المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

Contribution from the Kenyan Chapter of the Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network  (CSAYN)

1

Undeniably,  life  in  the  rural  areas  has  experienced  change  in  the  past  two  decades.  Whether  the change  has  been  positive  or  negative  for  its  dwellers,  however,  depends  on  where  in  the  world you  look.  Positive  change  can  be  attributed  to  the  inclusion  of  rural  people’s  interests  in  most national  discussions.  There  have  also  been  numerous  inquiries  made  by  private  actors  into  the livelihoods  of  rural  women,  the  most  recent  being  a  declaration  by  the  Associated  Country Women  of  the  World  to  convene  the  first  International  Forum  on  Rural  Women  and  mark  the International  Day  of  Rural  Women.   This  attention  has  led  to  rural  electrification  projects, construction  of  proper  transport  systems  and  incorporation  of  technology  in  rural  agricultural schemes.  Conversely,  in  other  countries  such  as  the  USA  the  widespread  closure  of  rural industries  such  as  Rubbermaid  and  Smith  Corona  and  outsourcing  of  production  to  cheaper labour  markets  has  left  many  people  unemployed,  both  male  and  female.

 It  is  important  to  also acknowledge  that  for  some  rural  women,  life  has  remained  virtually  unchanged  throughout  the decades.  Their  respective  governments  have  not  been  able  to  promote  development  in  these regions; some deliberately. In  spite  of  the  numerous  leaps  and  bounds  made,  there  is  still  a  chasm  between  the  sexes. Inequality  exists  at  every  level  of  society.  In  rural  areas,  however,  is  where  these  inequalities manifest  in  their  rawest  form.  Young  girls  are  forced  into  early  marriage.  These  marriages  have very  low  success  rates,  more  often  leaving  the  woman  to  raise  the  children  unaided.  Needless  to say,  this  deprives  them  of  a  high  quality  education  leading  to  economic  stagnation.  Older  women lack  proper  geriatric  care  as  they  are  more  likely  to  be  the  only  dependable  source  of  sustenance for  their  families.  After  all,  it  has  been  reported  that  women  spend  90%  of  their  earned  income on  their  families  compared  to  30%  of  men.  In  Africa,  Asia  and  even  Latin  America,  culture  has been  by  far  the  biggest  impediment.  We  have  zealously  clung  to  beliefs  that  insist  on  the submission  of  women.   

In  Kenya,  where  rural  urbanization  has  been  a  relative  success,  it  is  not  uncommon  for  rural communities  to  even  engage  in  cross-border  Female  Genital  Mutilation.  This  is  despite enactment  of  a  statute  directly  criminalizing  this  activity .  Even  more  noteworthy,  leaders  from those  particular  communities  that  have  risen  to  national  leadership  positions  have  completely ignored these activities in return for political support. Regardless, a  considerable  number of  women  have  risen  to wealth  and good  fortune.  As  easy  as it  is  to  attribute  this  to  plain  hard  work  and  sweat,  it  goes  deeper.  The  reality  of  the  situation  is that  there  are  simply  no  success  models  in  the  rural  setting.  If  there  are,  the  pathways  are  highly limited,  marred  with  obstacles  and  almost  miraculous.  Almost  always,  the  attainment  of  success is  contingent  on  either  physically  leaving  these  areas  or  an  internal  dissociation  from  the  ‘smalltown’  mentality  by  these  women.  In  truth,  the  rural  definition  of  success  for  women  lies  on  their ability  to  marry  and  produce  children.  A  girl  may  actively  pursue  their  primary  and  high  school education  but  it  rarely  goes  beyond  that;  a  life  of  academic  success  and  its  accompanying  returns are  a fantasy  in that environment.

2

The  battle  for  policy  reform  and  institution  is  gradually  being  won.  With  the  exception  of countries  like  Sudan,  U.S.A,  Tonga,  failing  to  ratify  the  Convention  Against  All  Forms  of Discrimination  Against  Women  (CEDAW) ,  many  countries  have  made  considerable  efforts  to effect  policy  that  furthers  gender  equality.  Even  so,  the  disconnect  between  ratification  and implementation  of  relevant  policy  is  equally  global.  Rural  women  are  especially  vulnerable  to these  failures  because  of  their  isolation.  It  is  time  to  focus  on  other  fronts.  It  is  time  to  realize that  any  and  all  the  policies  we  conceive  are  at  their  core,  only  an  ideology.  The  only  reason, for example,  that  Constitutions  govern  nations,  is  because  the  individual  citizens  have  agreed  to abide  by their stipulations. 

