The draft Voluntary Guidelines builds on essential UN Conventions, Declarations and the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA) 1995 with agreed language on gender equality and women's empowerment and on FAO's relevant policy and technical guidelines on women in agricultural production and food systems and thereby provides a strong focus on main challenges and barriers which has been negotiated throughout decades.
On this background and rationale the draft Voluntary Guidelines intends to provide innovative solutions and seek to include necessary elements for effective implementation and monitoring.
A good example of an innovative solution to take the agreed language and progressive actions further is the use of the complete concept of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Right (SRHR) in paragraph 5 and 68. A concept which not yet (26 years after the UN Women's Conference in Beijing) is agreed upon, as shown in the UNGA Resolution A/Res/74/2 Oct. 2019.
An innovative action in that context would therefore be to encourage Government's to integrate SRHR in relevant national policies, strategies and action plans and to adopt changes in respect to gender equality and women's empowerment in national development in general.
Access to and use of cell phones has empowered poor women and girls in several rural communities in many countries with relevant information on food production activities, market prices and early warning systems on weather conditions. At the same time, the cell phone has saved women and girls from travel time at night in often remote areas with the risk of theft, violence and rape.
The cell phone has without any doubt been a milestone in empowerment of women and girls.
One could ask what comes next in digital transformation for empowerment of women and girls?
The draft Voluntary Guidelines could be instrumental in encouraging Government's, NGO's and the tech sector together with community based stakeholders in expanding further digitalisation in public services provision in general and in particular with respect to food production and nutrition.
The livelihoods of poor, rural, including indigenous, women and girls has been on the development agenda for decades and a giant step needs to be taken in order to realise essential changes.
Gender specific digital transformation which includes and builds on both indigenous knowledge, values and food systems could be a game changer.
Birgit Nimukamba Madsen
Retired Gender Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark
Former Women in Food Systems Officer, FAO HQ, Rome
女士 Birgit Nimukamba Madsen