This document discusses the importance of addressing gender inequalities in developing countries from an anthropological perspective. It argues that (1) gender imbalances hinder economic growth and perpetuate poverty, (2) anthropologists should advocate for women's rights and financial autonomy rather than passively observing injustice, and (3) microfinance programs often exploit the poor, especially women, rather than alleviating poverty.

1. Cynthia Lewis
ANTH 410
8 March 2013
Gender, Finance, and Poverty: The Humanitarian Approach
There are many injustices in this world full of corruption and imbalance that are often
swept under the theoretical rug of development discussion. The inequalities observed between
men and women in the least developed countries not only have disastrous consequences for
women on a daily basis, but are also a hindrance to further economic growth, and therefore need
to be openly addressed by both economics-and-gender-based anthropologists. Until those
anthropologists who advocate human rights start living their theory instead of resigning
themselves to be passive witnesses, the achievements of our discipline as a whole will be nothing
more than empty words. Until we take part in the global acknowledgement of women as equal
human beings who have a direct impact on the economy and who require control over personal
finance, poverty will never become a thing of the past. Anthropological advocates for
improvements in gender-based economic equality have a duty to further the cause of social
action that promotes women’s rights to personal autonomy over their financial capabilities and
the rights to control the material basis for their survival and well-being.
These rights have been consistently and conspicuously absent throughout the course of
development in third world countries. Susan Okin, author of “Poverty, Gender, and Well-Being:
What Counts, Who's Heard?” states, "The well-being, freedom, capacities, functioning, and
voices of the world's women, especially the poorest, are on the one hand severely short-changed
or even completely neglected by standard economic measures and, on the other hand, absolutely
crucial to development” (Okin 288). When trying to understand the range of this issue, it is often
essential to bring a critique of development to the forefront of the discourse. This critique
includes analyzing the multitude of development policies that appear to have done little to

2. alleviate world poverty and persist in establishing economic norms that segregate and
discriminate against women, adding to the already-prevalent gender imbalance.
Over the last several decades there has been a visibly disastrous increase in both world-
wide poverty and the failures of international development policies to bolster a steady economic
growth. Financial disparities between men and women in poverty-stricken countries keep
growing, which contributes to the furthering of poverty overall. Anthropologists who become
engaged in gendered poverty or economic poverty theory (which are argued to have a direct
connection on one another) are held accountable to the people they study to convey their
accounts to individuals who can actually do something to enact change. This may be political
officials or it may be the general public in the hopes of furthering active reforms.
Famous anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes worked with poverty-stricken women in
shantytowns in Brazil, and discovered that remaining at an objective distance was not possible.
In the account of her ethnographic work, she discoverd the necessity of a more humanitarian
anthropology. Richard Robbins recounts in Cultural Anthro that "moral relativism, [Scheper-
Hughes] says, is no longer appropriate to the world in which we live, and anthropology, if it is to
be worth anything at all, must be, as she puts it, 'critically grounded'....anthropologists must, she
insists, serve as witnesses and reporters of human rights abuses and the suffering of the poor and
the oppressed'" (Robbins 12). Without these, anthropology becomes a useless tool for
documenting the afflictions of the world for bystanders to oggle, like the crowd that gathers at
the seen of a horrific car accident, drawn by the tragedy of others' misery and yet uninclined to
do anything about it.
What is being suggested here is that anthropologists be actively engaged in social
analysis and criticism in their scholarship. To be critical is not to degrade a culture's morals but

