Gender inequality and poverty are two serious problems for developing countries
where the majority of women have been victims of the cultural, socio-economic,
political, and environmental impacts of development. The gender dimension of poverty
focuses on the dilemma of women, their multiple roles as women and their roles in
alleviating poverty. The literature on women and poverty abounds with numerous cases
and other evidence of womens vulnerability and heavier economic and socio-cultural
burden of poverty. Women are also known to be discriminated against in terms of
economic safety, lack of basic needs support, work access, opportunities, and payment.
Despite these factors, women have a greater sense of responsibility and are more
accountable towards sustaining programs designed to alleviate poverty among the poor.
In Indonesia, as elsewhere in the world, micro-credit is being used as a major
vehicle which serves women for improving their wellbeing, reduce vulnerability, and also
as a starter point to empower women. Using findings drawn from a study on the
Indonesian Government policies and the implementation of two particular micro-credit
schemes, namely Tabungan Kesejahteraan Rakyat (Takesra) and Kredit Keluarga
Sejahtera (Kukesra). This thesis explores the two basic and especially important issues of
poverty and women empowerment. Firstly, it views poverty within gender and
sustainability perspectives, and secondly, evaluates the impacts of the micro-credit
schemes under Takesra and Kukesra. The thesis argues that poverty reduction among
women is consistent with the concept of gender and development which is particularly
reinforced within the sustainability agenda. The conditions to do so, however, have
internal and external constraints strongly manifested in the operation of the micro-credit
schemes. The evidence from the empirical research conducted in three districts of Central
Java, Indonesia - namely Brebes, Purbalingga and Cilacap - shows the first type of
constraints to refer to weaknesses of the schemes themselves, such as incomplete and
misdirected indicators for success, small size of available loans and long duration of
repayment terms. The second refers to the socio-economic aspects of sustainability,
including the economic conditions which do not allow market access to poor women and
cultural manipulations which result in overburdens to women. Both diminish the role of
the schemes as a poverty solution.
From the analysis and lessons learned from best practices in other countries, it is
suggested that the Indonesian Government policies need to be refocuses in order to deal
with the internal and external constraints and allow for an advance to be achieved in
poverty alleviation and women empowering. The Takesra and Kukesra schemes in a
revised form based on the developed new model for micro-credit delivery, should
continue to play a role in providing credit to poor women to encourage skill development
and capacity building, support the process of women empowerment and potentially
contribute towards a more sustainable society.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/221658 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | prihatin@central.murdoch.edu.au, Tri Lisiani Prihatinah |
| Publisher | Murdoch University |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.murdoch.edu.au/goto/CopyrightNotice, Copyright Tri Lisiani Prihatinah |
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