Journal of Islamic Monetary Economics and Finance, Vol. 11, No. 2 (2025), pp. 217 - 240
p-ISSN: 2460-6146, e-ISSN: 2460-6618

ACCOUNTING EDUCATION, DISCIPLINE, AND
SUPERVISION WHEN WOMEN IN CHARGE IN ISLAMIC
MICROFINANCE: CASE STUDIES OF
INDONESIA AND PAKISTAN
Murniati Mukhlisin1 and Luqyan Tamanni2
1

Universitas Islam Tazkia, Indonesia, murniati@tazkia.ac.id
2
BSI Institute, Indonesia, ltamanni@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the relations between women’s freedom within the family
and their access to accounting education, adherence to discipline, and supervision
for the cases of Indonesia and Pakistan using the Structural Equation modelling. The
participation of women in microfinance is deemed crucial for the success of poverty
alleviation programs, particularly in countries where group-based initiatives are
prevalent. The observation reveals that women involved in Islamic microfinance
programs experience economic, moral, and religious empowerment, enabling them to
overcome economic challenges and poverty, thereby enhancing their living standards.
The findings indicate that women’s ability to manage family finances has a direct impact
on their access to accounting education, discipline, and supervision. The argument
posits that autonomy plays a significant role in influencing accounting education,
discipline, and supervision within the observed groups in Indonesia and Pakistan. The
study further documents that the influence of women’s life freedom in Baitut Tamkin
Tazkia Madani (BTTM) Indonesia on accounting education and supervision surpasses
that in Akhuwat Pakistan. Conversely, the impact of women’s life freedom in BTTM
on accounting discipline is lower than that in Akhuwat. This research addresses the
existing gap in the literature concerning the study of women and Islamic microfinance,
emphasizing the importance of considering Islamic perspectives on women, family,
and microfinance in social policies aimed at poverty eradication.
Keywords: Accounting education, Discipline, Supervision, Islamic microfinance, Women,
Indonesia, Pakistan.
JEL classification: G51; D63; J16.

Article history:
Received
: May 18, 2023
Revised		
: December 11, 2023
Accepted
: May 30, 2025
Available online : June 26, 2025
https://doi.org/10.21098/jimf.v11i2.1747

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Accounting Education, Discipline, and Supervision When Women in Charge in Islamic
Microfinance: Case Studies of Indonesia and Pakistan

I. INTRODUCTION
Involvement of women in microfinance is essential to the success of any poverty
alleviation program in countries where group-based programs operate. Groupbased programs in microfinance space have been widely recognized such as
Grameen Model in Bangladesh that currently operates in 40 Zonal offices and
2,568 Branch offices, with employees as of June 2023 stood at 21,227 and provides
services to nearly 45 million people (including family members) through 10.36
million borrower members (Grameen, 2023). Empowering women in the real
economy creates a strong social capital, which will contribute to the achievement
of sharing economy in the society and increased social cohesion that are critical for
economic development and sustainability (Hassan & Saleem, 2017).
However, the success of women participation in the economy, which in this
study is through microfinance programs, has mounted criticism of male dominance
and violation of women’s rights. In the case of microfinance in Bangladesh, there
are many instances where the loan obtained by women is managed by male
relatives (Goetz & Gupta, 1996; Ahmed, 2008). Furthermore, the study in Cameron
shows that economic empowerment of women was developed particularly by
programs created by international donor agencies which could augment women’s
oppression (Mayoux, 2001). Another study on oppression revealed by Tamanni &
Haji Besar (2019) provides a powerful case of the need for clients’ protection. The
case in Andhra Pradesh, India in 2010 documents that the clients of microfinance
institutions committed suicide after being humiliated by field officers who tried to
collect payments of their loans.
The violation of women’s rights where they should receive their spouses’
financial support is regarded as repressive and oppressive as they must be
responsible both for their family finance. This is in contrast to what the Nobel
Peace Committee stated in Norway in 2006 that “Microcredit has proved to be an
important liberating force in societies where women in particular have to struggle
against repressive social and economic conditions” (Karim, 2011, p. xiii).
In another story of microfinance, a close examination of Islamic microfinance
program where majority participants are women, such as the case in Indonesia,
signals different meanings of life success in the group-based program. Rahayu
(2020) for instance states that empowerment of women is not the main objectives
of some Islamic Microfinance Institutions (IMFIs), rather business interest and
financial sustainability. On the other hand, Yaumidin et.al. (2017) and Fianto et.al.
(2018) indicate involvement of women in Islamic microfinance does contribute to
welfare and empowerment, either through improvement in household income or
greater control of household income and assets.
This is the missing link in which there should be a better mechanism to
ensure the success of Islamic microfinance mission, such as better supervision of
the program and improvement of the capacity of all participants. Therefore, the
research aims to investigate the impact of women’s financial independence within
the family on their ability to pursue accounting education, adhere to the discipline,
and receive supervision. This study specifically concentrates on Indonesia and
Pakistan and adopts the Structural Equation Modelling. The significance of this
endeavour extends to the realm of educational empowerment, as it suggests
optimal strategies for microfinance participants to consistently engage in learning

