Determinant of Women Empowerment in Southern Punjab (Pakistan): An Empirical Study

Women's empowerment is the most debated topic in world literature today. It is one of the Millennium Development Goals in relation to microfinance programmes; a latest issue in the microcredit literature. Not only was Grameen Bank founder Dr. Younus awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize in Bangladesh's micro-credit program, but it has also been a hot topic for researchers since its introduction in the mid-1990s to 1970s. This study considers women's empowerment empirically, as it is very difficult to measure this qualitative term. An attempt has been made to develop an Empowerment Index that has three important dimensions. Regression analysis is used to compare women's empowerment between microcredit borrowers and non-borrowers. The results obtained show that borrowed women obtained higher points in the Empowerment Index. Women's education and household education, community norms, and the impact of the media have also been observed to be significant factors in women's empowerment.