Is Microcredit Changing Women's Role? An Exploratory Study from Rural Burundi

Abstract

Although microcredit programs are used in many developing countries, the evidence on the effects of microcredit on women, documented in several studies, is still contradictory. One example of this lack of congruence is the impact on domestic violence. Several studies show that the financial empowerment of women is a risk factor for domestic violence while others affirm its role as a protective factor. Our research aims to explore the economic and social effects of the Nawe Nuze microcredit groups in Burundi. We seek to explore the effects of microcredit on women's role. A mixed methodology has been used. An interesting aspect of this study is that we take into account the perceptions and discourses of men (husbands) relative to the role of women in Burundi and, in the Nawe Nuze microcredit groups. We found that, although the economic effect is the most visible, a positive social effect on the woman's role in the household and on the couple's relationship is evidenced. Furthermore, we found that participation of women in microcredit groups has no observable effect on intimate partner violence. We, therefore, believe these results advance research and can usefully assist policy makers and practitioners in establishing microcredit programs for women.

The Role of Financial Inclusion and its Gender Patterns in Poverty Reduction among Rice Farmers of Gihanga District in Burundi.

“…Research on nancial inclusion in Burundi has generally focused on determinants of loan-taking motivation in semi-rural areas (Bazira, 2018); determinants of agricultural credit supply (Nsengiyumva et al,2018); constraints on access to credit for Burundian micro-entrepreneurs (Nsengiyumva and Mayoukou, 2019)a; gender equality in nancial inclusion, and the effects of microcredit on women (Niyuhire, 2018;Varela et al, 2016). To contribute to this body of literature, the current study introduces the gender dimension in the relationship between nancial inclusion and household poverty reduction, with rice farmers in Gihanga district as a unit of analysis.…”