Microfinance debt: FCEJ calls on Govt. to take urgent measures to protect women from predatory lending

THE Feminist Collective for Economic Justice (FCEJ), expressing its deep concerns over the economic degeneration and rising household indebtedness in Sri Lanka, has accused the Government of failing to enact effective regulation against predatory lending practices and moving forward with a new Microfinance Bill without adequate public consultation.

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A law that does not fully recognise the experiences of affected women, effectively regulate predatory practices, and curtail the proliferation of microfinance will have devastating consequences.

The FCEJ, a network of economists, academics, activists, university students and lawyers, issuing a statement on 17 October has claimed that the National People’s Party (NPP) Government has ‘lost touch with the realities on the ground’ one year after assuming power.

“Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the JVP ~ the main party in the coalition government, made a recent media statement that they have no information of anyone in Sri Lanka suffering from hunger. Contrary to the claims of the ruling party, our experiences working with grassroots women’s groups have revealed an overall degeneration of people's lives in the face of harsh austerity policies the NPP has chosen to continue,’ it stated.

In its statement the FCEJ has claimed that the NPP Government was also going with the same laws and policies of the previous Governments. “We are deeply concerned that while several laws and policies rolled out by the previous regime continue to trap people in poverty, the same laws and policies are being merely trimmed and re-proposed by the current government. Will the new Microfinance Bill, which yet again has not been placed before the people for public consultation, be the latest knot in the noose?” it claimed.

The FCEJ highlighted how austerity policies and inadequate incomes are forcing households, particularly women, into a devastating microfinance debt trap, leading to food insecurity, loss of assets, and increased domestic violence.