Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
FIELD RESULTS
B. Decision Making Capacity
VP Project
Since female operators have been contributing
financially to their families, their importance,
decision-making capacity, and power in family
affairs have increased, as stated in the following
vignette, in which one operator talks about the
impact on VP operators in general:
It has significantly changed her economic
condition and given her complete satisfaction and
confidence, as she can now do something for her
family and herself. Her decisions now get prior-
ity from her husband on every aspect of life, like
children's education and birth control, as she has
proved herself to be successful in her business.
The operators are also becoming important
persons at the village level, as stated by one op-
erator, describing how she perceives the situation
for VP operators:
She is being treated as a successful entrepreneur
in the society and thus she plays an important role
in its social activities.
A. Economic Progress
VP is an opportunity for rural women to initi-
ate their own business in their localities. Where
required, the female operator first gets a loan to
purchase a handset and to finance infrastructure
development within her area, if necessary. The
VP operators can set up the business adjacent to
their homes.
Recently I engaged in a business concerning
cellular phone. I obtained license from Grameen
Phone company. My income increased from
Tk.1,000 to Tk.6,000 per month.
The improvement in rural women's economic
or financial condition through the VP project is not
straightforward. We found some challenges — a
conservative social structure, in which conserva-
tive elements use social pressure in their attempts
to hinder economic progress by women., This is
demonstrated by the experiences of one of the
operators:
People came to my shop to call their relatives
and for business purposes. My business was
running well, but after some days some people
objected to my family, mentioning that a single
woman cannot operate business in the middle of
the Bazaar (market). I had a fear like this because
our society is quite conservative for women.
However, this negative perception of the role
of women was challenged by other women, as
illustrated by another operator:
I motivate others to become more financially
independent, and it makes them feel happy and
proud. Look at me! I have proved that a woman
can also earn income like man. A female can do
it as well, or sometime more successfully.
C. Social Progress
In general, although not well educated themselves,
the female operators have become aware of the
importance of education, hence they are giving
high priority to sending their children to school.
Further, they have become aware of different
social issues that are conducive to their develop-
ment. The following vignette indicates the social
progress of an operator:
My level of knowledge, skill and awareness
of the wider environment is drastically changed
as I have to manage different people, have to go
different places for business purposes and thus my
bargaining and negotiating power has increased.
In summary, the VP business has improved
the confidence of the female operators and has
enabled them to be active citizens. This confidence
has prepared them to speak out on a number of
issues, including unethical conduct they may
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