Mahila Banks can they be viable with exclusive mahila membership?

Mahila Banks
can they be viable with exclusive mahila membership?


“Mahila Banks—can they be viable with exclusive mahila membership?” The most powerful determinants of the woman's status in the family are education and the ability to earn and control income. In India, unfortunately, despite a gradual increase in the female literacy rate, the majority of women are still financially dependent on the male members of the family.

In the women banks, 100 percent of the banks' shareholders are women. The majority of women members are from lower or middle-income groups. Most of them either have a very scanty source of income or are totally dependent on their husbands or other earning male members of the family. Only a few women members belong to the high- income groups and the number of such women members who are entrepreneurs and supporting their families with their earning is very small.

For, providing a service like banking which essentially survives on guarantees/ securities and collateral securities to women who are deprived even of a say in the family matters, let alone owning a share in the property, is surely no mean task.

Mahila Banks should be recognized as effective instruments of 'socio-economic change' among women, and the approach of the State Govt. and the RBI towards them should take into account the fact that the Mahila Banks are vehicles of economic empowerment of women, particularly of those from the middle and weaker sections of the society.

The RBI should consider the following points:
a. In view of the difficulty experienced by Mahila Banks in getting sufficient loan proposals from women, RBI should permit enrolment of 25% male nominal members and provide them loans or facility as they get from other Nationalized Bank.

b. 30-50% of male membership with non-voting shareholding (This will also augment the share capital of the Mahila Banks.).

c. Or allow Mahila Banks to freely enrol male members after they attain the entry point norms prescribed for general banks.

d. Mahila Banks by-laws should be almost same in all the states. The loan facilities of all kinds will be given to those business women entrepreneurs who have a share of 40 percent in their business. This clause should be removed because 40 percent share in the business company is not possible in those states where the women in business are very few. Because of the above clause, the mahila banks cannot give loan to a big company where a woman has a share of 10 to 30 percent not 40 percent.

Allmost all the banks situated in market, where majority of business class are males, who have current A/c, and they want facilities just like overdraft, CC limit etc. which cannot be given because of this clause.

e. These Women Banks should be declared, first day, Scheduled Banks so that they can compete with Nationalized, Commercial & International Banks working in the area.

Mahila Banks should be allowed to enrol a fixed number of male members to improve their viability. They were, also of the view, that nominal membership o Mahila Banks should be increased to 30% and should be open to men as well as women with there being no restriction on either the ratio between the two or the total number of male members.

Market is characterized by rigid timings, often not suitable for women due to their reproductive chores. Mostly, men can only have access to the market.

Gender related issues, particularly those involving upliftment of women from the weaker sections, have always been a major concern of the co- operative sector in general. Some of the general articles included in this issue take stock of the efforts made by the co-operative sector at national and international level and also throw light on the concept of women empowerment and gender issues.

Mahila Bank should be allowed to finance Male Members of society also, so that these Banks can become self-solvent.

For this, upto some extent these Banks should be allowed to enrol male segment, also as a member in these Banks after deposit of 10 to 20 crore. It will help these banks to be viable, as has been done in the case of “NIVEDITA BANK AT PUNE”. Presently, the women segment is engaged in only 4 to 5% in the business establishment and they are not approaching these banks for their loan needs. So participation of male segment will help these Banks to expect business and to actively participate in the over all development of these families.

For example, in case of recovery of loans, the women team cannot successfully work as they hesitate to visit residence of loanies due to insecurity. They cannot go to loanies' residence before or after office hrs. So, for this purpose, for recovery only male team can work successfully as the tradition in India is that of women not going to other places women not going to other places and early morning.





Dr. Firoza Bano
Chairperson
The Raj Laxmi
Mahila Urban Co-op. Bank Ltd.,