Hoping to offer economic empowerment for women, India has opened a bank to cater especially to women, aiming to give them easier access to facilities like bank accounts and loans.
为了提升女性在经济上的能力，印度开设了专门方便女性的银行，目标是让妇女更方便、容易地得到如账户和贷款等服务。
Komal Devi, who works as a maid in three houses in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, manages to save $20 every month out of her $100 earnings, but until now she has had nowhere to put that money.
库玛尔.迪威是清洁女工，在新德里附近小镇古尔冈负责三栋房屋的保洁工作。她每月从大约100美元的收入中设法省出20美元。但是这些省吃俭用积攒下来的钱却没有银行能为她保存。
Devi said she has attempted to open a bank account many times, but has never been able to do so because she migrated from a village, meaning she has no proof of identity banks in the city will accept. She is concerned that her savings are not secure. Left in the house, sometimes her husband takes away the money; sometimes it gets spent.
迪威说，她好几次试着去开个银行账户，但是由于来自农村，她没有身份证来证明自己在城里生活，因此也就不能在银行开户。迪威担心自己省下的这些私房钱会不安全。把钱放在家里，有时她丈夫会拿走，有时也不得不花掉一些。
To help women like her gain better access to banking services, India has opened a public sector bank, called Bharatiya Mahila Bank, to cater primarily to women.
为了帮助像她这样的女性能得到金融服务，印度公共部门开设了特别银行，主要为女性提供专门服务。
Inaugurating its first branch in Mumbai this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pointed out that although some Indian women have become business leaders, the vast majority face huge disadvantages.
这个星期在孟买举行的首家银行落成庆典上，印度总理辛格指出，尽管一些印度妇女成为了商界领袖，但众多女性所面临的仍是对她们不利的巨大的障碍。
"The sad reality is that women in India face discrimination and hardship at home, at school, at their place of work and in public places. Their social, economic and political empowerment remains a distant goal… They score below men in literacy, in health status, in employment potential, and in entrepreneurial skills,” said Singh.
辛格说：“这种令人悲哀的现实显示印度妇女在家庭、学校和工作地点及公共场所受到歧视。对她们在社会、经济和政治方面的救助还是一个长远目标。妇女在识字水平、健康状况、受雇机会以及经商技术方面都低于男性。”
The Prime Minister has called the founding of the bank a small step toward economic empowerment.
辛格称这种银行是通向经济救助的一个起步。
In a patriarchal society where in most cases men control a family’s financial resources, nearly three quarters of Indian women do not have a bank account. Per capita access to bank credit is also far lower for women than men.
在男权社会中，男子基本掌握了家庭的经济来源，将近四分之三的印度妇女没有银行账户。在人均获得银行信贷方面，女性也远远低于男性。
Officials say the new bank will facilitate the opening of savings accounts for poor and disadvantaged women. It will also encourage women entrepreneurs by making it easier for them to get access to loans. For example, the bank will offer loans of up to $400 to women to start small businesses, even if they cannot offer collateral - a problem in a country where property is mostly owned by men. It will also encourage businesses and products that help women by offering credit for enterprises such as crèches and catering services.
印度官员说，新型银行将为贫穷和弱势妇女设立账户。这将让经商的女性受到鼓舞，因为她们可以更容易得到贷款。例如，银行可以最多向女性提供400美元的贷款，帮她们启动小生意，尽管她们无法提供抵押品。因为印度的产权主要都是男人掌管。
The new bank will begin operations with seven branches in major cities and has plans to expand to 500 over four years across urban and rural areas. The bank’s board of directors has eight women on it, and a majority of the staff is female.
新型银行将在主要城市设立7家分行，今后四年在城市和农村扩大到500个分行。这个银行的董事会有8名女性组成，办事人员多数也是女性。
For Komal Devi, the Bharatiya Mahila Bank offers a ray of hope.
对迪威来说，这家银行提供的是一线希望。
Devi said she recently bought a gold pendant to convert her savings into the only asset that most Indian women have - jewelry. She had no other options because there was no place to keep her money. However, she insists, she would have preferred the security of a bank account.
她说，最近她买了一个项链坠，让她的资金转变成了唯一财产，像多数印度妇女一样拥有了这件首饰。她说是因为没有其他选择，她的钱没有地方放。但实际上她更愿意将钱存入银行账户，那样是更安全的做法。
Experts say the new bank’s success will be judged by the inroads it makes into rural areas, where banking facilities are poor and where women suffer the worst gender biases.
专家表示，这种新银行成功与否，要看它们在农村地区的经营情况，因为农村银行的设施落后，也是妇女遭受性别歧视最严重的地方。
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