Impact of Microfinance and Enterprise Development on Women's Empowerment-A Case Study of Skardu-Pakistan

This article aims to analyze the impact of microfinance and enterprise development on women’s empowerment in Skardu (GilgitBaltistan, Northern Pakistan). The aim of this study is to examine the effect on women’s social and economic conditions as a result of Hawa Project, by Agha Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in Skardu. Feminist theory argued and helped to analyze in this research that women are suppressed in the society mostly because of their economic interdependence and this exploitation further extended to economic, political and social injustice for women. The data was collected from 20 women entrepreneurs through questionnaire, who are having shops in Hawa market. Data analysis has shown that this Hawa project has a very positive impact on the socio-economic conditions of the local women in Skardu as capacity to be economically self-sufficient and having their own personal income help to empower the women on their own.