Encouraging Women Entrepreneurship in Rural Pakistan
By Hajera Pasha
Zareena is a 40 year old woman, who seems to be enlightened with a new vision in life. With keenness in her eyes, she says, “rural women like ourselves have been neglected for so long that we had become immune to it. since we have joined this project, it has made us realise that we have a bigger role other then bringing up a family and doing household chores. We are now a part of economic activity and are helping in decision making at the household and community level.” Zareena is also joined by Khalida, Longa and Mano. Like many others these women are from families belonging to the lowest income tier. They are sitting in the Lower Sindh Rural Development Association (LSRDA) office in Mirpurkhas, Sindh talking about their new found sense of empowerment and achievement under the ‘Economic and Gender Empowerment of Rural Women” project of CWS-P/A. The project has been implemented in 25 villages of Mirpurkhas District in collaboration with LSRDA, who is our long standing local partner.
Sindh, the southern province of Pakistan has faced generations of feudalism and archaic land laws and the brunt of it has been borne by the poor tenant farmers in the region. Their families have been caught up in the vicious poverty trap and often remain indebted under huge loans all their lives. Women suffer even more because of illiteracy, lack of exposure for skill development and cultural constraints. Limited employment opportunities exist in the area because of the absence of industry. Farming is costly as there is a shortage of water for agriculture and high levels of water salinity. The male members are usually the only bread winners in the poor families and primarily work as landless tenants or as daily wage labourers. The government and some of the other financial agencies have introduced micro credit facilities, but these are very difficult to access for the rural and illiterate women. Some require long distance travel to cities; others require a national identity card which not all women possess.
Women from a rural community in Sindh receive basic education in reading,
writing and arithmetic as part of the women empowerment initiative of CWS –P/A.
This particular project of CWS-P/A aims to alleviate poverty by providing quality and cost effective microfinance services to low income households especially women. The project targets 750 women as direct and 5,000 as indirect beneficiaries. The key activities of this project include helping form 175 saving groups and lending micro loans to women through these groups. The age bracket is between 14 to 45 years. The women are also given relevant training for managing their businesses, these include trainings on record keeping, financial management and market need assessments etc. They also receive skill training and gain an understanding of market trends. Besides micro credit, these saving groups receive basic adult literacy classes, health and hygiene awareness sessions. An important tool used for this is, street theatres that highlight social problems such as early marriages, rights of women. Kitchen gardening is also one of the key activities of the project. In 2006 to 2007, gardening kits were distributed among 500 women. Due to successful plantation, many of them are now supplementing their diet with home grown vegetables.
Khalida with a sense of pride says, “we can now read and write our own names and handle some of the very basic household budgeting. Male family members give us respect and they feel less burdened. We are grooming our children and keeping our families healthier by applying simple hygienic practices.”
The project field staff is commendable for often working under unfavourable and hostile circumstances. Initially, the male community members opposed their presence, but gradually they have built a relationship of trust and are now more welcoming towards them. The existing women clients are also their biggest supporters and promoters.
During the course of the project many small developments have occurred which are significant achievements. Enrollment levels in schools have improved, with an increased number of girls attending classes. Local people are accepting family planning methods and most importantly women have started to voice their opinions.
Moreover, in the long run it is perceived that 750 women will have basic skills to read and write, manage their cash and improve their economic status. Consequently, health and nutrition levels will improve as well.
Zareena bibi beams with confidence as she looks to a brighter future after she
and 750 women received micro credit and adult literacy sessions as a
component of CWS –P/A’s social development programme.
All of these four women are determined to move ahead and continue to be a productive member of the family. Three of them want to open small tuck shops in their village and one wants to buy more livestock. Zareena adds, “my children are so inspired that my youngest son has also started to save his income to open a tuck shop.” The voice of these women reflects the aims and aspirations of many others, who if provided with the right opportunity can change the course of their lives and work for a better future. This also amplifies the fact that these rural women, in spite of no formal education and vocational training, have the potential to be successful entrepreneurs.
