of the state of Kerala does not percolate down to the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society and the tribes for a variety of reasons. If these segments of the population have to benefit, the structure of microcredit has to be redesigned to make it more appropriate and responsive to their special needs. Microcredit provides the entry point but it is the networking that empowers impoverished women who lack material resources. Networking itself is an umbrella term that entails different kinds of networking. My conclusion is that the women-centric microcredit program sponsored by the state marks a departure from the earlier paradigms of developments in which women were not placed at the center of developmental activities. The new paradigm is the state‘s attempt at negotiating privatized strategies of development ii in the larger context of liberalization espoused by the Indian state. My study reveals that microcredit does help women tide over the emergency needs of the family without relying on others. But it is not a substitute for long term structural problems of poverty. The social solidarity generated by different kinds of networking helps women‘s empowerment by way of expanding their consciousness through new knowledge including legal literacy and through exposure to other people with other ideals and ethics. I also find that the social capital generated by the networking of over 3.7 million women through self help groups has not transformed into organized demand cutting across party politics for radical changes like redistribution of resources especially arable land. Microcredit has functioned to depoliticize what could have been a progressive politics for gender equity. iii Acknowledgements At the outset I wish to place on record my sincerest gratitude to JAL Foundation without whose unstinted and generous support by way of fellowship I would not have been able to do my studies in the USA. Thank you very much JAL Foundation. I was fortunate enough to have an extremely helpful and understanding Committee consisting of Prof. Leela Fernandes, Prof. Dorothy Hodgson, Prof. Ethel Brooks and Prof. Padmini Swaminathan. Without you I would not be anywhere close to completing the dissertation. Your guidance and the questions you made me think through have shaped this dissertation. There are several other professors who although were not in my committee were present in the process of writing through their teachings. The professors of the Department of Women‘s and Gender Studies at Rutgers have enriched me, broadened my vision, and made me think critically. Chief among them are Prof. Mary Hawkesworth, Prof. Joanna Regulska, Prof. Elizabeth Grosz, Prof. Mary Gossy, Prof. Judy Gerson, Prof. Laura Ahearn, Prof. Bonnie Smith, to name only a few. I owe a big thanks to the administrative staff of the Department of Women‘s and Gender Studies. Joanne Givand has always been willing to help me out with administrative issues however busy she might me. Not once has she turned down my request for help. Suzy Kiefer and her predecessors have also been a source of invaluable help in navigating my stay here in the USA. To Lisa iv Hetfield, I will always be indebted for trying to help me out with the fellowship and its timely disbursement. My deepest gratitude goes to the women of the SHGs of Alapuzha urban area; they were always generous with their time despite their hard struggle for survival. I specially thank Thankamony, Remani, Sherifa, Salmath, Mini, Sreeja and Sujatha and all their friends in the colony, Hema and Revamma Renadev and her friends in the several SHGs in Alapuzha. Meeting all these wonderful women was made possible by the lead given by Jagadeesan, the energetic, committed Gandhian who heads the Gandhi Smaraka Grama Seva Kendram. He had made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of my research in his organization GSGSK apart from sparing his precious time in discussing issues relevant to my research. I remember with fond memories the days I spent with Valsala Sebastian, Sobha, Sandhya, and all the other office bearers of GSGSK sub-center and with Geetha of Mochita and her friends. My special thanks are due to Tulasi, Santha, Kavitha, Nagiamma, Rengamma, little Ravi, Kavitha, Kaleeswari, Sivakumar, Murukan, Thamandan, Santhamani, Sudhakaran, Pappathi, Chandra, P.E. Usha, Dr. Prabhudas all of whom taught me a lot about the ways, wisdom and values of the tribes. The brave women of Chertala who have taken up organic farming and Mr. Chandy who won several awards for farming ---you have all inspired me and have made me recognize the worth of a farmer. A very special thanks to Vyasan, the agricultural officer with an infectious enthusiasm for scientific farming who initiated scientific farming in Kadakkarappalli by organizing poor women‘s solidarity groups v To Remy and Johnny who made me comfortably settle down in the USA when I first arrived here, to Simon Bala who stood by me through every crisis, to Chris Rivera who encouraged me when I started doubting if I can complete the dissertation and to my very dear friend Soo Jung Jang I am deeply indebted. My parents and aunt who had implanted in me the desire for knowledge, my husband who triggered my desire to do my Ph.D, my sister, my brothers, my niece and her husband, my uncle Chandrammavan and above all my son who never lost his confidence in my completion of the dissertation---to all of you A VERY BIG THANK YOU! vi Table of contents Abstract of Dissertation……………………………………………………..ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………iv Table of Contents …………………………………………………………..vii List of Tables……………………………………………………………….x List of Illustrations………………………………………………………….xi Introduction:………………………………………………………………..1 The State and Liberalization Policy………………………………………….4 Significance of the Study……………………………………………………..7 Literature Review: Gender, State and Development………………………….9 Gender and Development…………………………………………………….10 State and Development ………………………………………………………17 Microcredit as a tool for Development……………………………………….20 Research Method……………………………………………………………..27 Organization of the Chapters…………………………………………………34 Chapter One: The Political Economy of Kerala…………………………..37 History of Kerala‘s Development Planning…………………………………..39 Grassroots Democracy, A Route to Gender Empowerment…………………..44 Gender Budgeting……………………………………………………………..48 Kerala, An Alternative Development Model…………………………………..49 Historical Perspective…………………………………………………………..55 Gender, Class, and Employment………………………………………………..59 vii Gender and Migration…………………………………………………………...66 Agriculture and Gender …………………………………………………………74 Poverty, State, and Gender………………………………………………………81 Chapter Two: Microcredit in Alapuzha………………………………….........87 An Introduction to the District of Alapuzha……………………………………...88 Antecedents to Microcredit in Alapuzha…………………………………………92 The Structure and Functioning of GSGSK……………………………………….98 The Working of Microcredit Groups Under GSGSK…………………………...105 Networking Among Members of SHGs and its Instrumental Value…………….113 Practices that Engender Networking……………………………………...……..118 Empowerment Through Networking………………………………………...…..128 The Effects of Networking on the Lives and Work of Women…………..……..134 Gender Within Household………………………………………………………140 Gender Relations Beyond Household………………………………………...…144 Chapter Three: The Adivasis of Bhavaniyoor………………………….…....158 Introduction………………………………………………………………….….158 Attappady and its Brief History…………………………………………….…...161 The Three Major Shifts in the Tribal Way of Life…………………………..…..166 Microcredit in Bhavaniyoor…………………………………………………..…173 Gender in Bhavaniyoor……………………………………………………….…190 Two Case Studies of Microenterprises in Bhavaniyoor……………...................197 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………....204 Chapter Four: Women’s Agricultural groups………………………………..211 viii Introduction……………………………………………………………...............211 About Kadakkarappalli Panchayat……………………………………………...212 Factors that Activated the Collective Agency of Women……………………....213 The Agricultural Groups of Women………………………………………….…217 State-Society Synergy…………………………………………………………..220. Networking Through AGs and Its Role in Empowering Women……………...227 Changing Gender Roles…………………………………………………….….233 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..248
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