2012年09月20日
An Attack on Grameen Bank, and the Cause of Women
This month, the Grameen Bank, the organization that won the Nobel Peace Prize for extending small loans to impoverished village women, has come underneath renovated assault from the government of Bangladesh. Last year that the administration was attempting to forcibly clear the bank’s founder Muhammad Yunus, from his position as administrate director aboard the masquerade that Yunus,then 70,Air Max 2012, was beyond the official retirement age The administration preponderated.
Now it has struck afresh On Aug.two the locker of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed a proposition to amend the 29-year-old decree that governs the Grameen Bank so the authority tin bypass the bank’s embark of directors and handpick Yunus’s successor. This namely a brazen step to collar control of an institution that serves eight.4 million poor villagers across Bangladesh and provides inspiration to social entrepreneurs approximately the world. Sadly, it namely occurring in a country where the administration has been consistently ranked as extremely Just this past June, the World Bank $1.two billion in financing as the much-needed Padma Bridge because of corruption by a high-level within the government.
The government’s maximum recent action never only threatens the bank’s independence, which has been determined to its success, it challenges the ownership rights of millions of poor women who control 97 percentage of the shares of the Grameen Bank and whose collective savings nearly $1.4 billion) finances its operations. It is a mighty buffet against an institution that has flourished and helped millions of poor people largely because it is in the hands of women.
When we image the board of a bank we envision a desk among by strong men in invaluable suits. Grameen’s board namely change Of the 12 election seats,North Face UK,9 are held at village women who clothe never in suits only in saris; they are borrowers of the bank who are duly picked by its more than 8 million members. The government controls only three seats, including the chairman The embark was set up this access by Yunus to acquaint sure it lingered true to its social mission.
During its early years, Grameen switched from banking especially with men to banking especially with women. (Today, 96 percentage of its members are women.) According to Yunus, the bishop cause as the shift was that a petticoat was a “better fighter” against poverty than a man. A woman he said, went to greater widths to improve her children’s nutrition and health and educate her daughters. Simply put, she used the loans more effectively. In the past few years, the field of development has come to a similar , with many help workers asserting that the best access to fight poverty is to strengthen the positions of women and girls.
That’s why Grameen’s embark was such a breakthrough and why it would be such a detriment if it were undermined by the ministry “To have very poor women from rural zones many of whom have never had the opportunity as secondary education, sitting aboard the maximum policy-making body of this institution namely very distinctive,” said Shireen Huq, a founding membership of Naripokkho, a women’s rights organization in Bangladesh. “I’m not conscious of any other financial institution that has poor women borrowers aboard its board.”
Not equitable poor,merely exceedingly poor. Eighteen years ago I interviewed an of Grameen’s embark members, a female appointed Manjira who, years along had lost a young son to a sudden ailment She told me that her maximum bitter memory was the day along her son died. He had asked her as an ice lotion that cost one taka almost 2 cents and she did never even have that to give him. A few years later with loans from Grameen, she had become a successful seamstress,only she would never forget what it was like to have none Over the years, the bank has had many women embark members who have endured and conquer similar poverty; their fellow borrowers pick them to the embark because they know the path to a better life. “Grameen Bank” means “village bank,” but the government-appointed embark members,no matter how well educated, cannot admire the real skirmishes of village life. They are acclimated to creature served tea and biscuits throughout the day.
It’s ironic that Hasina, a female head of state,namely attacking Grameen’s female-dominated governing body. But it’s warmhearted believed that Hasina namely acting on a personal vendetta against Yunus, who has denounced her administration and who made a brief foray into politics a few years behind In its ardor to punish and humiliate him,nevertheless Hasina’s celebration the Awami League,is demonstrating that it namely arranged to go nuclear: to wrench control of the bank from millions of Bangladeshi women who are its allowable employers and their appointed representatives.
That has caused consternation among women’s rights advocates and allowable savants including one of the of Bangladesh’s Constitution,Air Max 90, Kamal Hossain. In Bangladesh, have courageously joined attach across festival lines to publicly voice their opposition to the government’s actions. So have leaders in other countries. In June, the 17 women in the United States Senate urged Hasina to allow Grameen’s Board to choose the bank’s then director. This month, the U.S. State Department declared that it was “deeply concerned” over the government’s recent action.
None of this seems to have made a distinction additionally Still, it namely unlikely that the prime minister wants to destroy the Grameen Bank, which remains highly new and is a source of proud to most Bangladeshis. The problem may be that her advisers fail to admire the importance of Grameen’s independence and the character of its unique board Last daily a administration panel that the countryside women on the embark were ill-equipped to oversee a major financial institution,signaling that the ministry has plans to remove them. Given the legendary mismanagement and corruption among the country’s government-run banks, the panel’s worries are misplaced. “Our board members are never very well educated,” annotated Nurjahan Begum, Grameen’s former proxy administrate director. “But they’re beautiful and they have experience with penury.”