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and apply accounting knowledge and techniques. As accounting education is
believed to influence women as a part of social structure, as described below:
Through what it informs about and brings attention to and through what it fails to inform
about and displaces from attention, accounting has been understood to have an impact
on people’s attitudes, ways of thinking and behaviour so as to help sustain and enhance a
problematic social order (Gallhofer & Haslam, 2002).
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The following section
reviews literature on women, microfinance, Islamic microfinance, and accounting.
The next section delineates the methodology of the research, then the paper
discusses results and analysis. The final section concludes the study and suggests
recommendations for future research.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Poverty is a persistent phenomenon and many countries consider it as a high
priority in their development agenda. United Nations reports that one in eight
people worldwide remain hungry (UN, 2013). Although, it is argued that, global
poverty declined from 10.1 per cent in 2015 to just about 8.6 per cent in 2018, it
continues to cause anxiety. During Covid-19 pandemic, global poverty experienced
a slight increase to 9.2 per cent in 2020, representing the first increase in extreme
poverty since 1998 and the largest increase since 1990 (UN, 2023).
With such a situation, achieving “No Poverty” by 2030 is a pivotal goal for
many developing countries, meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
(SDG No. 1). Year after year, each country has been measuring its poverty line
and attempting to combat poverty alongside with the call of SDGs no.1, which is
to be achieved by 2030. Several poverty eradication programmes such as Islamic
microfinance models have been introduced in these countries, but the high poverty
rate remains. In this study, we define poverty from a multidimensional perspective.
As such, any effort to solve poverty needs to develop a comprehensive program
with the involvement of many institutions (Suzuki, et al., 2016).
Although microfinance in general has been developed since the 17th century,
involvement of women in microfinance has just started a few decades ago. The
involvement of women in microfinance was first initiated by Grameen Bank,
an institution founded by Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh in the 1970s. Since
its emergence, microfinance has risen to become one of the most high-profile
movements to address poverty in developing and transition countries (Bateman,
2010).
Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to low income clients
in solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed who
have limited access to financing and banking related services (Zabidah, 2012).
Microfinance offers an array of financial services, including loans, savings and
insurance, available to poor entrepreneurs and small business owners who have
no collateral and would not otherwise qualify for a standard bank loan. In fact,
with microfinance, it is shown that poor households are reliable customers for
financial institutions (Cull, Demirgüç-Kunt & Morduch, 2009). Microfinance
enables the poor to access financing services to gain financial freedom with any
income generating economic activities available to them.

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Accounting Education, Discipline, and Supervision When Women in Charge in Islamic
Microfinance: Case Studies of Indonesia and Pakistan

Furthermore, Obaidullah & Khan (2008) argue that access to services such
as, credit, venture capital, savings, insurance, and remittance that is provided
on a micro-scale will enable participation of those with severely limited financial
means. Another important component after providing financial access is a social
safety net for the poor. Ascarya (2022) offers a compelling case on using Islamic
social finance instruments such as zakat or infaq for the needy during Covid-19
pandemic. The authors demonstrate that provision and access of financial services
and safety net to the poor helps increase their income and economic security.
In the discussion of ways to achieve SDGs, Mukhlisin, Tamanni, Azid, &
Mustafida (2020) examine 89 studies on Islamic microfinance in the world and
conclude that Islamic microfinance studies offer practical solution through Islamic
financial instruments for the eradication of poverty and hunger, increasing the
role of women in the economy and improvement of infrastructure.
In further details, the following sections delineates Islamic microfinance
practices in Indonesia and Pakistan.
2.1. Indonesia Poverty and Islamic Microfinance Solutions
As of March 2023, the poverty rate in Indonesia stood at 9.36%, or 25.9 million
people living below poverty line (BPS, 2023). The poverty rate could be higher than
9.36% using different methodology such as from the World Bank that measures
country’s national poverty line using 2017 PPP US$2.15 per day per capita. This
poverty line could mean that nearly 40% or 100 million of Indonesians considered
as poor.
As a part of combating poverty, Indonesia has embarked on microfinance since
the establishment of Bank Rakyat Indonesia in 1895. However, the group based
lending model adopted from Grameen Bank, which involve women participants,
was introduced in the late 1980s by Karya Usaha Mandiri (LPPI, 2015). Grameen’s
approach seems to promise not only to lift millions (especially women) out of
poverty, but also to bring hope on absolute poverty eradication (Korth et al., 2012).
With the launch of Islamic financial institutions in the 1990s, Islamic
microfinance with a group approach was also introduced in the form of Islamic
cooperative. OJK (2023) records that there are 81 IMFIs out of 242 microfinance
institutions in Indonesia, while statistical data in 2020 shows that 4,046 institutions
are registered as Islamic cooperatives (Jurnas, 2020). Some of the recent literature
have also provided detailed accounts on the development of Islamic microfinance
institutions in Indonesia, such as Fianto & Gan (2017), Yumna & Clarke (2019),
Ginanjar & Kassim (2020), Ascarya & Sakti (2021) and Ascarya et.al (2023).
For Islamic group lending model/Islamic community based microfinance, there
is no official number of groups as they are organized under various institutions
such as zakat institutions and NGOs but the participants of each institution that
grips the program can reach 10,000 households with participants of mostly women
(85% at average) like in BTTM, the case of this study.
Dhumale & Sapcanin (1998) document five guiding principles to ensure the
success of IMFIs i.e. covering costs, achieving a certain scale, avoiding subsidies,
promoting outreach and demand-driven service delivery, and maintaining clear
focus. However, discipline in financial record among the participants of IMFIs has

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not been getting attention or at least, as one guiding principle in the best practice
microfinance. This is not surprising, as the cost borne by IMFIs is high as opposed
to commercial banking operations. With additional practice such as financial
discipline may induce higher cost.
The use of financial technology in microfinance, or microtech, has also been
considered. Ascarya & Sakti (2022) argue that Islamic financial services industry
in Indonesia, including Islamic microfinance, has been affected by the emergence
of fintech. It has impacted the traditional Islamic finance business models and
prompted the creation of a new means of accessing the Islamic microfinance
services market.
2.2. Pakistan Poverty and Islamic Microfinance Solutions
As for Pakistan, 38.3 percent of the population (88.7 million people in 2021)
is multidimensionally poor while an additional 12.9 percent is classified as
vulnerable to multidimensional poverty (29.9 million people in 2021) measured
by the percentage of 2017 PPP US$2.15 per day (UNDP, 2023).
Microfinance is claimed to play a role in Pakistan’s poverty alleviation
programs. Noreen et al. (2011) show that microfinance programs have a significant
impact on children’s education and managing household expenditure. They
use a sample comprising 384 respondents using multi-stage cluster sampling.
Furthermore, Ghalib et al. (2014) explain how household access to microfinance
reduces poverty in Pakistan. The study gathers empirical data by interviewing
1,132 households. The microfinance program proved to have a positive impact on
reducing expenditure such as to cover dwelling characteristics like water supply
and repair of wall and roofing.
Furthermore, Naveed Aslam & Usman (2022) analyze 16 Islamic microfinance
institutions in Pakistan and find that Islamic microfinance only has 7% share in
the total microfinance industry in Pakistan. They reveal that Akhuwat (qardul
hasan based organization) is good in terms of outreach, financial strength, and
operations cost while lacking in ROA, ROE, average finance size and nil on deposit
outreach. As of 2023, Akhuwat has expanded to 855 branches in all four provinces
in Pakistan, serving 5.4 million beneficiaries (Akhuwat, 2023).
2.3. Role of Accounting Education
There are several principles that Muslim family should adhere with their finance
which involves accounting as family skill such as listed by Shehata (1998) as
follows: 1) There must be a balance between income and expenditure based on
the hadith that says “Very fortunate to those who have embraced Islam, granted
ample bounties and accept what Allah has decided for them” (Muttafaq ‘Alaih);
2) Spend wealth for good cause based on Qur’an Al-Baqarah (2): 172 and Al
Maidah (5): 4 that emphasize on permissible income and spending; 3) Prioritize
the spending according to Maqāsidul-Shari’āh in fulfilling five principles such as
protection of religion (dīn), protection of life (nafs), protection of intellect (‘aql),
protection of wealth (māl), and protection of lineage (ansab) (further details can
be found in Mukhlisin (2021); 4) Avoid excessive spending otherwise destruction

