Microfinance provides both opportunities and challenges for women Essay

Microfinance provides both opportunities and challenges for women. Critically discuss with reference to at least one case study - Essay Example Land titling, it is believed, gives the poor a way out of poverty and integrating them into the markets. But many land titling programs as development projects do not take into account gender inequalities. Land lies at the heart of agrarian economies; which includes much of the developing world. Traditionally it has formed the basis of power, social status and is a vital productive resource. For rural women, however, the unequal ownership and control of this valued asset has become a critical factor that has created and reinforced gender inequality. World wide, in many rural societies women, like men, are active farmers and play substantial roles in primary agriculture production. Yet, they own very little land and are instead dependent upon social and customary provisions for indirect use as daughters, wives, mothers and community members (Agrawal, 1996). These rights are linked primarily to access, which do not grant security when traditional family structures dissolve in the case of divorce, desertion, widowhood and separation (Agrawal, 1989). This is especially relevant in todays context which is characterized by globalization, land commoditization, HIV/AIDs epidemic and increased feminization of agriculture (Agrawal, 1996, Whitehead and Tsikata, 2003, Razavi, 2009). According to Agrawal (1996), the idea of male bread-winner underlies the justification of men as legitimate owners of land; as it is assumed that sons will take care of mothers, while husbands and brothers will take care of wives and sisters respectively. Drawing upon the existing feminist literature, the paper seeks to draw out the arguments for womens land rights as a development intervention paradigm which maintain that it will lead to equality, empowerment, welfare and efficiency; followed by the discussions on the difficulties of its enforcement and consequences given existing cultural norms. The paper then discusses two case studies to highlight the benefits that have accrued