Hundreds of women protest against alleged harassment by microfinance companies

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: Over 500 women on Thursday staged massive protest in Lakhimpur district against alleged harassment caused by a section of microfinance companies with regard to recovering their loans from the women of the rural areas. The protest programme was initiated under the auspices of the Lakhimpur district unit of Samannai Nari Shakti.

Regarding the issue, the women protesters who came from various parts of the district, like North Lakhimpur, Boginadi, Kadam, Chaoldhowa, Ghilamora, Dhakuakhana, Dhalpur, Narayanpur, Bihpuriya, Bongalmora Laluk and Naoboicha, assembled at Ahu Chaol Gaon Ranga Mancha near North Lakhimpur town and held a protest meeting. Then the protesters, led by Samannai Nari Shakti president Rashmirekha Doley and Manashi Rajkhowa, took out a protest rally and arrived at Lakhimpur district Deputy Commissioner's office premises and demonstrated dharna from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm. Later, the organization submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of the district demanding steps to check the growing harassment of the agents of the microfinance companies with regard to recovering the loans from the rural women.

In the memorandum, the organization stated that a section of microfinance companies had expanded their aggression upon the economic foundation of the rural areas taking the advantage of pecuniary difficulties. "Especially, they have harassed the women in debt to pay their loan which was lent by the microfinance companies at a high rate of interest in the name of their financial growth. The rate of interest of their loan is much higher than the rate fixed by banks and other non-banking institutions. Under such circumstances, the women have to suffer a lot and some of them had to commit suicide in desperate condition, finding no way to pay the debt," the memorandum stated.

In the memorandum, the organization further said that they had written letters to the microfinance companies concerned requesting them not to harass the women in debt until the State Government relieved them by paying their debt. In this regard, the organization, in the letters, quoted about the Assam Micro Finance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Bill, 2020 which aims to 'protect and relieve the economically vulnerable groups and individuals from the undue hardship of usurious interest rates and coercive means of recovery by microfinance companies', which was passed by the Assam Assembly on December 30 in 2020. But the agents of the microfinance companies concerned have allegedly started to harass the women in debt while ignoring the letters and are spreading propaganda against Bill.

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