“Yes, they are Important, But Being Trapped in Debt to Loan Sharks, Kills them from Within": A Narrative Analysis of the Exclusion of Women Fishmongers in Fishing Communities

The ability to manage family finances, especially controlling debts, is the main issue that hampers the economy of fishing families. This article aims to construct the situation behind women fishmongers' choice to borrow money from moneylenders. It also involves exploring the role of community presence in overcoming dependence on high-interest loans. Qualitative research was conducted in Lewoleba town, involving women fishmongers, their husbands, and capital owners. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and utilization of local online media news. In the narrative analysis, this study found that the orientation of maintaining the trust of capital owners, as well as a lack of understanding of managing family finances, are the main reasons why women fishmongers make repeated loans to moneylenders. As a result, they remain economically disadvantaged. On the other hand, the community lost its role in creating a collective sense of care, which became the beginning of rampant illegal loans. This happens as the orientation of social interaction changes, where the community's role to create a common concern - the welfare of members - turns into an impersonal relationship that distances itself from each other - by making the act of borrowing money from a moneylender an individual right and family privacy. Empowerment program planners can begin considering