MICROFINANCE FOR WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT: EVIDENCE FROM APEIRON'S PROJECT EQUAL STEPS

Women empowerment is an active and multidimensional process, aiming to define, challenge and overcome barriers in women’s life, to finally realize their full identity and power in all spheres. Women empowerment and economic development are closely connected. Focusing on financial inclusion means advancing women’s economic empowerment and driving progress on gender equality. Being financially included can have transformative effects for women. This thesis firstly analyses the concept of women’s empowerment, its origin, evolution and transformation, together with the legal instruments which protects it and with the context of economic development. Secondly, the focus shifts to the role of microfinance in women’s empowerment, showing how different approaches and trends can have a different impact in women’s lives. Furthermore, the Nepalese contexts is taken into consideration: reflecting on the economic, political, socio-cultural background of Nepal, the last part of this research shows evidence regarding how microfinance can be a useful tool for women empowerment. This has been possible thanks to the collaboration with the NGO Apeiron Nepal, where case-study research was conducted in Gundu, a rural area within the Kathmandu Valley. Specifically, the outcomes of a specific project, namely Equal Steps, were examined after three years from its conclusion.