This week, Bangladesh's Parliament passed a law that brings the Grameen Bank under control of the country's Central Bank. Women directors of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh had promised to protest government moves to control the bank.
本周,孟加拉国议会通过一项法令,将格莱珉银行(又译作乡村银行)置于该国央行控制之下。孟加拉国格莱珉银行的女董事们曾承诺要抗议政府控制该行的举措。
Grameen means rural or village in the Bengali language. Grameen Bank's headquarters is in the capital, dhaka. 9 of the bank's 12 voting directors are currently village women. They recently condemned the new law. The Grameen Bank bill of 2013 will give Bangladesh's Central Bank the power to appoint 3 bank directors.
在孟加拉语中,格莱珉的意思是乡村。格莱珉银行总部位于该国首都达卡。目前12位表决董事中有9位是农村妇女。她们最近谴责了这项新法令。《2013年格莱珉银行法案》赋权孟加拉国央行委任三位银行董事。
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent the bill to Parliament last week. The current directors question the government's right to seize control of the bank. They warn that this would destroy the success operation of a bank owned mostly by low-income women. They also called for future protests.
孟加拉国总理谢赫·哈西娜(Sheikh Hasina)上周将该议案递交国会。格莱珉银行现任董事们质疑政府是否有权夺取该行的控制权。他们警告说,这会破坏这家主要由低收入妇女拥有的银行的成功运作。他们还呼吁进行抗议。
Grameen was the first bank to make small loans to low-income people. Bangladesh economist Muhammad Yunus started the bank in 1976. Micro-lending quickly spread around the world. Such loan programs are now available in almost every country.
格莱珉是首家向低收入人群提供小额贷款的银行。孟加拉国经济学家穆罕默德·尤努斯(Muhammad Yunus)于1976年创建了格莱珉银行。小额贷款迅速传播到世界各地。现在几乎每个国家都有这类贷款项目。
Studies from many countries show the small loans have a powerful effect. Yet critics say it is not clear that such loans help families out of poverty. Some borrowers spend loan money to buy new things, instead of creating or expanding a business.
来自多个国家的研究表明小额贷款具有强大影响力。然而批评人士表示,这类贷款是否能帮助家庭摆脱贫困尚不明确。一些借款人使用贷款购买新东西,而不是用于建立或扩大业务。
In 2006, the Grameen Bank and Mr Yunus jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize. A documentary shown in Norway in 2010 raised questions about bank practices. After the documentary, the Nobel Prize Committee expressed support for the bank and for Yunus. But the Bangladesh government began efforts to oust him.
2006年,格莱珉银行和尤努斯先生共同获得诺贝尔和平奖。2010年在挪威播映的一则纪录片对银行的做法提出了质疑。在纪录片播映之后,诺贝尔奖委员会对该行和尤努斯先生表达了支持。但孟加拉国政府开始努力把他赶下台。
In 2011, a court in Bangladesh forced him from his position for violating a Retirement Age Law. In September of this year, the government accused him of not paying tax. Mr Yunus denied the accusation. Critics of the government say the campaign against the Grameen Bank and Mr Yunus began in 2007, when he suggested he might run for office to answer problems with corruption in Bangladesh.
2011年,孟加拉国一家法院以违反退休年龄法为由迫使他离职。今年9月,该国政府指控他逃税。尤努斯先生否认了这些指控。政府批评人士表示,针对格莱珉银行和尤努斯先生的运动始于2007年,当时尤努斯先生暗示他可能参加竞选以解决孟加拉国的腐败问题。