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Accounting Education, Discipline, and Supervision When Women in Charge in Islamic
Microfinance: Case Studies of Indonesia and Pakistan

such as indicated in the Qur’an Al-Isra (17): 16 when God destroyed the affluent
people in the city. One hadith also refers this as one of the great faults in spending
i.e. luxury life and being suspicious (from Ibnu Umar and IbnuAbas); 5) Avoid
impermissible spending to prevent the society living luxuriously; and 6) Act
moderately in spending as shown in the Qur’an Al-Furqon (25): 67 and Al-Isra
(17): 29, also based on the hadith that says God will grant His mercy to those who
spend moderately (HR Ahmad).
In light of these principles, accounting skills are useful to guide them towards
a better family with records. Accounting is influenced by various factors, including
political and economic interests of particular groups in a society. Similarly,
accounting also affects how individuals, groups, and institutions behave, organize
their activities and administer their lives.
This means that accounting plays an important role in society including in
elevating poverty, which is parallel with the overall objective of microfinance.
Accounting dictates the depiction of deprived societies through its formalized
procedures, routines, measurements, classifications, controls and reporting.
It becomes apparent that the existence of microfinance or in particular, Islamic
microfinance requires new mechanisms to ensure its success to achieve millennium
goals. The approach to accounting is expected to mitigate oppression on women due
to their poor education on administration and management hence to increase the
success rate. At accounting and discipline level, managing business and personal
accounting transactions is also a part of the education process possibly conducted
within the Islamic microfinance program. This contributes to the literature gap on
study of women and Islamic microfinance and calls on microfinance organizers
to take into consideration the role of accounting education to improve the
performance of Islamic microfinance programs.
III. METHODOLOGY
This paper explores case studies of Indonesia and Pakistan due to their similarities in
microfinance development and relatively large Muslim population. In fact, Global
Islamic Economy Indicators Report 2022 highlights similarity between Pakistan
and Indonesia in their financial sector development. Although, if we examine the
GIEI (2022) ranking, the financial sector of Indonesia is relatively more extensive
than that of Pakistan, particularly in total assets of Islamic Financial Institutions
(IFIs), number of institutions, outstanding value of Sukuk, as well as the number
and value of Islamic funds in the GIEI (Global Islamic Economics Index) score
difference around three index-number.
On the other hand, governance, awareness and social value for supporting
Islamic financial sectors, Pakistan performs better. Pakistan has higher literacy and
awareness for Islamic financial sector and the differences are subsequently high,
with almost 50% difference. However, the governance support between Indonesia
and Pakistan has seven index-number differences.
In terms of cases, we take two similar economic empowerment programs
involving women in Indonesia and Pakistan, namely BTTM (Baitut Tamkin Tazkia
Madani) in Indonesia and Akhuwat in Pakistan. Both institutions apply a group
lending model and heavily use the Islamic contract of qardhul hasan, in addition

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to the majority of their members are women. We have close interactions with the
two IMFIs and engage with them for nearly a year period, and train their members
to use basic household accounting techniques. This is not just a survey of the
members, but we were involved in the training and monitored their use of basic
tools such as budgeting for about a year.
This paper explores the impact of empowering women participants of IMFIs
in Indonesia and Pakistan, especially from BTTM and Akhuwat. Data used in
this study is qualitative and ordinal, in order to analyse if women’s life freedom
in the family affects their access for accounting education, women’s discipline,
and supervision positively. Data source in this study is primary data, which
was obtained between November 2018-April 2019 through survey by using
questionnaire instruments as data collecting tools. This research involves 200
respondents from BTTM and 200 respondents from Akhuwat, which we view to be
sufficient for structural modelling. The questionnaire consists of questions about
the dimensions of freedom, education, supervision, and discipline. The scale used
for all of these dimensions is a four-point likert scale: Strongly Disagree scored 1,
Disagree scored 2, Agree scored 3, Strongly Agree scored 4. The collection of data
through this questionnaire was conducted using hardcopy questionnaires.
This research employs conclusive research, encompassing both descriptive
and causal research designs. Descriptive research serves the purpose of elucidating
aspects such as respondent profiles, providing a descriptive analysis of the
questionnaire, and presenting various forms of data. On the other hand, causal
research is utilized to delineate relationships between variables. The researcher
adopts a single cross-sectional design for information collection, employing
a survey conducted once within a specific period among a group of samples
(Malhotra et al., 2010). Data are gathered through questionnaires distributed to
each sample and processed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), with
analysis performed using Lisrel 8.7 following Wong’s procedures (2013).
The supporting LISREL software, developed by Jöreskog and Sörbom, is
deemed interactive and user-friendly. SEM comprises two main components:
the measurement model, estimating latent variables through confirmatory or
exploratory factor analysis, and it is crucial to note that indicators must be selected
based on underlying theories, not arbitrarily combined (Ascarya & Tekdogan,
2022).
Ascarya & Tekdogan (2022) also affirm that SEM is akin to simultaneous
equations in econometrics, differing in that econometrics uses measured variables,
while SEM employs unobservable or latent variables. SEM offers several advantages
over the OLS method: (1) greater flexibility in assumptions; (2) reduction of
measurement error through confirmatory factor analysis, incorporating many
indicators in one latent variable; (3) a user-friendly graphical modelling interface
enhancing result interpretation; (4) examination of the overall model rather than
individual coefficients; (5) testing models with multiple endogenous variables;
(6) modelling against intermediate variables; (7) creating error term models; (8)
testing coefficients across diverse subject groups; and (9) handling challenging
data types like time series data with autocorrelation errors, abnormal data, and
incomplete data.

