An analysis of women’s empowerment through microfinance in Flores, Indonesia

Abstract

The potential of microfinance in poverty alleviation has long been recognized by development practitioners and academicians. However, many scholars are critical about the effectiveness of microcredit programs in women‟s empowerment. Empirical evidences show, that women are in many cases constrained by cultural traditions, and have only limited control over financial resources and money allocation. As there is a variety of cultural traditions in regard to women‟s position, culture can be regarded as an important factor influencing the outcome of microcredit programs. In patriarchal societies, it is the men who dominate in many areas, therefore it is imperative, that development agencies pay particular attention to women as a group and identify challenges they face.