Venezuela's Women's Development Bank - Creating a Caring Economy

[Joanne98]

July 15th 2008, by Kristen Walker - COHA
Venezuela’s Women’s Development Bank, abbreviated Banmujer, joins a long line of micro-credit institutions intended to alleviate poverty by encouraging small-scale entrepreneurs. What makes Banmujer unique is that it loans only to women; in fact, it is the only state-sponsored women’s micro-credit bank in the world. Since its inception on March 8, 2001, Banmujer has been commended for its successes in helping women escape poverty and in instilling a new economic model of cooperation instead of competition.

Women’s Rights in Venezuela

Over the past decade, the Venezuelan government has been consistently supportive of women’s rights. For example, the Bolivarian Constitution, adopted in 1999, uses non-sexist and gender-neutral language throughout. Instead of “all men are created equal,” as is stated in the U.S. Constitution, Venezuela’s constitution holds that “all persons are equal before the law.”1 When discussing the role of the President, it says “Presidente o Presidenta,” instead of using only the male form.

The Venezuelan Constitution also explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender: “no discrimination based on race, sex, creed, or social standing shall be permitted.” Moreover, it prohibits not only intentional discrimination, but also any actions with discriminatory effects. Gregory Wilpert, a researcher at VenezuelaAnalysis.com, commented that “what this means in practice is that public policies must be reexamined for their possible discriminatory effects. For example, if women were under-represented at public universities, the state would have to examine the causes for this and eliminate any barriers that exist that cause fewer women then men to attend the university.”2 In contrast, the U.S. Constitution has no language explicitly forbidding even intentional gender discrimination. Although a coalition of feminist groups fought to add such a provision to the Constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment narrowly failed being ratified by the necessary three quarters of the states after passing Congress in 1972.

Finally, Article 88 of Venezuela’s 1999 constitution recognizes housework as a valuable job that, like any other vocation, entitles the worker to social security benefits. This provision has substantially furthered the cause of women’s rights because it allows many women to receive social security and other protections which when in the past were denied to them. This and other provisions on women’s rights have led expertsto conclude that Venezuela’s new constitution “is now among the most progressive in the Western Hemisphere on gender issues.”3

The government’s effort to support women’s rights has not been limited to the constitution. Starting in 1998, the Law of Violence Against Women and Families increased legal penalties for domestic violence, an effort which in recent years has also included a government-sponsored television campaign and the 2007 Organic Law on the Right of Women to Live Free of Violence. Under the Chávez administration, the National Institute on Women (Inamujer) has been very active, coordinating activities such as educational workshops on reproductive rights, lobbying congress for more protection of women’s rights, and supporting women campaigning for office.4

BANMUJER: Encouraging Female Entrepreneurs

It was in this context that President Hugo Chávez launched the Women’s Development Bank on International Women’s Day in 2001. The bank, led by economist Nora Castañeda, issues micro-credit loans to small groups of women to help them start small-scale local business projects. Typical loan projects range from a cooperative farm to a craft workshop to a bakery to a hair salon. The credits average between 500,000 and 1,000,000 bolívares (US$260 to $520) and are subsidized by the government, allowing the bank to charge interest as low as 1 percent.5

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3644

[The2ndWheel]

1. So it's a state-sponsored women-only micro-credit institution

that is in violation of the Venezuelan Constitution?

I'm just asking if I'm reading that correctly.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Really interesting info., Joanne98. It would seem if the Women's Developement Bank

serves the interests of the 70% of the people living in poverty, there is no way they are slighting men, and have completely equal services available for them.

Men CAN get money from the Women's Developement Bank if certain conditions are met:

Combating Poverty by Working Collectively

Almost 45 percent of Venezuelans live in poverty and 70 percent of these are women, so targeting women can be an effective approach to try to reduce poverty in general.13 Banmujer’s micro-credit loans are specifically designed to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner. Castañeda explains, “If we just gave them money the women would continue to be poor, but … with debts.” Instead, the bank strives to help women form businesses that will provide them with a long-term source of income, allowing them to escape the cycle of poverty. By helping women become entrepreneurs and lead their own businesses, Banmujer actively encourages them to step outside their traditional roles and claim more respect in society.

Another of the bank’s overarching goals is to encourage women to work collectively. Although the loans are issued individually, recipients must belong to a group of five to nine women working together on a project. Men can receive loans, but only if they are in a group comprised of a majority of women; to date, women have received 96 percent of Banmujer’s loans. The groups must work collectively to develop a proposal and apply for a loan, and the ultimate goal is to encourage them to continue working collectively in the business even after the loan has been repaid.

Really good information, and you clearly know there are precious few ways we are going to find out much in this country about leftist countries which isn't screwed hard to the right for propaganda purposes, and totally misleading!