Rhetoric and Realites of Micro-Credit for Women in Rural Bangladesh: a Village Study of Grameen Bank Lending

RHETORIC AND REALITES OF MICRO-CREDIT FOR WOMEN IN RURAL BANGLADESH: A VILLAGE STUDY OF GRAMEEN BANK LENDING Aminur Rahman A thesis presented to the University of Manitoba in partial hilfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada O A. Rahman, 1998 National Library Bbliothéque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Welliigtori OtDiwaON K1AW Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Libqof Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/fh, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts f?om it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES *+f ** COPYRIGHT PERiWSSION PAGE A ThesidPrncticum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partid fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OP PüILOSOPlR Permission has been granted to the Library of The University of Manitoba to lend or seU copies of this thesis/practicum, to the National Library of Canada to microfilm this thesis and to lend or sen copies of the fiim, and to Dissertations Abstracts International to publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither this thesis/practicum nor extensive exhacts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permision. 1 hereby declare that 1 am the sole author of this thesis. 1 authorize the University of Manitoba to lend this diesis to other institutions or individuais for the purpose of scholarly research. A. Rahman 1funher authorize the University of Manitoba to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. A. Rahman The University of Manitoba requires the signatures of al1 penons using or photocopying this thesis. Please sign below, and give address and date. Micro-credit - small amounts of collateral-free institutional loans extended to jointly liable group members for self-employment - was first intmduced by the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh in the mid 1970s. The "programmatic success" of the Bank - recruitment of clients, investment of loans, recovery rates on investeci loans and profit margin - has internationalized micro-credit; it is now spread worldwide. There is a growing sense that micro-lending projects for women have potential to achieve the goal of equitable (women's entitlement to resources), and sustainable (independent stability and continuity) development. However, my dissertation, which is based on thhteen months of ethnographie field research on Grameen lending to women in a rural community of Bangladesh, challenges the conventional understanding of small-scale lending and the orthodox view of its success. The dissertation consists of an anthropological analysis of women borrower involvement with the credit program and implications of the lending structure for women borrowers, their household members, and bank workers. In theoretical ternis women's involvement with micro-credit has been examineci within the context of "normative entitlements" of patriarchy. The concepts of "public and hidden ûanscripts" (Scott 1990),and 'practice theory" (Bourdieu 1977) are used to prcsent the anomaties between ideology and practices of the lending institution and the infamants. "Cultural hegemony " (Gramsci 197 1) helps to analyse the reproduction of ideology of dominance and violence toward wornen in society, both unintended and organizational. The research findings suggest that women become the primary target of the micro- credit program because of their sociomltural vulnerability, Le., the requirements of regular attendance by borrowers in weekly meetings at the loan cena, and the rigid repayment schedule of loans. The program extends credit to women, but in the household women often "pss on" their loans to men, or men take control over women's loans, or loans are used to meet the emergency consumption needs of the household In this system, women bomowen often lose control over their loans but bear the consequences of the debt burden in their households and loan centres. The researcb indicates a strong link between "programmatic success" of the Bank and current praaices of credit extension to women. Debt-cycling among borrowers is a consequence, Le., the need to pay off previous loans with new ones. Bank workers are expected to increase disbunement of loans among their clients and press for high recovery rates to eam the profit necessary for institutional economic viability. The bank worken and borrowing peer loan group mernbers in centres press on clients for timely repayment, rather than working to raise collective consciousness and bomwer empowerment as envisaged in the Bank's public transcript. Institutionai debt burdens on individual households increases tension and anxiety arnong household members which in turn produces new forms of social and institutional dominance over many women borrowers of the project. In preparing this thesis, 1have incurred debts to a number of peeons and institutions in Canada and abroad. First, my deepest gratitude is extended to my advisor, Rofessor Raymond Wiest. without whom 1could never have completed this work. He has stimulated rny interest in the Grameen Bank, and helped and guided me every step of the way. His unhesitating suppon of my work, his careful reading of the manuscript, his cornments, advice and critique have enabled me to dari5 my data, sharpen my ideas and develop the oqanization of this thesis. 1 am indebted to Professor Ellen Judd for opening my eyes to contemporary theories that have become central for analysing my field data. Her timely cornrnents on some key issues of the research have also helped me to address and substantiate those issues. Thanks to Dr Emdad Haque whose expertise on Bangladesh has been an asset to my research. His constructive suggestions of my work have enabled me to enrich my own understanding of rural Bangladesh society. In Bangladesh, Professor Numl Alarn of the Anthropology Department at Jahangirnagar University acted as a local supervisor. Dr Shanpan Adnan of the Research and Advisoiy Council in Dhaka gave me the requisite feedback on rny field research, and encouraged me to challenge the orthodox views of the success of micro-credit programs for women. 1 extend my sincere thanks to them. 1 would like to express my appreciation and thanks to Professor John Loxley in the Economics Department, University of Manitoba; Dr Nancy Hom of Opportunity International in Chicago; Dr Florence McCarthy at Columbia University; Professor Joan Mencher at Lehman College, CUNY, New York; Dr Jonathan Morduch in the Economics Department at Harvard University; Dr Jim Freedman in the Anthropology Deparment at Western Ontario University; Dr Eva Friedlander in New York, Dr Anne Marie Goetz and Dr Martin Greeley in IDS at Sussex University for their moral suppon and constructive criticism. 1owe a very special thanks to my colleague and good friend Deborah Woodrnan for reading, commenting and editing most of my early drafts, to Dr Ansari Khan for helping me organize my field data and generate figures, to Michael Bridgford-Read for computerizing the study village map, and to Mr Maksudul Alarn for providing the contact at the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Thanks to Dr John Matthiasson and Dr David Stymeist for their support and encouragement, and to Lynne Dalman and Roxie Wide for their administrative assistance. My most profound debt of gratitude is to my informants in the village and in the study branch of the Grameen Bank for accepting me as their "brother", providing me with required information and sharîng their experiences. 1 am grateful to Mr Dipal Barna, (General Manager, Administration, at Grameen Bank Head Offke in Dhaka) for his sincere cooperation. Despite his very busy schedule during office houn Mr Bama always gave his time to meet me whenever I visited the Grameen Bank Head Office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 1 would like to acknowledge various institutions for recognizing the potential of this research and for fellowships and grants. 1conducted my field research with a dissertation fellowship from Bangladesh Studies Program of the Joint Committee on South Asia of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York, and the American Council of Leamed Societies; with the 1994 Richard F. Salisbury Award; and with a special grmt from the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba. A dissertation fellowship from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Fondation, New York, 1996,supported the writing of the thesis. The Young Canadian Researchers Award (YCRA), International Development Research Centre (IDRC),Ottawa, Canada supported the follow-up research and my five-week visit to the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex University, as a Visiting Research Scholar for archivai research in 1997. I acknowledge the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) for giving me institutional affiliation during my fieldwork in Bangladesh. Special thanks goes to Ms Gisele Morin-Labatut of IDRC, Ottawa, for providing a Corporate Research Grant during a period of dire need. Although al1 of the above individuals and institutions have helped and assisted in this study, they bear no responsibility for the interpretation presented, or for any errors or inadequacies that remain. My family has always been a source of strength and encouragement often drawn from to face difficulties in life.

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