“The
process of breaking down fear was always my greatest challenge and it was made
easier by the careful work and gentle voices of my female workers.”― Muhammad
Yunus, Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
The
epidemic of poverty is wreaking havoc across women in different parts of the
world. Data are showing a stark discrimination between women and men in terms
of earnings and financial autonomy: more women than men work in vulnerable
employment with low or no cash returns, and they spend more of their time on
unpaid domestic tasks. Proportions of married women aging from 15 to 49 who
were employed and earning cash income were significantly of much lower
proportions than their married male counterparts. Gender inequality is also skewed
in favor of men when talking about the rights of land ownerships and
inheritance of properties.
Mohamed
Yunus, the Bangladeshi economist, proposed a revolutionary approach to empower
the poor called “microfinance” or “microcredit” offered through
the first bank for poor, Grameen Bank. Instead of borrowing money from loan
sharks with unjust interests, Yunus offered the poor people, mainly women,
small increments of money with much improved payment conditions. The microcredits
contributed significantly in helping the poor people to overcome their debts
and raise their quality of life. Repayment rates were very high thanks to the “solidarity
groups”, where loans were given to people in groups to be self-encouraged
to pay their debts collectively to Yunus so as to receive further support.
Yunus described the first impressions from his peers upon the commencement of
his project “I went to the bank and proposed that they lend money to the poor
people. The bankers almost fell over”
Katherine
Esty in her book “Twenty-Seven Dollars and a Dream How Muhammad Yunus
Changed the World and What It Cost Him” has identified the causes that made
women a very profitable choice for Yusuf to rely on: women always make better
use of small loans than men as they focus their spending in ways that help to
support their families over time not on luxury. Women abided by repayment
schedules in a better way than men and thus were candidates to more flexible
repayment facilitations when they faced financial hardships. Women also
represented an untapped treasure of labor force that could be exploited for
achieving sustainable profits. The financial empowerment of poor women was
Yunus’s tenet in his economical revolution in Bangladesh. He believed that it
is unfair that only rich men can borrow money from conventional banks while
letting the population of poor to perish without their basic needs. Women who
achieved savings adopted better lifestyles and this may be attributed to their
compliance with the “Sixteen Decisions”. These decisions embraced by Yunus and
Grameen Bank prompted the people to send their children in schools, keep a
smaller family size, behave honestly with each other and maintain a clean
environment. As a result, almost all Grameen borrowers have their school-age
children enrolled in regular classes, “When a destitute mother starts earning
an income, her dreams of success invariably center around her children. A
woman's second priority is the household. She wants to buy utensils, build a
stronger roof, or find a bed for herself and her family. A man has an entirely
different set of priorities. When a destitute father earns extra income, he
focuses more attention on himself. Thus money entering a household through a
woman brings more benefits to the family as a whole.” said Yunus.
Grameen
Bank has achieved outstanding figures, since The Grameen Bank Project was
transformed into a formal bank in 1983; US$11.35 billion has been distributed
to poor individuals without the need for them to provide collateral. The Bank
now has approximately 8.35 million borrowers, 96% of which are women. The Bank
claims that approximately 65% of their borrowers have clearly improved their
socio-economic conditions and lifted themselves out of poverty. Yunus and
Grameen Bank were awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their work in fighting
poverty and empowering women in Bangladesh and many followed in their footsteps
in different parts of the world. The philosophy that Yunus adopted was
replicated by others and showed promising results, “To me, the poor are like
Bonsai trees. When you plant the best seed of the tallest tree in a six-inch
deep flower pot, you get a perfect replica of the tallest tree, but it is only
inches tall. There is nothing wrong with the seed you planted; only the soil-base
you provided was inadequate. Poor people are bonsai people. There is nothing
wrong with their seeds. Only society never gave them a base to grow on.” said
Yunus.
The
Bangladeshi Government is trying to seize control over Grameen Bank, thus
threatening the sustainability of the project that serves millions of poor
women and their families. Yunus was forcefully ousted from his position as a
manager for Grameen Bank, and that move was condemned by different bodies all
over the world, “I feel extremely sorry that the nation has to go through the
unnecessary traumatic experience of seeing a great global iconic institution,
created by this nation, be brutally harmed by a group of irresponsible and
thoughtless people,” said Yunus.
It
is our mission to support what Yunus strived for in the past three decades. The
Bank for Poor must continue serving the poor women and developing their lives.
The public opinion will be the shield that protects Grameen Bank from the
corruption of the Bangladeshi Government. All of us are yearning for the day
when global poverty is totally demolished and for the sake of that dream,
Grameen Bank will have to flourish!
By Ahmed Magdi Youssef
References:
- The World’s Women 2010 – Trends and
Statistics. Department of Academic and Social Affairs, United Nations, 2010
- Muhammad Yunus: Ending Global Poverty.
MIT World, Semptember 14, 2005.
- 5 Reasons Why Muhammad Yunus Focuses on
Lending to Women. Katherine Esty, Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation, January
10, 2014.
- Why Muhammad Yunus and the Women of
Grameen Matter. Vivian Norris, Huffington Post Business, March 9, 2011.
- Yunus flays Bangladesh's 'destruction'
of Grameen Bank. Agence France-Presse, Global Post, November 6, 2013.
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