CHALLENGES FACED BY WOMEN IN ACCESSING CREDITS IN PARTS OF KANO AND JIGAWA STATES

Men and women not only have differing access to resources, gender based responsibilities which is seen as a sociological construction also result in differences in the management and distribution of resources within the household and the community. The United Nations Development in 1993 coined the sustainable human development, the achievement of which depends on among other factors accessibility of women to production resources and participation in cooperative organisations The study examined the role of co-operatives expanding women's access to credit facilities in some rural areas of Kano and Jigawa states. Two peri- urban settlements –Dawanau and Dawakin Tofa in Kano State and Four rural areas Marke in Kano State and Furji, Acilafia and Gwiwa were selected for the study. A total of 200 female co-operative members drawn from the list of 669 selected co-operative members in the villages were selected through a process of stratified random sampling while a total of 110 female non cooperative members and 110 males were selected through systematic random sampling technique. Data was gotten from the questionnaire administered to the samples and from the focus group discussion, other sources was through the documents of the female cooperative members gotten from the ministry of women affairs and women leaders in each study settlements. Information about the female non co-operative members' and the male respondents was gotten from the village heads and confirmed through the house to house enumeration of the villages. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics, chi square, Logit model and correlation statistical tests. The conclusion drawn from the study revealed significant difference in access to credits and income of female cooperative members and female non cooperative members. The logit model result show that membership of cooperatives was influential in predicting access of women to credit sourced from government and this was engineered through the activities of development officers of the ministry of women affairs. It is recommended that women should be encouraged to participate in viable cooperative organizations for them to benefit in development programmes crucial for their socio economic empowerment.