Institutional credit as a strategy towards self-reliance for petty commodity producers in India: a critical evaluation
Everett, J.; Savara, M.
Women, development and survival in the Third World: 239-259
1991
Document Number: 378984
Studies have revealed that lack of access to institutional credit has limited the economic potential of female home-based producers in the Third Wold. Thus one of the strategies most often recorded in women and development literature is to provide these female workers with access to institutional credit. The article argues that access to institutional credit does not, in fact, encourage self-reliance. Instead, it is thought to reinforce women's vulnerability and dependence by providing opportunities for local power holders to connnect banks and borrowers through patron client relationships. It is argued that women's organizations can improve the conditions of women's access to weaker section lending. The paper looks at the political economy of petty commodity production. It then investigates the operation of weaker section lending in Bombay, paying particular attention to the experiences of women borrowers. Two different models developed by women's organizations to improve the conditions of women's access to weaker section lending are then examined. To conclude, the efforts of women's organizations to address the problems faced by women home-based producers are examined.