In Pursuit of Happiness: The Transformative Role of Rural Financing for Women in Nara Mughlan Village of Chakwal District in Pakistan

Microfinance has generally been linked to women’s economic empowerment. However, over time aspersions has been cast on the empowerment thesis by research that looks at ways in which either empowerment has not been achieved and / or microfinance schemes may have ended up harming women. What is absent though is the non-material value of microfinance. This paper looks at the link between various forms of rural financing and gendered social exchanges where women tend to be centre stage and finds that despite the risks involved women tend to benefit emotionally from rural financing. Women in Pakistan are closely involved in major life events like birth, marriage, and death. To meet the needs in these situations, women obtain funds through a variety of means, with microfinance and rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) being the two most prevalent. This article endeavours to examine the influence of rural financing on women's empowerment through the lens of feminist frameworks proposed by Kabeer and Mayoux. Descriptive ethnography is the research design in this study. It is based on a 12-month research of borrowers in the Chakwal district's small village of Nara Mughlan. The data was gathered through conducting interviews and conversations with the 50 borrowers. We utilized thematic analysis to analyse data in this study. The research found that majority of women spent borrowed money on household expenses, home renovations, and costs related to major events in their lives. Only a small number of women were able to effectively employ the money by managing small-scale businesses like sewing and stitching, grocery stores, poultry, and livestock management. Despite their financial contributions, women's decision-making at the household level does not differ noticeably. What differs is how women make psychological and emotional gains by giving up their turn to other women in case of ROSCAs, and proxy lending in microfinance. This forfeiture of a turn in ROSCAs or the significant risk in proxy Microfinance Provider (MFP) borrowing is not seen as a loss as it provides them a gain in social exchange bringing happiness and a sense of fulfilment.