Although  gender  equality  is  often  presented  as  a  stand-alone  goal,  there  is  agreement  that progress  on  any  and  all  of  the  SDGs  will  be  minimal  if  gender  equality  is  not  prioritized.  Arguments and  evidence  from  the  Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development  (OECD)  Social Institutions  and  Gender  Index  (SIGI)  find  that  lower  levels  of  discrimination  against  women  are linked  to  better  outcomes  in  several  areas,  including  educational  attainment,  child  health  and food  security.  For  example,  where  women  have  a  more  equal  status  in  the  family,  children  are more  likely  to  complete  primary  school,  even  when  allowing  for  differences  in  country  income level,  urbanization  and  the  fertility  rate.  Where  women  have  greater  “physical  integrity”  (control over  their  own  bodies),  child  health  outcomes  improve.  Similarly,  countries  where  women  lack any  right  to  own  land  have  on  average  60%  more  malnourished  children .  At  The  Farm Management  Association  of  Nigeria’s  2004  Conference,  it  was  presented  that  African  women have  mainly  shouldered  the  responsibility  for  domestic  food  production  and  processing.  FAO (1983)  estimates  show  that  in  West  Africa,  60-90  percent  of  the  domestic  farm  and  marine produce  are  handled  by  women.  Women  farmers  work  on  the  average  from  10-14  hours  in  many parts  of  Africa  and  carry  multiple  responsibilities  for  food,  water,  fuel,  housework  and  childcare making  their  agricultural  productivity  lower  than  it  need  be 6 .  Private  companies  are  aware  that supporting  rural  women  will  increase  profits.  Paradoxically,  few  to  none  are  investing  huge amounts  of  money  in  efforts  to  improve  their  competiveness  by  promoting  women’s empowerment  in  their  supply  chains;  even  though  many  strive  to  project  the  image  of  a  gendersensitive  (or  transformative)  company.  In  fact,  OXFAM’s  Behind  The  Brands  revealed  that  despite women  contributing  43%  of  the  agricultural  labour  force,  the  big  ten  food  companies  are  barely prioritizing  women’s  support;  with  the  best,  Coca-Cola,  scoring  a 6  out  of  a  possible  10.  Efforts have  been made,  however,  by  the  likes  of Kellogg’s (making  the  most significant  leap  in  the  past year), Unilever and MARS. A lot more could be  done but, in  a capitalistic world, the  truth is that it will require significant buy-in to  support differentiated empowerment  for female  workers.   

Most  companies  are  also  reluctant  to  focus  on  a  female  workforce  in  areas  where  increased mobility  of  women  results  in  an  increase  in  gender-based  violence.  This  translates  to  sporadic interruptions of the production chain.

3

 It’s  time  for  mankind  to  look  inward.  In  Stanislaw  Lem’s  words:  “Mankind  has  gone  out  to  explore other  worlds  without  having  explored  his  own  dark  passages  and  secret  chambers;  and  without finding  what  lies  behind  doorways  that  he  himself  has  sealed.”    The  root  causes  of  gender inequality  are  only  partially  understood.  We  need  strategies  that  will  directly  target  cultural norms  and  informal  institutions  in  societies.  Otherwise,  the  impact  of  any  external  efforts  will only  be  temporary.  These  norms  are  largely  to  blame  for  the  perceived  lack  of  interest  by  the private  sector  in  engaging  with  rural  women  as  economic  actors  despite  its  proven  benefits  and the  fact  that  Africa  has  been  described  as  the  region  of  female  farming  per  excellence,  with women,  particularly  in  the  rural  areas  regarded  as  the  hidden  productive  force  in  the countryside  . In  conclusion,  the  hearts  of  men  must  embrace  the  value  of  gender  equality.  Cultural  and religious  beliefs  still  insist  on  separation  of  gender  roles  often  to  the  detriment  of  the  woman. Drafting  of  policy  without  first  addressing  these  roots  only  serves  to  build  resentment  as  opposed to  respect  between  the  sexes.  In  Wollstonecraft’s  A  Vindication  of  the  Rights  of  Woman  she scribed,  “…  I  appeal  to  their  understandings;  and,  as  a  fellow-creature,  claim,  in  the  name  of  my sex,  some  interest  in  their  hearts.  I  entreat  them  to  assist  to  emancipate  their  companion,  to  make her  a  help  meet  for  them!  Would  men  but  generously  snap  our  chains,  and  be  content  with rational  fellowship  instead  of  slavish  obedience,  they  would  find  us  more  observant  daughters, more  affectionate  sisters,  more  faithful  wives,  more  reasonable  mothers  –  in  a  word,  better citizens.” She  could not  have summarized better.