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Accounting Education, Discipline, and Supervision When Women in Charge in Islamic
Microfinance: Case Studies of Indonesia and Pakistan

However, SEM has its drawbacks. Firstly, it heavily relies on parametric
assumptions, such as multivariate normal distribution of observed variables
and independence of observations. Secondly, forming latent variables in SEM
necessitates reflective indicators, while formative indicator models consider
indicators as variables influencing latent variables.
3.1. Definition of Variables and Hypotheses Setting
Ganle et al. (2015) present indicators that define women’s empowerment are to
have control over the loan, involved in decision making, relative freedom, reduced
independence to husband, and self-confidence. Controlling over the loan has been
raised as one way for women to avoid oppression from members of the family.
This can be solved through pursuing their level of education and supervision
through institutions-building, technology and training supports (Goetz & Gupta,
1996).
Another area to improve is women’s discipline in microfinance programs,
which relies on how women manage their family finance. This is evidenced by
Walker (2014) who argues that one key success factor of the New Deal in America in
1937 was participants’ discipline through supervision of recording family finance
that involves accounting practices. In sum, women are free from oppression in
the microfinance programs if they have relative freedom in their house, sufficient
level of education, discipline in their family finance, and supervision by experts to
guide them for further education in managing their family finance.
3.1.1. Freedom
This study argues that women oppression in microfinance and Islamic
microfinance that recruit women as members exists or may exist; therefore, it
becomes imperative to investigate the notion of oppression. Oppression indicates
the absence of relative freedom which relates to domination and abuse (Ganle et
al., 2015).
According to Greene (1988) personal freedom is “self-dependence and selfdetermination” and also involves the freedom to make choices and the ability to
“accomplish what one chooses to do”. Nevertheless the power of choice is based
on intelligent knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the choice and the
consequences of the choice. Through education, knowledge and empowerment,
which are basic tools for the power of choices and accomplishment, will be
acquired.
3.1.2. Education
Low level of education contributes to the rooted problems of women’s
disempowerment in the context of various countries such as in Asia and Southeast
Asia (Agarwal, 1994; Ganle et al., 2015; Goetz & Gupta, 1996). Therefore, we
formulate this hypothesis that H1: Freedom has a positive and significant effect on
Education

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3.1.3. Discipline
Discipline is one main principle to ensure the success of poverty eradication
through the empowerment programs introduced by most of the IMFIs in the
world. The concept of supervision from Foucault and Giddens informs that the
accounting featured permanently as the most significant attempt in revitalising
the poor rural families after the Great Depression (Walker, 2014). The interesting
part of this program is supervision on how the families were educated on budget
and cash flow management, proving the argument on accounting as a moralizing
force and a source of improvement. In the budget, the families should plan what
they should spend from the expected income from crop harvesting they would
receive. One charitable expense they budgeted was payment of 10% tithe to be
given through the church, for a good cause (Walker, 2014). Therefore, H2: Freedom
has a positive and significant effect on Discipline.
3.1.4. Supervision
Supervision is one of the main factors to ensure the success of women’ involvement
in micro finance. Conventional microfinance institutions, viz Grameen, BRAC,
Akhuwat, etc. adopt supervision in their model, which means one dedicated field
officer handles a group of participants in a particular area. Thus, H3: Freedom has
a positive and significant effect on Supervision.
3.2. SEM Approach
The first step required in the SEM method is to conduct a survey to IMFIs clients.
The survey was also completed with an ethnography approach that was conducted
in Baitut Tamkin Tazkia Madani (BTTM), Bogor, Indonesia and Akhuwat, Lahore,
Pakistan.
BTTM is an institution that was established in 2008 under the umbrella of
Andalusia Islamic Centre Sentul City and Tazkia Group, the institutions that are
concerned with empowerment of the poor through Islamic based micro finance.
At the early stage, they received funding from donor institutions such as Qatar
Charity, companies’ CSR, and individuals. The initial purpose of this institution
encouraged the fulfilment of the economic, social and cultural rights of lowincome families through the entry point of microfinance so that they would be
able to follow the current economic cycle. The pattern of development of BTTM
is similar to the Grameen Bank group model concept. In 2023, BTTM supervised
2,007 members in the Bogor area with their profiles as farmers, cake sellers, craft
makers, etc. (BTTM, 2023). As per December 2022, BTTM has distributed Rp35
billion (USD 2.3 million) and has an outstanding financing portfolio of Rp1.6
billion (USD 107,000).
Akhuwat, Pakistan is a non-profit company, established in 2001. Akhuwat aims
to alleviate poverty by creating a bond of solidarity between the affluent and the
marginalized. Its goal is to develop and sustain a social system based on mutual
support by providing interest-free loans so the members can start a business and
become self-reliable. According to Akhuwat (2023), Akhuwat has disbursed 201
billion Rupee Pakistan (USD 699.5 million), with outstanding loan portfolio PKR

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Microfinance: Case Studies of Indonesia and Pakistan

31.6 billion Rupee Pakistan (USD 109.5 million), with total benefiting families of
3.2 million families. Next, the data collected is formulated and presented in the
following section.
IV. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
This section presents Demography of the respondents, Association with BTTM
and Akhuwat, and Measurement Model Analysis.
4.1. Demography of the Respondents
The following are respondents’ profiles, which include marital status, age range,
education background, occupation, and spouse’s occupation.
4.1.1. Marriage Status
From the collected data, it can be summed up that 171 Akhuwat respondents
are married, 16 are unmarried, one respondent is divorcee, and 12 are widowed.
Meanwhile, 182 BTTM respondents are married, one of them is divorced, and 17
respondents are widows. From the following table, it can be seen that the majority
of the respondents of Akhuwat and BTTM are married (85.5% & 91%) and the rest
are varied.
Table 1.
Marriage Status
Marriage Status
Married
Unmarried
Divorced
Widow

