Institute for Indian Mother and Child

: empowering women through microcredit programmes

Abstract

This dissertation, written in the form of a case study, aims to present the Institute for Indian Mother and Child (IIMC), a voluntary, non-governmental organization that offers specific programmes to help the poor achieve self-sustainment. To gain a more realistic view of the social, cultural and economic context in which poor rural women live, and to familiarizing myself with a society in which gender inequality is still an issue, I spent 6 weeks in Kolkata, working as a volunteer for the IIMC. I compiled a case study aimed at examining the microcredit processes carried out by the IIMC in 5 different branches in the South 24 Parganas, a district of West Bengal. Moreover, its final objective is to understand if women are reaching empowerment after participating in the microcredit programmes, and if this NGO can be considered a role model for others. The dissertation is structured in five main chapters: (1) Introduction, which states both the main objectives of the study and my chosen research methodology. (2) Literature Review, addressing the theoretical background for a better understanding of women’s role in society, and the concept of both empowerment and microcredit. (3) Case Study, which presents the IIMC’s microcredit programmes and progress made in the struggle to achieve empowerment (4) Teaching Notes, addressing 4 main research questions to guide the Professor in a case discussion with students. (5) Conclusions, Limitations and Future Research, where it is explained that well-structured microcredit programmes can indeed help women achieve empowerment.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Susana Frazão Ferreira Fernandes Pinheiro (Supervisor)