3. to look at them carefully and use a clear understanding of those morals to help define one's own
beliefs regarding a given situation. When conducting ethnographic studies, there are times when
it is advisable to separate oneself from an issue, and times when it is inhuman to not intervene.
Anthropologists need to actively participate in critiquing the worldview and corresponding
ethical assumptions that have led to the easily accepted negligence of monetary policy in the
developing world that has been a hindrance against women's rights and economic standing.
With the rise of the feminist movement in the late 1900’s, women’s rights took on a
greater role in policy-making decisions around the world. However, as the popularity of the
movement has declined with the coming of the twenty-first century, the views of women as equal
human beings has begun to fade from the forefront of economic administration. So it falls upon
anthropologists to stress the importance of viewing women's rights as human rights along with
the importance of human capabilities and the lack of basic material necessities in women's lives.
Human rights author Martha Nussbaum reiterates that "the struggle for human capabilities is not
just a theoretical construct. For women all over the world, and for everyone who cares about
women's well-being, it is a way of life" (Nussbaum 15). With both culturally and
developmentally enhanced improvements in micro-lending, women’s chances to receive the
funding and assistance necessary to enact crucial changes on their environments would be
greatly augmented. There is an overwhelming desire of poor women in third-world countries to
take control of the betterment of their own livelihoods, yet the flame for this desire finds little
fuel on which to feed in the callous world of finance and start-up loans.
In the last twenty years, microfinance institutions have become a major fixture in
response to the attempts of developing countries to build stable economies. In theory, these non-
governmental organizations such as the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh publicly advocate the aid

4. of those in poverty by granting small start-up loans. But the reality of this perceived generosity is
more malignant, constituting a largely abusive relationship where villagers in rural areas are
encouraged into taking loans with high interest rates and unrealistic repayment plans. This
quickly leads to overwhelming debt with little to no support or education in how to resolve the
issue, and the individual and his or her family is cast from the community in shame. Small rural
communities throughout India and Bangladesh become enmeshed in a subservient-sovereign
relationship with local non-governmental banking institution, taking out loans from one bank to
repay the loan from another.
Riveting research analyses have been conducted on the true effects of microfinance and
credit lending on women in Bangladesh. One such is the infamous novel by Lamia Karim,
Microfinance and It's Discontents, that documents her studies of various rural women and the
positive and negative aspects of borrowing. It is important to analyze the local impacts of these
loans and the “culture of shame” that enmeshes women in a constant struggle between traditional
norms and modern financing practices, which leads to the exposure of the dark face of lending
and the power that such a practice holds over these communities. Anthropologists must assess--
and necessarily find lacking-- the non-governmental organizations and credit lenders (like the
Grameen Bank and Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee, the largest finance NGOs
in the world) that publicly advocate the lessening of poverty while exploiting the very people
they claim to benefit (Karim 92).
Hindering women’s access to finance and the state of women’s affairs not only
affects females as individuals, but weakens future generations as well. Mothers tend to contribute
most of their available resources in the constant management of home and family. If a mother is
deprived of money, energy, time, health, or decision-making power, this deprivation has a

5. greater effect on her children than if the father were to be similarly handicapped. Men have also
been found to be more likely to squander money when they have a sudden influx of cash, which
happens directly after taking a loan. Okin supports this through her research, and states that
“virtually all of economically less advantaged women’s income goes to meet family basic needs,
whereas even poor men in many parts of the world tend to retain a significant part of their
income for their own personal use, such as smoking, drinking, gambling, and spending on other
women” (Okin 305). Many bank officials throughout India and Bangladesh have already
recognized the fact that poor women are more likely to recycle income into the fulfillment of
material needs and the betterment of their family’s lives, thus making them a safer investment for
loans and micro-credit. And so it appears glaringly obvious that the next step in furthering
women’s control over their finances would be beneficial in the long term for families facing
poverty.
Unfortunately, the weight of debt and the accompanying shame is a huge burden that
women often bear for their family's mismanagement of money. When a woman cannot repay her
family's debts, she must suffer public rebukes from friends and community members, and is
often subjected to her husband's wrath for bringing such shame onto the family (regardless of
whether the fault was actually hers). Karim describes how "women caught inside debt and loan
obligations maneuver within a field intersected by the flows of...NGO governmentality, the
economy of shame, and their obligations to their families and communities" (Karim 63). It is a
vicious circle where women who actually achieve financial autonomy rarely see the benefits of
their struggle. Mohammed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, admitted in a documentary,
"Small Change, Big Business: The Women's Bank of Bangladesh," that much of the money
loaned to wives and mothers went instead to their husbands and sons. Men in third-world

