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Microfinance as a tool for socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Northern Malawi : a practical theological reflection
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2022
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| _version_ | 1867613737671720960 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Chilongozi, Mwawi Nyirenda |
| author2 | Bowers-Du Toit, Nadine |
| author_browse | Bowers-Du Toit, Nadine Chilongozi, Mwawi Nyirenda |
| author_facet | Bowers-Du Toit, Nadine Chilongozi, Mwawi Nyirenda |
| author_sort | Chilongozi, Mwawi Nyirenda |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2022. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/124738 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:40:54.381Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/124738 Microfinance as a tool for socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Northern Malawi : a practical theological reflection Chilongozi, Mwawi Nyirenda Bowers-Du Toit, Nadine Claassens, L. Juliana M. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology and Missiology. Microfinance -- Malawi Economic development Women -- Malawi UCTD Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2022. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Poverty is a multifaceted, gendered global challenge that affects women significantly more than men. To alleviate poverty and achieve sustainable development, women in the Global South are engaging in microfinance. Microfinance is the provision of financial services to underprivileged people who cannot access credit from commercial banks and is proving to be a tool of socio-economic empowerment of women from rural areas. This study explores the ways in which the church can promote the microfinance model of savings and loans in a holistic and sustainable way. This study discusses poverty and the feminisation of poverty in the light of the gender and development (GAD) approach and explores the status of women in Malawi in terms of education, health, agriculture, the environment, politics, issues of gender-based violence and socio-economic empowerment. African women theologies and transnational feminism are the theoretical lenses used to explore the advancement of the socio-economic empowerment of rural women in the Global South in the context of economic globalisation. Identified as feminist liberation theologies that seek justice and liberation of all people, African women theologies, are used as the theological lens to analyse the socio-economic empowerment of women in order to explore how women can be liberated from the oppression caused by economic injustice. As a qualitative empirical study, this research explores the nature and impact of existing savings and loans groups run by rural women in the communities of Bwengu and Bolero in Northern Malawi. With a view to understanding the role of the church in microfinance with regards to rural women, clergy from the Henga and Nyika Presbyteries and church leaders of the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia and the Malawi Council of Churches were also included in the study. The findings from the empirical research indicate that microfinance is beneficial to individual women, their families and communities as the savings and loan model encourages women to save money from their resources. Through the savings and loan groups, it appears that women are empowered socio-economically and they become financially independent. The findings also indicate that women who are involved in savings and loan groups can now participate in decision making at household and community levels. Furthermore, women’s involvement in such groups assists in reducing incidents of gender-based violence at the household level because women are making a substantial contribution to the household income. The microfinance model of savings and loans is, therefore, deemed to be both holistic as it encourages women to save from what they have and to generate social capital and spiritual inspiration as they work together in solidarity through the groups. These findings call the church to engage with such models of economic development as they highlight the fact that the churches are aware of microfinance initiatives but the churches have not engaged in the initiatives. However, there is need for the churches to engage in such initiatives because they empower the communities. In order to promote holistic and sustainable microfinance, the church has to advocate for economic justice and build the capacities of its members concerning microfinance. The church should, therefore, seek to encourage all including men, women and youth to engage in microfinance so that the entire community is lifted and empowered socio-economically. