Rawa’a Salama ^(1)*,  and Ghassan Yaqoub⁽¹⁾  

(1) Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Tishreen University, Syria.

(*Corresponding author Rawa Salama :Email rawaahsalameh1@gmail.com)

Received:   15/04/2021                  Accepted: 30/10/2021 

Abstract: 

The study aimed to measure the level of empowerment of rural women and determine the impact of small enterprises on socio-economic empowerment indicators. This study was conducted in the village of Hayalin, located within the Masyaf region of Hama Governorate / Syria in 2020. The study relied on preliminary data collected based on a comparative sample of 68 rural women distributed equally among a random sample of women who own or manage small enterprises in addition to a random sample of other women who do not have these enterprises. The study based on the methodology of descriptive comparative analysis. the results showed that small enterprises have an important moral role in empowering rural women in the study area, especially with regard to economic empowerment, as these enterprises were able to raise the percentage of economic empowerment from 42.6% to 50.4%, i.e. an increase of its amount. 7.8%. This effect involved most of the sub-indicators of economic empowerment, as these enterprises led to an increase in women’s empowerment to access loans by 5.4%, an increase in the percentage of women’s participation in owning assets by 8.9%, an increase in the percentage of women’s contribution to household income by 12.4%, and an increase in the percentage of women’s contribution in planning family economic activities by 11.9%. However, the impact of small enterprises on the overall indicator of social empowerment was not significant, but was confined to five sub-indicators, as these enterprises led to an increase in the percentage of financial education for rural women by 6.2%, an increase in family independence by 3.2%, and an increase in the percentage of women’s participation in decisions related to production by 6.8%, in addition to an increase in the percentage of their contribution to income and spending decisions by 6.9%, and an increase in the percentage of their contribution to education decisions by 7.8%. In general, small enterprises led to an increase in the overall empowerment indicator of rural women in the study sample by 4.4%. It should be noted that most of these enterprises are new enterprises, meaning that their impact is still in their early stages, and their effects are supposed to increase in the medium term. Hence, it must be pointed out the importance of other policies that contribute to the rural women empowerment, that play an additional and important role besides small enterprises.

Key words: women empowerment, women development, rural women, small enterprises.

Full paper in Arabic: pdf