6. countries are more likely than women to have the decision-making power, the community
support, and the connections necessary to become entrepreneurs and build successful business
ventures.
In short, men control much of the money in these parts of the world, and are likewise
responsible for much of the debt accrued. But the pronounced control of men over financial
matters makes it nearly impossible to establish niches for female entrepreneurs to flourish. It
would require a dramatic shift on the behalf of cultural norms and the traditional views of
lending institutions for women to be encouraged in the direct access of funds with full public
support. Yet this shift would aid in realigning the overwhelming gender imbalance in poverty-
stricken countries. Anthropologists have the great benefit of witnessing social change throughout
their studies. But with the documentation of such practices comes the responsibility to do
something to alleviate the struggle that women face. This duty is not only as fellow human
beings who share this world, but as those who make it their priority to delve into the lives of
others in the search for a deeper understanding. Just as a mandated court reporter must convey
witnessed abuse, so must an anthropologist spread the knowledge of crises that may otherwise be
held as remote and subsequently ignored by the first world population.
The rights of the female gender is a critical point of discussion, as these rights are often
abused by the very governments and organizations that are supposed to be upholding them.
Karim analyzes the hegemony established by micro-lending NGO’s and how “poor clients give
up some of their autonomy to receive these services. It is the power over resources that has
enabled the NGO to reign” (Karim 131). This power deferential thrives off the exploitation of the
weaker class who must come to these organizations for financial support. The world's poorest
people are constantly deprived of the fundamental rights that any human should be guaranteed,

7. among them the right to protection by (and from) the developmental institutions that control the
basic material foundations of their lives.
Martha Nussbaum’s human capabilities approach is designed to address these critical
human rights. While her extensive list includes many things, including the right to “a normal life
span, adequate food, shelter, bodily security, and the social basis of self-respect,” the most
important human capability is the right “to participate in controlling one’s environment (which
entails basic civil and political liberties)” (Nussbaum 75). Many of these liberties are denied to
the world's poorest women and need to be re-established before any other inequalities can be
rectified. AmartyaSen, author of "Gender Inequalities and Theories of Justice," neatly sums up
the argument with his statement that “political rights and the civil rights that render them
effective are both crucial aspects of human freedom and also important catalysts for the kind of
economic development that benefits the many” (Sen 260). If developing governments intend to
correct the malignancies of poverty, then they should first adhere to the establishment of
fundamental human rights within the institutions that are put in place to uphold and administer
economic policy.
Likewise, the best way for people to hold the governing powers accountable for
fostering gender equality is through social movements and widespread active reforms. Karim’s
book ends with a poignant call for action in which she acknowledges people not as subjects, but
as citizens with the means to control their own lives. Social movements should be viewed and
constructed as “a form of political engagement for social justice that sits apart from the
development NGO sector” (Karim 204). People as individuals can only make their voices heard
and bring attention to disparities if they come together for a common cause.
Anthropologists are in the perfect position to document the voices of the people and to