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Armoede is 'n veelvlakkige globale uitdaging waarby gender ook 'n rol speel; dit raak vroue beduidend meer as mans. Vroue in die Globale Suide maak gebruik van mikrofinansiering om armoede te verlig en volhoubare ontwikkeling te bewerkstellig. Mikrofinansiering is die voorsiening van finansiële dienste aan minderbevoorregtes wat nie toegang tot krediet van kommersiële banke het nie en blyk 'n instrument van sosio-ekonomiese bemagtiging van vroue in landelike gebiede te wees. Hierdie studie ondersoek maniere waarop die kerk die mikrofinansieringsmodel van spaar-en-leen op 'n holistiese en volhoubare manier kan bevorder. Die studie bespreek armoede en die feminisering van armoede volgens die gender en ontwikkeling (GAD) benadering, en ondersoek die status van vroue in Malawi wat betref onderwys, gesondheid, landbou, die omgewing, politiek, gender-gebaseerde geweld, en sosio-ekonomiese bemagtiging. Die teoretiese lense van Afrika-vroue-teologieë en transnasionale feminisme word gebruik om die bevordering van die sosio-ekonomiese bemagtiging van landelike vroue in die Globale Suide in die konteks van ekonomiese globalisering te ondersoek. Afrika-vroue-teologieë, wat geïdentifiseer word as feministiese bevrydingsteologieë wat geregtigheid en bevryding van alle mense nastreef, word gebruik as die teologiese lens om die sosio-ekonomiese bemagtiging van vroue te analiseer ten einde te ondersoek hoe vroue bevry kan word van die onderdrukking wat deur ekonomiese onreg veroorsaak word. Hierdie kwalitatiewe empiriese studie ondersoek die aard en impak van bestaande spaar-en-leningsgroepe wat deur landelike vroue in die gemeenskappe van Bwengu en Bolero in Noord-Malawi bestuur word. Predikante en kerkleiers van die Henga- en Nyika-sinodes, die Livingstonia-sinode van die Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) en die Malawi Raad van Kerke is ook by die studie betrek met die oog daarop om die rol van die kerk in mikrofinansiering met betrekking tot landelike vroue te verstaan. Die bevindings van die empiriese navorsing dui daarop dat mikrofinansiering voordelig is vir individuele vroue, hul gesinne en gemeenskappe, aangesien die spaar-en-leningsmodel vroue aanmoedig om van hul middele te spaar. Dit blyk dat spaar-en-leningsgroepe bydra tot die sosio-ekonomiese bemagtiging en finansiële onafhanklikheid van vroue. Die bevindinge dui ook daarop dat vroue wat by spaar-en-leningsgroepe betrokke is, betrek word by besluitneming op huishoudelike en gemeenskapsvlakke. Verder dra vroue se betrokkenheid by sulke groepe by om voorvalle van gender-gebaseerde geweld op huishoudelike vlak te verminder omdat vroue 'n beduidende bydrae tot die huishoudelike inkomste lewer. Die mikrofinansieringsmodel van spaar-en-lenings word dus as holisties beskou, aangesien vroue van die middele tot hul beskikking spaar; dit genereer ook sosiale kapitaal en geestelike inspirasie aangesien die vroue in solidariteit in die groepe saamwerk. Hierdie bevindinge roep die kerk op om met sulke modelle van ekonomiese ontwikkeling in gesprek te tree, aangesien dit beklemtoon dat kerke bewus is van mikrofinansierings-inisiatiewe, maar nie aan die inisiatiewe deelneem nie. Daar is egter 'n behoefte daaraan dat kerke aan sulke inisiatiewe deelneem omdat dit gemeenskappe bemagtig. Ten einde holistiese en volhoubare mikrofinansiering te bevorder, moet die kerk pleit vir ekonomiese geregtigheid, en lidmate se vermoëns rakende mikrofinansiering opbou. Die kerk moet dus poog om almal, insluitend mans, vroue en jongmense, aan te moedig om mikrofinansiering te beoefen sodat die hele gemeenskap sosio-ekonomies opgehef en bemagtig word. Doctoral 2022-03-08T12:41:11Z 2022-04-29T09:29:37Z 2022-03-08T12:41:11Z 2022-04-29T09:29:37Z 2022-04-04 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124738 en Stellenbosch University xix, 282 pages, maps (color) application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Microfinance -- Malawi Economic development Women -- Malawi UCTD Chilongozi, Mwawi Nyirenda Microfinance as a tool for socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Northern Malawi : a practical theological reflection |
| title | Microfinance as a tool for socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Northern Malawi : a practical theological reflection |
| title_full | Microfinance as a tool for socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Northern Malawi : a practical theological reflection |
| title_fullStr | Microfinance as a tool for socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Northern Malawi : a practical theological reflection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microfinance as a tool for socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Northern Malawi : a practical theological reflection |
| title_short | Microfinance as a tool for socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Northern Malawi : a practical theological reflection |
| title_sort | microfinance as a tool for socio economic empowerment of rural women in northern malawi a practical theological reflection |
| topic | Microfinance -- Malawi Economic development Women -- Malawi UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124738 |
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