Total
171
16
1
12

Akhuwat
Percentage
85.5%
8%
0.5%
6%

Total
182
0
1
17

BTTM
Percentage
91%
0
0.5%
8.5%

4.1.2. Age Range
We divide the age of the respondents into 5 groups, which are, under 25 years,
26-35 years, 36-45 years, 45-55 years and > 55 years. From the following table, it
can be seen that more than half of the Akhuwat respondents of this study are in
the age ranging from 36-45 years with the total of 71 people (35.5%), followed
by the age range of 26-35 as many as 64 people (32%) and 38 respondents have
a lifespan of 45-55 years, and the rest are in the range of up to 25 years with the
number 20 (10%) and > 55 years with the number 7 (3.5%). In comparison, BTTM
respondents represent that the age ranging from 26-35 years makes up the largest
part of the chart at 40.5% (which means they are at the productive age), followed
by the age range of 36-45 years (29.5%), 45-55 years at 11.5%, < 25 years at 9.5%,
and the least contribution > 55 years (9%). Table 2 is the summary of the age level
of the respondents:

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Journal of Islamic Monetary Economics and Finance, Vol. 11, Number 2, 2025

Table 2.
Age Range
Age
< 25 years
26-35 years
36-45 years
45-55 years
> 55 years

Akhuwat
Percentage

Total
20
64
71
38
7

10%
32%
35.5%
19%
3.5%

Total
19
81
59
23
18

BTTM
Percentage
9.5%
40.5%
29.5%
11.5%
9%

4.1.3. Education Background
From Table 3, it can be stated that 83 of Akhuwat respondents are uneducated,
31 respondents completed their primary school, 35 respondents are up to middle
school, 36 respondents passed matric school, 13 respondents from F.A school, and
only 2 respondents have a graduation degree. Meanwhile, 33 of BTTM respondents
are uneducated, 133 respondents finished primary school, 25 respondents passed
middle school, 9 respondents from matric school and none of them finished for
F.A, graduation and post graduation degree.
Table 3.
Education Level
Education Level
Uneducated
Primary
Middle/Junior
Senior
Matric
F.A
Graduation
Post Graduation

Total
83
31
35
0
36
13
2
0

Akhuwat
Percentage
41.5%
15.5%
17.5%
0
18%
6.5%
1%
0%

Total
33
133
25
9
0
0
0
0

BTTM
Percentage
16.5%
66.5%
12.5%
4.5%
0
0
0
0

4.1.4. Occupation
From Table 4, it can be stated that the majority (149) of the Akhuwat respondents
are businessmen, followed by 28 respondents who are not or not even working,
21 respondents are working (10.5%), and only 2 respondents are having business
and working (1%). In comparison, the majority (113) of the BTTM respondents are
not business not even working, followed by 50 respondents are businessmen, 16
respondents are working (16%), and only 5 respondents are having business and
working (2.5%).

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Table 4.
Occupations
Occupation
Businessman
Working
Business and working
Not business not even working

Total
149
21
2
28

Akhuwat
Percentage
74.5%
10.5%
1%
14%

Total
50
32
5
113

BTTM
Percentage
25%
16%
2.5%
56.5%

4.1.5. Spouse’s Occupation
From the collected data, it can be stated that the majority (115) of the Akhuwat
couple’s occupation of respondents are businessman (57.5%), 61 respondent’s
couple are not in business, not even working (30.5%), and 24 respondent’s couple
are working (12%). In comparison, that the majority (152) of the BTTM couple’s
occupation of respondents are businessman (76%), followed by 24 respondent’s
couples are business and working (12%), 23 respondent’s couples are working
(11.5%) and only one respondent is not doing business not even working (0.05%).
Table 5.
Spouse’s Occupation
Couple’s Occupation

Total

Percentage

Total

Percentage

Businessman
Working
Business and working
Not business not even working

115
24
0
61

57.5%
12%
0%
30.5%

152
23
24
1

76%
11.5%
12%
0.05%

4.2. Association with Akhuwat and BTTM
From the collected data, it can be stated that the majority (82) of the Akhuwat
respondents have one year length period of membership program (41%), followed
by 68 respondents having 2 years length period of membership program (34%),
25 respondents having 3 years length period of membership program (12.5%),
19 respondents having 4 years length period of membership program (9.5%),
and 6 respondents having 5 years length period of membership program (3%).
Meanwhile, the majority (62) of the BTTM respondents have 5 year length period
of membership program (31%), followed by 43respondents having 1 years length
period of membership program (21.5%), 38 respondents having 2 years length
period of membership program (19%), 31 respondents having 4 years length
period of membership program (15.5%), and 26 respondents having 3 years length
period of membership program (13%).

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Table 6.
Membership Period in the Organization
Period
1 year
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years

Total

Akhuwat
Percentage

82
68
25
19
6

Total

41%
34%
12.5%
9.5%
3%

BTTM
Percentage

43
38
26
31
62

21.5%
19%
13%
15.5%
31%

4.2.1. Normality Test
Table below presents the results of normality test for the four latent variables in the
model. As displayed, the four variables have significance value (p-value) for less
than 0.05 (<0.05) for both test (Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk test). One
could conclude that the data are not normally distributed.
Table 7.
Normality Tests
Tests of Normality
Kolmogorov-Smirnova
Statistic
df
Sig.
Statistic
Education
0,395
200
Freedom
0,264
200
Discipline
0,416
200
Supervision
0,186
200
a. Lilliefors Significance Correction

0,000
0,000
0,000
0,000

0,474
0,753
0,441
0,849

Shapiro-Wilk
Df

Sig.

200
200
200
200

0,000
0,000
0,000
0,000

As for the multicollinearity test, this proposed model does not require
multicollinearity test, because it is not common to test multicollinearity for only
one exogenous variable.
4.3. Measurement Model Analysis
Measurement model is presented by seeing the t-value and standardized loading
factor for each indicator of a variable. Considering the approach conducted in this
study is two-step approaches, therefore it requires measurement model valuation
to identify the validity and reliability of each indicator. The measurement model
valuation can be analyzed through the following discussion.

