Sustaining Our World: The Need to Empower Indigenous Women Farmers

By Andrea Moran

The March 21st panel at the Salvation Army in NYC.

Passion.
Power.
Potential.
Purpose.

These are the four keys to empowering indigenous women in farming, according to Tee Thompson, a presenter at the "Transforming Indigenous Women Through Agribusiness" event on March 21st, as part of the UN's 61st CWS.

But why farming?

The world's surging population is one reason. By 2030, the UN projects that the world's population will surpass 8.6 billion. (It reached 7 billion in 2011, so we're in for some incredible exponential growth).

Despite the dramatic increase in the world's population, the growth farming sector, as it is, will not be able to keep pace, according to Thompson. To make matters more serious, by 2030, over half the world's populations will live in urban areas. This shift from rural to city life will no doubt impact agriculture, a sector which is already showing a decline in the percentage of world population working in the field, according to the World Bank. 

"Women represent a whole lot of untapped potential," said Esther Ibanga, Founder of the Women Without Walls Initiative, (WWWI). Unfortunately, women in many countries, such as Nigeria, face extreme difficulties in accessing land, equipment, loans, and training to take leadership roles within agriculture. Empowerment and enablement to hold power in this sector is crucial not only for the development of the nation, but to ensure these women can sustain their families and communities with food.

Ibanga applied for a loan in Nigeria, and 4 years later, she said her loan application has not advanced. She said patriarchal and traditional views of women's roles hinder their advancement and involvement in the agriculture sector. Overcoming these attitudes, and allowing women  legal rights to land, training, and loans, is crucial if the nation is to develop and include women within agribusiness.

While humanitarian aid sends food to Africa, Africa already has all the resources and arable land it needs to sustain itself, said Barrister Udy Ubom, a lawyer and panelist. The key is enabling Africa's women to become empowered leaders of their agricultural lands and small farms.

"They don't need food shipped from America. They have land, they have rivers," he said, re-affirming that instead of sending aid money to supply food to Africa, donors should send aid to support women in the above mentioned areas.

Additional Resources:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Article: Levelling the Field: Improving Opportunities for Women Farmers in Africa (World Bank)

The Road to Ending FGM/C

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a widespread harmful practice that still persists today, even with specific legislative bans. The reason being, the practice moves beyond tradition to one that is socially normalized. Women who refuse the practice or who are prevented from following through with it are socially isolated and even though many of these women are aware of its medical consequences, they still see FGM/C as an integral part of remaining within the community. FGM/C cannot be traced back to a specific origin nor even to a particular religious edict yet people still claim it to hold traditional value. Communities continue to perpetuate this harsh and unnecessary practice simply because it is all they have known.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/ . CC BY 2.0

At CSW, however, specific individuals and organizations are continuing their efforts in completely eradicating the practice altogether, whether it be through the government or the communities directly. Promising statistics showed that the prevalence of FGM/C is gradually declining among the youngest age groups of affected girls. For example, in Burkina Faso, 89% of the women surveyed between the ages of 45 to 49 have undergone FGM/C compared to 14% of girls between the ages of 5 to 9. Typically, the practice occurs before the age of 5 so the low prevalence rate shows hope for the end of this practice in Burkina Faso.

But while these statistics may mark a trend towards improvement, there is still much more to be done. For example, national legislation needs to do more than simply banning the practice. It must transform into a tool used for advocacy and consequence. It needs to be enforced with appropriate punishment to instill actual change.

Beyond that, the social norms within affected communities need to be addressed in order for FGM/C to truly end. Knowledge is not sufficient for changing the mindset of affected communities. The social norm of the practice will only shift once the community understands that abandoning FGM/C will not jeopardize the culture. They must internalize that it is not an integral feature of their traditions and that they can end it for the sake of the health of all girls and women.