Micro-credit fund and empowerment of rural women‏ ‏in Marvdasht ‎township

Empowerment is not only the ability to make decisions or choices, empowerment is related to ‎behavior and building respect and trust in family and society. Women are the poorest group ‎in society, especially in developing countries. Therefore, development programmers must ‎develop specific programs to authorize them. Empowerment of women has been recognized ‎as one of the most important goals of the millennium development and sustainable ‎development. Therefore, one of the most important goals of women's empowerment has ‎been clarified. Women's empowerment is a strategic model and multidimensional process ‎that enables women to increase their confidence, individuality and strength in all areas of ‎their lives. This process gives women the necessary resources and opportunities to exercise ‎their rights, participate in decision-making processes and take control of their lives. In fact, ‎empowerment refers to women's awareness of their inner and inner capacities and desires ‎and strengthening the necessary courage to achieve those desires and develop their inner ‎and inner capacities. In most societies, the poverty of women is not only economic, but also ‎includes their psychological, social and cultural aspects. In fact, women's empowerment is a ‎process of capacity-building and awareness-raising that increases their decision-making ‎capacity and increases their control and participation. Regarding the components of ‎women's empowerment, it can be argued that women's financial power is one of the ‎dimensions of their empowerment, which increases women's financial self-confidence by ‎playing more financial roles in life. . The growth of economic power has caused a change in ‎the limits of power, this increases prosperity and self-sufficiency. Low savings and lack of ‎credit are two problems mainly faced by rural women. Women's self-help groups reduce ‎poverty and improve social status by increasing income and savings and reducing expenses. ‎their finances and abilities change. As we know, poverty is a multidimensional ‎phenomenon, but if women borrowers are not provided with adequate microcredit, the ‎situation of poverty will not improve. Today, in some societies, microcredit plays an ‎important role in alleviating poverty and empowering rural women, as an effective way to ‎create small businesses and further reduce poverty and empower people. One of the ‎positive effects of this method is to encourage the establishment of favorable institutions ‎and local and small businesses, which increases the well-being of rural households. ‎Providing microcredit is considered an important tool to increase the income of rural ‎residents by mobilizing resources for more productive use. In addition, this issue also ‎improves the social status of women. Improving the social status of women increases their ‎self-confidence and a more effective presence in society. Borrowing from microfinance ‎sources and an appropriate credit consumption model change the financial situation and the ‎influence of the beneficiaries and create changes in the well-being of the beneficiaries in the ‎long term. Although microcredit is partial, but the bargaining power It gives them resources ‎for decision-making and control and increases their self-esteem in their families and ‎communities. ‎

The aim of the study was to find out the role of microcredit for rural women. funds to ‎empower them. The statistical population of this study consisted of female members of ‎microcredit funds in the city of Morodashti. Regarding the research method, this study ‎uses a combined approach of quantitative and qualitative findings, which is called ‎dominant and less dominant approach. Microcredit funds for rural women in Iran are based ‎on the Bangladeshi Grameen Bank microcredit model and were implemented for the first ‎time in Maroodasht, Fars province. According to the Agricultural Jihad Organization of ‎Fars Province, there are 2,000 people among them, ‎from this number, 200 statistical samples ‎were selected based on the Cochran sampling scale and completely randomly. The main ‎research tool was a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the ‎opinions of professors and experts, and its reliability was also confirmed by a higher ‎Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 80%. The study was of survey and correlation type and was ‎conducted in rural areas of Maroodasht township.‎

The results of the study showed that the ability index calculated from the statistical sample was ‎lower than their reported ability. In addition, almost 68% of the loans received by rural ‎women are secured by promissory notes or checks, indicating that the modeling of ‎microcredit funds in Iran is flawed and has had a negative impact on the empowerment of ‎rural women. The results of the study showed that female members of micro-funds, who ‎gave bills and checks for services received, had higher knowledge and, consequently, ‎higher social and financial skills. Financial inclusion is considered an important indicator of ‎social development and well-being throughout the world. It is clear and obvious that a ‎person who does not have proper ability is not financially able to obtain a check book from ‎a bank and financial institution. Now this matter also concerns the social level of the ‎individual. Also, 70% of the space given to women was used to improve business and ‎shopping, which is in line with the main goals and philosophy of these organizations. The ‎research results also showed that there is a significant difference in the ability of women ‎with and without insurance, ie. women with insurance experience, compared to the average ‎ability of others. Based on the results of the study, increasing educational programs to ‎educate people, implementing inclusive programs, helping the less fortunate members of ‎society, changing the payment structure of micro farms and improving the insurance index ‎can lead to women's empowerment and, as a result, the development of local communities.‎

The result of the study showed that it is possible to empower people in the form of ‎organizational and group solutions. Therefore, it was suggested that for the development of ‎such organizations, proper planning should be done based on research findings with proper ‎targeting and research of the target communities. Implementing cooperative programs, ‎helping the most disadvantaged societies with organizations, reforming the payment ‎structure of micro farms and creating an appropriate solution to enjoy insurance benefits ‎can lead to the empowerment of women and thus to the development of society. local ‎communities.‎