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Table 8.
Summary of Freedom Measurement Model
Model

Akhuwat (Pakistan) n = 200
CR = 0.91, VE = 0.69
Loading
t-Value
Explanation
Factor

BTTM (Indonesia) n = 200
CR = 0.90, VE = 0.53
Loading
t-Value
Explanation
Factor

F1-Freedom
0.21
2.91
Invalid
0.42
6.06
Invalid
F2-Freedom
0.66
10.32
Valid
0.31
4.27
Invalid
F3-Freedom
0.69
10.79
Valid
0.60
9.09
Valid
F4-Freedom
0.45
6.47
Invalid
0.77
12.40
Valid
F5-Freedom
0.91
15.93
Valid
0.86
14.01
Valid
F6-Freedom
0.94
16.74
Valid
0.73
11.48
Valid
F7-Freedom
0.92
16.38
Valid
0.81
13.09
Valid
F8-Freedom
0.39
5.57
Invalid
0.76
11.90
Valid
F9-Freedom
0.34
4.80
Invalid
0.72
10.32
Valid
F10-Freedom
0,34
4.75
Invalid
0.53
7.44
Valid
(Akhuwat) Chi-Square = 0.37, df = 1, p-value = 0.54428, RMSEA = 0.000, AGFI = 0.99, X2/df = 0.37/1 = 0.37
(BTTM) Chi-Square = 7.79, df = 10, p-value = 0.64941, RMSEA = 0.000, AGFI = 0.97, X2/df = 7.79/10 = 0.78

The first discussion is freedom measurement. BTTM cases study has an RMSEA
value 0.00 ≤ 0.08, which means that the overall model fit is close fit. Meanwhile
Akhuwat has an RMSEA value 0.000 ≤ 0.08, meaning that the overall model fit
is close fit. T-value for all indicators has fulfilled all assumption requirements ≥
1.96 and standardized loading factor/SLF of each questionnaire item is valid or has
fulfilled the requirement, except for indicator F1 and F2 (BTTM model) and F1,
F4, F8, F9, and F10 (Akhuwat model). Therefore, we remove the invalid indicators
with the SLF < 0.5 and the model re-specification has been conducted. For the
re-specification model, it is showed that all goodness of fit index of two models
including X2/df is < 3, p-value ≥ 0.05, RMSEA ≤ 0.08 and AGFI ≥ 0.90 show the
good fit of Freedom measurement for both model (BTTM and Akhuwat). The
Freedom measurement model also has good reliability for both group models
which is reflected by CR ≥ 0.70 and VE ≥ 0.50. Therefore, it can be concluded that
overall model fit for the freedom measurement model is good as well as its validity
and reliability are supported.

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Table 9.
Summary of Education Measurement Model
Model

Akhuwat (Pakistan) n = 200
CR = 0.95, VE = 0.68
Loading
t-Value Explanation
Factor

BTTM (Indonesia) n = 200
CR = 0.93, VE = 0.57
Loading
t-Value Explanation
Factor

E1-Education
0.72
11.80
Valid
0.81
13.42
Valid
E2-Education
0.71
11.38
Valid
0.71
11.11
Valid
E3-Education
0.87
15.30
Valid
0.82
13.88
Valid
E4-Education
0.99
19.36
Valid
0.86
14.73
Valid
E5-Education
0.99
19.36
Valid
0.82
13.67
Valid
E6-Education
0.91
16.63
Valid
0.87
16.01
Valid
E7-Education
0.87
15.51
Valid
0.66
9.95
Valid
E8-Education
0.53
7.99
Valid
0.65
9.75
Valid
E9-Education
0.51
7.64
Valid
0.67
10/04
Valid
E10-Education
0.52
7.76
Valid
0.64
9.56
Valid
(Akhuwat) Chi-Square = 17.49, df = 18, p-value = 0.48967, RMSEA = 0.000, AGFI = 0.99, X2/df = 17.49/18 =
0.97
(BTTM) Chi-Square = 21.52, df = 16, p-value = 0.15937, RMSEA = 0.042, AGFI = 0.93, X2/df = 21.52/16 =
1.345

The second discussion is education measurement, which Akhuwat has an
RMSEA value 0.000 ≤ 0.08, meaning that the overall model fit is close fit. The
same can be stated for BTTM with an RMSEA value 0.042 ≤ 0.08. T-value for all
indicators for both groups have fulfilled all assumption requirements ≥ 1.96 and
standardized loading factor/SLF of each questionnaire item is valid. It is showed that
all goodness of fit index of the two models including X2/df is < 3, p-value ≥ 0.05,
RMSEA ≤ 0.08 and AGFI ≥ 0.90 show the good fit of Education measurement for
both model (BTTM and Akhuwat). The Education measurement model also has
good reliability for both group models which is reflected by CR ≥ 0.70 and VE ≥ 0.50.
Therefore, it can be concluded that overall model fit for education measurement
model is good as well as its validity and reliability.

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Table 10.
Summary of Discipline Measurement Model
Model

Akhuwat (Pakistan) n = 200
CR = 0.97, VE = 0.80
Loading
t-Value Explanation
Factor

BTTM (Indonesia) n = 200
CR = 0.95, VE = 0.69
Loading
t-Value Explanation
Factor

D1-Discipline
0.78
13.14
Valid
0.34
4.81
Invalid
D2-Discipline
0.97
18.44
Valid
0.42
6.07
Invalid
D3-Discipline
0.95
17.87
Valid
0.77
12.70
Valid
D4-Discipline
0.94
17.63
Valid
0.86
14.91
Valid
D5-Discipline
0.95
18.01
Valid
0.88
15.30
Valid
D6-Discipline
0.99
19.46
Valid
0.91
16.26
Valid
D7-Discipline
0.84
14.58
Valid
0.83
13.96
Valid
D8-Discipline
0.83
14.41
Valid
0.87
16.11
Valid
D9-Discipline
0.83
14.15
Valid
0.81
13.46
Valid
D10-Discipline
0.83
14.16
Valid
0.69
10.70
Valid
(Akhuwat) Chi-Square = 15.37, df = 7, p-value = 0.03156, RMSEA = 0.078, AGFI = 0.99, X2/df = 15.37/7 =
2.19
(BTTM) Chi-Square = 13.49, df = 8, p-value = 0.09608, RMSEA = 0.059, AGFI = 0.93, X2/df = 13.49/8 = 1.68

The 3rd discussion is discipline measurement, which Akhuwat has an RMSEA
value 0.078 ≤ 0.08, meaning that the overall model fit is close fit. Meanwhile BTTM
has an RMSEA value 0.059 ≤ 0.08 suggesting that the overall model fit is also close
fit. T-value for all indicators has fulfilled all assumption requirements ≥ 1.96 and
standardized loading factor/SLF of each questionnaire item is valid or has fulfilled
the requirement, except for indicator D1 and D2 (BTTM model). Therefore, the respecification model was conducted for BTTM model. It is showed that all goodness
of fit index of two models including X2/df is < 3, p-value ≥ 0.05, RMSEA ≤ 0.08 and
AGFI ≥ 0.90 show the good fit of Discipline measurement for both model (BTTM
and Akhuwat). The Discipline measurement model also has good reliability for
both group models which is reflected by CR ≥ 0.70 and VE ≥ 0.50. Therefore, it can
be concluded that overall model fit for the discipline measurement model is good
as well as its validity and reliability.

