ABSTRACT

Through qualitative research conducted in the bazaars of Bishkek, this paper examines the posited tripartite relationship between the free market, micro-finance and women’s empowerment by focusing on how loans from micro-finance institutions in Bishkek influence the lives of female loanees. The neo-liberal conception of ‘individual autonomy’ and ‘empowerment’, it is argued, may not adequately serve as indicators of actual female empowerment/disempowerment in Bishkek and lead us to fail to recognize moments of self-exploitation and forms of claim-making. The research also underlines the disempowering effects of the affectional burden, that is, the constant sense of anxiety, that the loanees have to manage in order to survive in the neo-liberal business environment, which offers high interest rate loans and exposes the loanees to over-indebtedness. These effects can be followed through the analysis of the role the desire for stability and ‘ontological security’ plays in the formation of the identities/world views of the loanees.

摘要

通过在比什凯克集市上进行的定性研究，本文通过关注比什凯克小额信贷机构的贷款如何影响女性贷款人的生活，检验了自由市场、小额信贷和妇女赋权之间假定的三方关系。有人认为，“个人自治”和“赋权”的新自由主义概念可能不足以作为比什凯克实际女性赋权/剥夺权力的指标，并导致我们无法识别自我剥削的时刻和主张的形式——制造。该研究还强调了情感负担的削弱作用，即持续的焦虑感，贷款人必须管理才能在新自由主义商业环境中生存，新自由主义商业环境提供高利率贷款并使贷款人暴露于过度负债。