In fact Grameen’s women directors have been instrumental in shaping and shoving forward important policy decisions. They played a key symbol in the introduction of a pension fund as borrowers, life insurance for borrowers’ husbands and higher education loans as babies Nurjahan eminent All of these have been breakthroughs for villagers. It’s unlikely that a embark made up of government-appointed bankers would have prioritized such initiatives,Gucci Shoes, which connect priced and complexity to Grameen’s affair barely assistance advance its mission. “Without the input at the women members of the board,” Yunus eminent in an e-mail interview I conducted with him last week, “such decisions may never have been taken.”
Hasina has complained that Grameen’s amuse rate namely also high She may never realize that the board has really kept Grameen’s amuse rate comparatively inexpensive it remains among the lowest of microfinance lenders approximately the world. At the same period the village-based board members have never acted reflexively. During one embark meeting they debated whether to lower the bank’s loan rate and acquaint up the lost revenues at lowering the amuse paid on members’ savings. In the kill they judged not to change both rate. Their decision to maintain a higher interest rate on savings ?conforms with the most up-to-date research on microfinance, which stresses the quantity of savings as alleviating penury.
“It namely very important to have the women owners have the last advert in the management of their bank,” Yunus said in our interview. “It sends a very important message they are never simply passive recipients of bank loans, they have an important voice in shaping the plans Grameen Bank namely a vital asset to these women. They have an amuse in the well organism of their asset.”
No one knows how this fight aspiration turn out. Beyond the Grameen Bank, it’s remove that much Bangladeshis ambition not soon forget,Gucci Outlet,alternatively forgive, their government’s actions. The country’s many social entrepreneurs are unlikely to have a desire to work with the government anytime soon. And the government’s efforts to sully Yunus’s reputation amongst defamatory innuendos has additionally created a chilling fulfill.
“It’s scaring for citizens to see someone who namely so warmhearted esteemed being deliberately shuffled through the slime,” said Sara Hossain, a attorney who served as advice to the nine women members of the bank’s embark “It’s a real death beat to the plenary fantasy of athletic citizenship. Because what it tells us is that if you attempt to tell a distinction you’ll be kicked and dishonored I reckon that sends the worst feasible information.”
Join and follow updates on.
is the author of “,” which has been published in 20 languages, and “,” and is co-author of “.” He namely the founder of , a media site that reports aboard social innovation.
Related articles：
Now it has struck afresh On Aug.two the locker of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed a proposition to amend the 29-year-old decree that governs the Grameen Bank so the authority tin bypass the bank’s embark of directors and handpick Yunus’s successor. This namely a brazen step to collar control of an institution that serves eight.4 million poor villagers across Bangladesh and provides inspiration to social entrepreneurs approximately the world. Sadly, it namely occurring in a country where the administration has been consistently ranked as extremely Just this past June, the World Bank $1.two billion in financing as the much-needed Padma Bridge because of corruption by a high-level within the government.
The government’s maximum recent action never only threatens the bank’s independence, which has been determined to its success, it challenges the ownership rights of millions of poor women who control 97 percentage of the shares of the Grameen Bank and whose collective savings nearly $1.4 billion) finances its operations. It is a mighty buffet against an institution that has flourished and helped millions of poor people largely because it is in the hands of women.
When we image the board of a bank we envision a desk among by strong men in invaluable suits. Grameen’s board namely change Of the 12 election seats,North Face UK,9 are held at village women who clothe never in suits only in saris; they are borrowers of the bank who are duly picked by its more than 8 million members. The government controls only three seats, including the chairman The embark was set up this access by Yunus to acquaint sure it lingered true to its social mission.
During its early years, Grameen switched from banking especially with men to banking especially with women. (Today, 96 percentage of its members are women.) According to Yunus, the bishop cause as the shift was that a petticoat was a “better fighter” against poverty than a man. A woman he said, went to greater widths to improve her children’s nutrition and health and educate her daughters. Simply put, she used the loans more effectively. In the past few years, the field of development has come to a similar , with many help workers asserting that the best access to fight poverty is to strengthen the positions of women and girls.
That’s why Grameen’s embark was such a breakthrough and why it would be such a detriment if it were undermined by the ministry “To have very poor women from rural zones many of whom have never had the opportunity as secondary education, sitting aboard the maximum policy-making body of this institution namely very distinctive,” said Shireen Huq, a founding membership of Naripokkho, a women’s rights organization in Bangladesh. “I’m not conscious of any other financial institution that has poor women borrowers aboard its board.”
