Gender Dimension in Digital Financial Inclusion: With Reference to Plain land Ethnic Community
Asrafi Bintay Akram and Mst. Saema Jerin Suma
Financial inclusion is the process of ensuring that everyone has inexpensive, fair, and equitable access to financial services. Mobile phones are the primary means of accessing digital services in Bangladesh (Leon Perlman, 2018). By offering services to demographic groups who would otherwise be excluded (those without bank accounts, those with limited mobility, those residing in remote locations, and others), MFS (Mobile Financial Service) has become one of the main forces behind financial inclusion for them. MFS also aids families that are in need of food, medicine, groceries, fertilizer, and other necessities (ADB, 2022). Additionally, the nation seems to be developing into a distinct market for digital financial services. Several notable companies have entered the MFS market, including Nagad, Rocket, Upay, the recently launched Tap, and others (Future Startup, 2022).
Similar to other problems, there are still gender disparities and exclusion in financial literacy, financial numeracy, access to money and financial services, and preparedness to accept digital financing, all of which impede women from taking use of the financial services that are currently available. The access of unbanked women, the gender gap in mobile phone ownership, and the low representation of women in the sector employment are some of the main problems and gaps in female financial inclusion in Bangladesh. In addition, there are still pervasive gender disparities and exclusion in various areas of financial services.
A Study on the Access to Digital Financial Services of the Plain Land Ethnic Communities in Northern Bangladesh is a research that the authors completed lately and was financed by one of the top research centers of Bangladesh Policy Research Institution (PRI). This study used a mixed method to examine the adoption rate of MFS by the majority Santal and Orao communities in Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions of North Bengal, the primary habitat of the plain land ethnic population, as well as the challenges and risks associated with using this service. After arriving at their conclusions, the authors of this study found that there was discrimination on the basis of gender.
Men and women participate equally in the labor force across all ethnic communities, according to the poll. They work together in a farming environment. The majority of them are day laborers who are employed on the property of others. Despite the fact that women are more likely to take on home tasks, women are often paid less than males. Moreover, when men receive salaries, they spend their money on drugs like Hariya and Chuyani. As a result, they binge drink and view the day as being pointless. Men use narcotics, but women still look after their families.
In Bangladesh, gender prejudice extends to the possession and use of mobile phones. In a similar vein, the Mobile Phone Economy -2022 research in Bangladesh claims that women own 23% fewer mobile phones than men. Everyone who used an Android phone also accessed the internet. Men use cell phones more frequently than women among ethnic people who are poor. Considering that they believe the household only requires one phone. Similarly, the study revealed that 77% of respondents own mobile phones, 69% of whom are men and 31% of whom are women. They are motivated to employ technology together rather than individually by their shared livelihood strategy. Women are generally thought to not need their own cellphones in our society. As a result, when a phone is purchased in a family with limited resources, the male inherits possession of the device. The initial step of the digital divide in our society is indicated by these numbers.
Among those who conduct financial transactions via mobile devices, 84% of respondents opened an MFS account through a DFS media agent. But in particular among women, who state that MFS was difficult and that they would be concerned for their safety as a result, making it impossible for them to utilize it. This is because they have limited awareness about MFS due to a lack of education. The second stage of the digital gap in the ethnic community is demonstrated by this incident. Because of this, 75% of men engage in financial transactions, compared to only 25% of women. Despite the fact that both men and women contribute to family income, since men predominately serve as family heads, their share of financial transactions is higher.
Women use their mobile devices to access retirement and child support benefits. The MFS account of the mother receives the majority of the tribal stipend for children in tribes. Since males are more addicted to drugs than women are, men withdraw money from other family members or government benefits, or they force their wives to do so. The women are physically beaten if they are not convinced to comply. This financial program has brought up a fresh controversy, which was also examined in Md. Abdur Rashid’s (2015) Master’s thesis paper. He said that it had been established that women were the targets of domestic violence and that girls had been subjected to eve-teasing in exchange for receiving stipend money. Md. Jahirul Islam, the 55-year-old headmaster of Ituya Adibashi Govt. Primary School in Dinajpur has also stated the same viewpoint in our study. Mary Hembrom, a parent of a student at our school, allegedly claimed that the student’s father stole money from her child’s stipend and used it to buy drugs, according to what he said. Hembrom once asked him to change her mobile number so she could continue receiving the child’s allowance. Because if she didn’t give her husband the stipend money, he would physically abuse her.
According to Dr. Nazneen Ahmed, an economist with the UNDP, it is crucial to make sure that women in underprivileged communities can readily access and benefit from fintech services. It has gotten inside of us to keep this relationship going. But there are few financial policies that prioritize women, there are few socio-cultural restrictions, and few people are knowledgeable about digital technology (TBS Report, 2021). Bangladesh has a substantial gender gap in financial inclusion. A large portion of women from marginalized groups who do not use mobile financial services. These gender disparities are also present in the economic services sector as a result of our patriarchal social framework. However, in order to benefit economically, digital financial inclusion made sure that women could access and use financial products just like men.
Asrafi Bintay Akram : Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, Bangladesh. Email: asrafiakram.soc@gmail.com
Mst. Saema Jerin Suma : Student (MSS), Department of Sociology, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, Bangladesh.
