Loans and rural women empowerment: the case of Morogoro Rural District, Morogoro Region

Abstract

The study to assess the extent to which loans extended to rural women to empower them was conducted in Morogoro Rural District in Morogoro Region in 2008. The objectives of the study were to determine the usage of loans obtained by women, identify the economic activities where they invested the loans, determine who controls the economic activities and assess the extent of freedom they enjoy from their spouses. Data were collected from a sample of 200 women who managed to get the loans. Information was collected through interviews, questionnaire and focus group discussions. Most of them (60.0%) had borrowed above Tsh 50,000 up to Tsh 100,000. Women who obtained loans from SACCOS used it in buying and selling vegetables, tomatoes, onions and other food items. Others used it on food vending, fried cakes and buns. Most of them (88.5%) indicated that the businesses they had belong to their family. The majority (88.0%) have encountered problems from their spouses regarding the loans they obtained from SACCOS. In most cases, their husbands were the ones who controlled the use of money in the family. The study further indicated that women face difficulties in repaying the loans due to many demands on the money generated, lack of control over the money generated, and poor returns from businesses.