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Table 11.
Summary of Supervision Measurement Model
Model

Akhuwat (Pakistan) n = 200
CR = 0.99, VE = 0.91
Loading
t-Value Explanation
Factor

BTTM (Indonesia) n = 200
CR = 0.94, VE = 0.64
Loading
t-Value Explanation
Factor

S1-Supervision
0.26
3.76
Invalid
0.31
4.27
Invalid
S2-Supervision
0.83
14.34
Valid
0.74
11.71
Valid
S3-Supervision
0.92
17.14
Valid
0.89
15.40
Valid
S4-Supervision
0.97
17.11
Valid
0.90
16.07
Valid
S5-Supervision
0.99
19.52
Valid
0.93
17.12
Valid
S6-Supervision
0.99
19.37
Valid
0.81
13.61
Valid
S7-Supervision
0.99
19.66
Valid
0.81
13.56
Valid
S8-Supervision
1.00
19.77
Valid
0.76
12.36
Valid
S9-Supervision
0.16
2.20
Invalid
0.68
10.45
Valid
S10-Supervision
0.47
7.11
Invalid
0.64
9.08
Valid
(Akhuwat) Chi-Square = 673.57, df = 0, p-value = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000, AGFI = 0.99, X2/df = 673.57/0 = 0
(BTTM) Chi-Square = 12.75, df = 12, p-value = 0.3877, RMSEA = 0.018, AGFI = 0.95, X2/df = 12.75/12 = 1.06

The 4th discussion is supervision measurement, which Akhuwat has an RMSEA
value 0.000 ≤ 0.08 indicating that the overall model fit is close fit. Meanwhile BTTM
has an RMSEA value 0.018 ≤ 0.08, meaning that the overall model fit is close fit.
T-value for all indicators has fulfilled all assumption requirements ≥ 1.96 and
standardized loading factor/SLF of each questionnaire item is valid or has fulfilled the
requirement, except for indicator S1 (BTTM model) and S1, S9, and S10 (Akhuwat
model). For the re-specification model, it is showed that all goodness of fit index
of two models including X2/df is < 3, p-value ≥ 0.05, RMSEA ≤ 0.08, and AGFI
≥ 0.90 show the good fit of Freedom measurement for both model (BTTM and
Akhuwat). The Supervision measurement model also has good reliability for both
group models which is reflected by CR ≥ 0.70 and VE ≥ 0.50. Therefore, it can be
concluded that the overall model fit for the discipline measurement model is good
as well as its validity and reliability.
4.3.1. Structural Model
Measurement model is presented by seeing the t-value and standardized loading
factor for each indicator of a variable. Considering the approach conducted in this
study is two step approaches, therefore we proceed to the measurement model
valuation to identify the validity and reliability of each indicator. After ensuring
that the measurement model has the goodness of fit and is valid and reliable (as has
been discussed in the measurement model table), the two models can be identified
to be good and valid if it fulfils the absolute and incremental goodness of fit that
are summarized in the following table.

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234

Table 12.
Goodness of Fit Indices (GOFI) of Structural Model
GOFI

Cut-Off Value

p-value

p-value ≥ 0.05

X2/df

Lower is better

RMSEA
NFI
NNFI
CFI
IFI
Standardized
RMR
AGFI

RMSEA ≤ 0.08
NFI ≥ 0.90
NNFI ≥ 0.90
CFI ≥ 0.90
IFI ≥ 0.90
Standardized
RMR ≤0.05
GFI ≥ 0.90

Akhuwat
Model
Remarks
Result
1.0000
1495.7/346
= 4.3
0.000
0.99
0.99
0.99
0.99

Good Fit

BTTM
Model
Result

Remarks
Marginal Fit

Good Fit
Good Fit
Good Fit
Good Fit
Good Fit

0.0000
746.41/493 =
1.51
0.051
0.95
0.98
0.98
0.98

0.00

Good Fit

0.094

Marginal Fit

0.72

Marginal Fit

0.77

Marginal Fit

Marginal Fit

Good Fit
Good Fit
Good Fit
Good Fit
Good Fit
Good Fit

According to the table above it can be seen that the structural model for
Akhuwat model, p-value, RMSEA, NFI, NNFI, CFI, IFI and SRMR are good fit,
while AGFI value is only marginal fit. Meanwhile, the structural model for BTTM
model including X2/df, RMSEA, NFI, NNFI, CFI, IFI value are good fit, while
SRMR and AGFI are only marginal fit. Therefore, it can be concluded that the
structural model for both models Akhuwat & BTTM in this research is good, so
that the hypothesis analysis can be conducted. Determination coefficient test of
this study can be seen through the following equation.
Akhuwat
Education = 0.58*Freedom, Errorvar.= 0.65, R² = 0.34
Discipline = 0.52*Freedom, Errorvar.= 0.72, R² = 0.27
Supervision = 0.29*Freedom, Errorvar.= 0.91, R² = 0.087
BTTM
Education = 0.68*Freedom, Errorvar.= 0.54, R² = 0.46
Discipline = 0.34*Freedom, Errorvar.= 0.88, R² = 0.12
Supervision = 0.36*Freedom, Errorvar.= 0.87, R² = 0.13
According to the model equation above, it can be concluded that particularly
for the Akhuwat model, the ability of freedom to explain education is about 34%,
while the ability of freedom to explain discipline is about 27%, and the ability of
freedom to explain supervision is about 8.7%. The result shows the urgency of
freedom toward education, discipline, and supervision. It means freedom suits the
best in education as compared to the other latent variables.
Similarly, the ability of freedom to explain education for BTTM model is about
46%, while the remaining 54% is explained by other variables outside the model.
The ability of freedom to explain discipline is about 12%, while the rest 88% is
explained by other variables outside the model, and the ability of freedom to