8. spread the reality of the devastating situations that incite such social action. While women's
rights activists have been making progress in the developing world and improving how they
organize themselves, these types of activist groups don’t always have to be the public face of
action in order to be effective. Often they aren't even in a position to affect much of a disturbance
in the scholarly realm of discourse, which is where it becomes the responsability of the
anthropologists working in high gender conflict zones to take as active an approach as possible
in pushing for changes in public policy and publishing documentation of case studies. These
actions might not be easily recognizable as activism but play just as crucial a part in the rallying
of public interest.
The foundational strength in social movements is made clear through the example
given by author Vandana Shiva as she recounts the Chipko Movement. In this activist reform,
Himalayan villagers protected their rights to their land and resources from exploiting companies.
Shiva states that the reform of protection policy was made possible through banded groups of
civilians, where "the strength of the movement [lay] in the support from women” (Shiva 133).
Such movements prove that women can be valuable in development discourse, and it took the
teachings of two women, Mira and SaralaBehn, to enact positive change in the struggle to protect
the Himalayan forests and the local basis for material life from the malignant infringement of
capitalism in a developing world.
The success of the Chipko resistance also proved that social movements can be
effective tools for keeping profit organizations accountable to the people. Social actions are
never the product of a single individual, but are instead upheld and kept pure by the masses who
keep the message alive. Likewise, writers, journalists, humanitarians, and anthropologists from
all walks of life can participate in something greater than themselves. The Himalayan women

9. were entrusted with the preservation of their local rights, “the expression of an old social
consciousness in a new context” (Shiva 137). In the same way, any successful reform will draw
upon the social consciousness of a culture while putting those values and ideals into a new
frame. While the preservation of people's rights might be deemed radical in certain contexts, it is
a fact of life that meaningful change never occurs smoothly or at the hands of one individual. In
this movement it was not the responsibility of a single woman to enact change, but the work of
thousands of men and women raising their voices that led to the success of the movement and the
re-consummation of the people’s rights.
Until both men and women are seen as having equal opportunities to contribute to the
economy, nothing will truly improve. Social action has been a powerful tool for the correction of
civil and political rights, witnessed in both Karim’s and Shiva's writings. Improvements will
likely be stalled until citizens rally support to call for social action that will remove themselves
and their country from the snare of eternal debt at the hands of corrupt NGOs and unequal
economic systems. This ultimate call for action by citizens to enact change is the pinnacle upon
which true development can occur as the basis of growth would be in the hands of the people,
not dictated by outside organizations that tend to exploit gender roles and traditional ways of life.
There may yet be a social movement initiated by citizens for more accountability among those
institutions that run the country, an ongoing process of revitalized activism of which anyone can
take part. While this may come to pass, the proverbial gendered thorn in the side of development
has remained a consistent issue.
The lack of action in gender theory must be rectified. Anthropologists do, in fact, have
the power to enact change in the disciplines of economics and finance reform, and where gender
and development theory instersect. There is a living connection between the deficit in women's

10. rights and finance opportunities, and the continuing level of poverty that is witnessed in much of
the third world. As Okin says, “Until what women do counts as much as what men do, until
women's capabilities are fostered as much as men's, until women's voices are heard as strongly as
men's…the development of the [least developed countries] is doomed” (Okin 316). But there is
yet hope for a solution to gender inequality, its centrality in the deficits of microfinance, and
future improvements in economic and developmental reform. The answer is a balance where
both men and women become viable assets to the problems of poverty, and where those who
witness the realm of human inequality add their voices to the growing tumult.
Works Cited
Karim, Lamia. Microfinance and Its Discontents. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota
Press, 2011.
Nussbaum, Martha. Women, Culture, and Development: A Study of Human Capabilities. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Okin, Susan. “Poverty, Gender, and Well-Being: What Counts, Who's Heard?” Philosophy and
Public Affairs, Vol. 31, No. 3 (2003): pp. 280-316.
Robbins, Richard. Cultural Anthro. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012.
Sen, Amartya. "Gender Inequality and Theories of Justice."Women, Culture, and Development:
A Study of Human Capabilities. New York, Oxford University Press, 1995. (published in
Nussbaum's anthology)
Shiva, Vandana. "The Evolution, Structure, and Impact of the Chipko Movement."Indian
Institute of Management.Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 6, No. 2 (1986): pp
133-142.
Small Change, Big Business: The Women's Bank of Bangladesh 10 Years Later. Micro Credit for

11. Women: The Story of the Grameen Bank Documentary Series. Films Media Group,
1995.