Not equitable poor,merely exceedingly poor. Eighteen years ago I interviewed an of Grameen’s embark members, a female appointed Manjira who, years along had lost a young son to a sudden ailment She told me that her maximum bitter memory was the day along her son died. He had asked her as an ice lotion that cost one taka almost 2 cents and she did never even have that to give him. A few years later with loans from Grameen, she had become a successful seamstress,only she would never forget what it was like to have none Over the years, the bank has had many women embark members who have endured and conquer similar poverty; their fellow borrowers pick them to the embark because they know the path to a better life. “Grameen Bank” means “village bank,” but the government-appointed embark members,no matter how well educated, cannot admire the real skirmishes of village life. They are acclimated to creature served tea and biscuits throughout the day.
It’s ironic that Hasina, a female head of state,namely attacking Grameen’s female-dominated governing body. But it’s warmhearted believed that Hasina namely acting on a personal vendetta against Yunus, who has denounced her administration and who made a brief foray into politics a few years behind In its ardor to punish and humiliate him,nevertheless Hasina’s celebration the Awami League,is demonstrating that it namely arranged to go nuclear: to wrench control of the bank from millions of Bangladeshi women who are its allowable employers and their appointed representatives.
That has caused consternation among women’s rights advocates and allowable savants including one of the of Bangladesh’s Constitution,Air Max 90, Kamal Hossain. In Bangladesh, have courageously joined attach across festival lines to publicly voice their opposition to the government’s actions. So have leaders in other countries. In June, the 17 women in the United States Senate urged Hasina to allow Grameen’s Board to choose the bank’s then director. This month, the U.S. State Department declared that it was “deeply concerned” over the government’s recent action.
None of this seems to have made a distinction additionally Still, it namely unlikely that the prime minister wants to destroy the Grameen Bank, which remains highly new and is a source of proud to most Bangladeshis. The problem may be that her advisers fail to admire the importance of Grameen’s independence and the character of its unique board Last daily a administration panel that the countryside women on the embark were ill-equipped to oversee a major financial institution,signaling that the ministry has plans to remove them. Given the legendary mismanagement and corruption among the country’s government-run banks, the panel’s worries are misplaced. “Our board members are never very well educated,” annotated Nurjahan Begum, Grameen’s former proxy administrate director. “But they’re beautiful and they have experience with penury.”
In fact Grameen’s women directors have been instrumental in shaping and shoving forward important policy decisions. They played a key symbol in the introduction of a pension fund as borrowers, life insurance for borrowers’ husbands and higher education loans as babies Nurjahan eminent All of these have been breakthroughs for villagers. It’s unlikely that a embark made up of government-appointed bankers would have prioritized such initiatives,Gucci Shoes, which connect priced and complexity to Grameen’s affair barely assistance advance its mission. “Without the input at the women members of the board,” Yunus eminent in an e-mail interview I conducted with him last week, “such decisions may never have been taken.”
Hasina has complained that Grameen’s amuse rate namely also high She may never realize that the board has really kept Grameen’s amuse rate comparatively inexpensive it remains among the lowest of microfinance lenders approximately the world. At the same period the village-based board members have never acted reflexively. During one embark meeting they debated whether to lower the bank’s loan rate and acquaint up the lost revenues at lowering the amuse paid on members’ savings. In the kill they judged not to change both rate. Their decision to maintain a higher interest rate on savings ?conforms with the most up-to-date research on microfinance, which stresses the quantity of savings as alleviating penury.
“It namely very important to have the women owners have the last advert in the management of their bank,” Yunus said in our interview. “It sends a very important message they are never simply passive recipients of bank loans, they have an important voice in shaping the plans Grameen Bank namely a vital asset to these women. They have an amuse in the well organism of their asset.”
No one knows how this fight aspiration turn out. Beyond the Grameen Bank, it’s remove that much Bangladeshis ambition not soon forget,Gucci Outlet,alternatively forgive, their government’s actions. The country’s many social entrepreneurs are unlikely to have a desire to work with the government anytime soon. And the government’s efforts to sully Yunus’s reputation amongst defamatory innuendos has additionally created a chilling fulfill.
“It’s scaring for citizens to see someone who namely so warmhearted esteemed being deliberately shuffled through the slime,” said Sara Hossain, a attorney who served as advice to the nine women members of the bank’s embark “It’s a real death beat to the plenary fantasy of athletic citizenship. Because what it tells us is that if you attempt to tell a distinction you’ll be kicked and dishonored I reckon that sends the worst feasible information.”
Join and follow updates on.
is the author of “,” which has been published in 20 languages, and “,” and is co-author of “.” He namely the founder of , a media site that reports aboard social innovation.
Related articles：
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