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explain supervision is about 13%, while the rest 87% is explained by the other
variable outside the model. The result shows the urgency of freedom towards
education, discipline, and supervision. It means freedom suits the best in education
as compared to the other latent variables.
This section will explain the results of hypothesis testing that is performed
using a significance level of 5%. The acceptance requirement of alternative
hypotheses is that if the value of the t-value in the structural model is ≥ 1.96.
Table 13.
Hypotheses Testing
Variables
Exogenous
Variables

Endogenous
Variables

Standardized
Solution

Akhuwat
t-count

Freedom
Freedom
Freedom

Education
Discipline
Supervision

0.58
0.52
0.29

7.33
7.06
4.07

BTTM
Descriptions

Standardized
Solution

t-count

Descriptions

Significant
Significant
Significant

0.68
0.34
0.36

9.01
4.43
4.59

Significant
Significant
Significant

H1: Freedom has a positive and significant effect on Education
To begin with, the test result of H1 of the Akhuwat model finds that the t-value
is 7.33, and it can be concluded that there is a positive and significant effect for
freedom on education for the case of Akhuwat members. Hence H1 is supported.
This means that if the level of freedom increases, it can increase the education of
Akhuwat members. This influence is statistically significant. The value of freedom
coefficient is 0.58, which means that if freedom increases by 1%, then the education
of Akhuwat members will also increase by 0.58%. Meanwhile, for the case of BTTM,
the t-value is 9.01 and hence there is a positive and significant effect of freedom on
education for the BTTM members. Hence H1 is supported. This means that if the
level of freedom increases, it can increase the education of BTTM members and
vice versa. This influence is statistically significant. The coefficient of freedom in
this case is 0.68, which means that if freedom increases by 1%, then the education
of BTTM members will also increase by 0.68%.
H2: Freedom has a positive and significant effect on Discipline
The test result of H2 of the Akhuwat model suggests there is a positive and
significant effect for freedom on discipline. Hence H2 is accepted. This means
that if the level of freedom increases, the discipline of Akhuwat members also
increases. In contrast, if the level of freedom decreases, it can decrease the
discipline of Akhuwat members. The value of the coefficient of freedom in this
case is 0.52, which means that if freedom increases by 1%, then the discipline of
Akhuwat’s members will also increase by 0.52%. Likewise, for the BTTM, there is
a positive and significant effect for freedom on discipline. Hence H2 is accepted.
This means that if the level of freedom increases, it can increase the discipline
of BTTM members. The estimated coefficient value is 0.340, which means that if
freedom increases by 1%, then the discipline of BTTM members will also increase
by 0.340%.

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H3: Freedom has a positive and significant effect on Supervision
The test result of H3 for the Akhuwat indicates that there is a positive and significant
effect for freedom on supervision. Hence H3 is accepted. This means that if the
level of freedom increases, it can increase the supervision of Akhuwat members.
In contrast, if the level of freedom decreases, it can decrease the supervision of
Akhuwat members. The value of freedom coefficient is 0.29, which means that
if freedom increases by 1%, then the discipline of Akhuwat members will also
increase by 0.29%. In a similar vein, for the BTTM case, there is a positive and
significant effect for freedom on supervision. Hence H3 is accepted. This means that
if the level of freedom increases, it can increase the supervision of BTTM members.
In contrast, if the level of freedom decreases, it can decrease the supervision of
Tazkia’s Baituttamkin members. The value of freedom coefficient is 0.36, which
means that if freedom increases by 1%, then the discipline of BTTM members will
also increase by 0.36%.
The results we obtain are in line with previous studies suggesting that the
freedom is the ability to make choices and the ability to perform them (Greene,
1988) as well as the ability oppose oppression (Ganle et al., 2015). Therefore,
women’s freedom to get involved in Islamic microfinance programs would
contribute positively to their level of education, discipline, and supervision. This
finding certainly fills in the gap in the area of Islamic microfinance studies since
there is no similar case has been conducted.
The role of Maqāsidul-Shari’āh in fulfilling five principles (Shehata, 1998
and Mukhlisin, 2021) are literally relevant as freedom is related to protection of
life, education aligns with protection of intellect, discipline is associated with
protection of religion, and supervision is akin to protection of lineage and wealth.
The elaboration of the issues of Maqāsidul-Shari’āh is potential avenue for future
research.
V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
This paper explores the relationship between women’s freedom in the family and
their acces to accounting education, adherence to discipline, and supervision.
Based on the findings, we argue that freedom significantly influences the ability
of women participants to engage with accounting education, discipline, and
supervision in both BTTM and Akhuwat groups. The impact of women’s freedom
in BTTM on accounting education and supervision surpasses that in Akhuwat,
while the influence of women’s life freedom in BTTM on accounting discipline is
lower than that in Akhuwat. We find that with more access to accounting education,
women participants in microfinance programs will have more financial discipline
and enable effective supervision by the MFIs. The overall impact is clear that when
participants are empowered, poverty alleviation programs through microfinance
will be more effective.
However, it is essential to acknowledge the limitations of this research,
including the narrow scope of the survey involving two MFIs in two countries
and the parameters used—education, discipline, and supervision— which may
not directly empower participants to improve their standard of living. Therefore,
further investigation is needed to explore variables related to the standard of living

Journal of Islamic Monetary Economics and Finance, Vol. 11, Number 2, 2025

237

among women participants in MFIs. Subsequent studies can validate whether
discipline and supervision indeed contribute to an enhancement in the standard
of living.
Additionally, introducing various accounting tools such as family budgeting,
cash flow management, and business strategies to participants may be beneficial.
Moreover, considering the utilization of financial technology to expedite and scale
up microfinancing programs targeting women is also worth exploring.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the partial support of the Ministry of Religious
Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, as well as the research support provided by
BTTM (Bogor, Indonesia) and Akhuwat (Lahore, Pakistan). We also express our
sincere appreciation to the journal’s editors and anonymous reviewers for their
constructive comments and valuable suggestions.
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Accounting Education, Discipline, and Supervision When Women in Charge in Islamic
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