microcredit as a poverty alleviation strategy, women's empowerment and gender relations

303 Pages·2011·1.33 MB·English

© [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
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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.

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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
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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
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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!

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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
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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
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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
Conclusion……………………………………………………………….……250
Main Arguments and Significance of the Study……………………….………250
What ‗Empowerment‘ Means to the Poor Women………………………….…254
A Comparative Study of Benefits of the Three Types of Women‘s Self-Help
Groups……………………………………………………………………….….256
Changes in Gender Relations…………………………………………………...262
Is Microcredit a Universal Panacea for Poverty?..................................................263
Poverty Alleviation Through Empowerment………………………………..…..265
State-Civil Society Synergy………………………………………………..……267
Lessons that the State and Policy Makers can Draw from the Study……….…..275
Appendix………………………………………………………………….…….279
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………280
Curriculum Vita……………………………………………………………….291

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