With economic, educational and human rights challenges for women as the backdrop, Noble laureate Muhammad Yunus, who changed the lives of millions of women in Bangladesh through his Grameen Bank said on Monday that nations could develop only by empowering women.

Yunus was addressing the conference on Women of South Asia: Partners in Development being organised by Jamia Millia Islamia in collaboration with South Asia Foundation.

Talking about his Grameen Bank model, Yunus in his talk on “Women, Micro Credit and Poverty Alleviation” said, “there was a time in Bangladesh when women were not lent money. Today, the Grameen Bank has 8 million borrowers, 97 per cent of whom are women.”

Yunus also said that while the economic slowdown has had a huge impact on South Asian countries, the status of energy, poverty and education are also an equal challenge.

The conference was attended by women from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who share common challenges and goals.

Participants exchanged ideas on how to empower women by strengthening their health, education and economic status.

They also discussed ways to set up a women’s network in South East Asia so that they learn new models of improving their living standards while also preserving their culture.

The ideas were discussed over group sessions on Women and Micro credit, Women in Education, Women in Peace-making, Women’s Malnutrition and Hunger, Women and the Environment, Women and Creativity: Crafts and Textiles and Women and Creativity: Arts and Literature.

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