Bold actions for gender equality and women’s empowerment in food systems - World
BY JEMIMAH NJUKI
Somewhere in a rural South Asia, a very enterprising woman toils for about 18 hours a day to feed and care for her family. However, despite working to the point of endangering her own health, she only gets a fraction of her labour. The bulk of her returns go to the landowner.
I met Kapilaben during the South Asia Dialogue on Women, Work and Food Systems in April this year. In a very passionate plea, she talked about the lives of women smallholder producers in India, their struggle to farm on land that they do not have rights to, the lack of access to financial services that work for them, and the exploitation in markets.
But she also spoke of the power of women organising and amplifying their voices. The power of women owning their businesses. She has hope that those that work in food systems can hear them and support them. That this will be the moment for women and girls.
Kapilaben’s experience is not unique to her. This is the story of millions of women.
Over the past 10 months, we have held dialogues with women in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.
The resounding message by each and every one of these women is that today’s food systems do not work for them. These food systems perpetuate gender inequalities which are reinforced by harmful social and gender norms.
They called for clear commitments and urgent action to make food systems gender just, transformative and equitable. The women are already doing their part, they are counting on our support to make their actions transformatively visible.
These women were very clear that it’s no longer a man’s world. They were also clear that it’s not a woman’s world either. It is OUR world!
Like Kapilaben in India, these women, from Antigua to Zambia, Belize to Nepal, Finland to Kuwait, in cities and villages, are looking to us all to deliver bold actions.
But what does a gender just and equitable food system practically look like?
A just and equitable food system is one in which women’s roles change from being invisible to being visible.
One in which women’s voices are heard, and their leadership is amplified
It is one where food systems roles, responsibilities, opportunities, and choices available to women and girls are not predetermined by restrictive gender roles. And it is one where social and cultural norms and power imbalances are not entry barriers for many women and girls. A just and equitable food system is one where women thrive, and not just survive.
Women are calling on us to take intentional action to implement solutions that will make our food systems gender just, transformative and equitable.
From talking to women across the world, and from expert consultations, the Gender Lever of the UN Food Systems Summit has identified game-changing ideas. I will mention five priority ones.
The first is to close the gender resource gap and increase women’s access and rights to resources and services. These include extension services, security of tenure of land, access to technologies including digital technologies.
The second solution is the establishment of a global mechanism to monitor progress and hold food systems organizations accountable for gender equality in their leadership, their internal workplace policies, and their outcomes. We are calling it the Global Food 5050 and we will be launching this later this evening
Third, is the creation of an alliance of global and national financial institutions to design and implement gender- transformative finance mechanisms that meet the needs and priorities of women, and that support their empowerment
Fourth, is the establishment, by Member States of governance commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment in food systems by adopting feminist food systems policies that are hinged on gender budgeting, women’s leadership, and monitoring of gender outcomes
Fifth and last is guaranteeing decent jobs and a living wage for women working across the food system.
The women we spoke with are clear about these being the solutions they want. They are clear that women are not the problem to be fixed. It’s our food systems that need fixing.
So, what is our ask to make this transformation happen?
We are looking for commitments by governments, civil society, private sector and donors, both those present here today and beyond, to support these solutions through a coalition to make food systems work for women and girls.
The urgency to act on gender inequality on food systems has never been higher. Inaction is not an option.
Dr Jemimah Njuki is Director for Africa at IFPRI and Custodian for the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Lever of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021.
Generation Equality – What’s Next for Displaced Women and Girls? - World
By Stephanie Johanssen, associate director of advocacy and UN representative, Women’s Refugee Commission
Earlier this month, UN Women, France, and Mexico convened the Generation Equality Forum, Paris, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the World Conference on Women and its Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The organizers intended this conference—more than two years in the making—to capture a moment to both celebrate progress made on the Beijing Platform and for governments, UN agencies, civil society, and the private sector to outline how to advance this agenda further.
The Forum launched the Global Acceleration Plan, a comprehensive blueprint outlining steps to achieve progress by 2026 in areas such as economic rights, gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and climate justice. A coalition of UN agencies, member states, and civil society organizations also launched the Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, a framework with action items building on existing commitments in humanitarian policies and the women, peace, and security agenda.
Stakeholders made policy and program commitments, as well as nearly USD 40 billion of “confirmed investments” to advance gender equality. This funding represents an impressive and welcome achievement, recognizing that efforts to advance gender equality remain chronically underfunded and are frequently sidelined, including during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
While these developments are encouraging, whether the Forum can translate to real action for displaced women and girls remains to be seen.
At the Forum, activists from around the world made strong calls for gender justice. Ashrafun Nahar, Founder of the Women with Disabilities Development Foundation in Bangladesh, reminded us that “we should not overlook the importance to empower refugees from host communities” and called for the “systemic redistribution of power and dismantling of harmful structures, including patriarchy, homophobia, and transphobia.”
Displaced women and girls remained largely absent from the Global Acceleration Plan, which makes no explicit mention of refugee women and girls, in contrast to the Beijing Platform for Action, which references refugees over 60 times. This is a missed opportunity to recognize and advance the rights of refugee women and girls and makes it all the more important that sections where the Plan mentions humanitarian settings are fully implemented. This is particularly true of the section on addressing gender-based violence, which asks that30% of humanitarian funding to address GBV go directly to women’s rights organizations by 2026, and the section on economic rights and justice, which mentions fragile and conflict situations.
The Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, which currently has over 130 signatories, is more consistent in centering displaced women and girls throughout, including refugees and stateless persons. Building on existing frameworks, the compact offers a list of action items that will be critical to implement if it is to lead to real change for displaced women and girls. This entails addressing discriminatory legal and policy barriers, including those denying refugees economic opportunities in host countries; ensuring humanitarian aid is sensitive to different ages, genders, and disabilities of displaced populations; lifting restrictions on sexual and reproductive health services in foreign assistance; and building inclusive social protection systems in collaboration with humanitarian agencies that provide cash assistance.
The Forum rightly drew criticism for not being accessible to all women and girls, in particular to women and girls with disabilities. Organizations mobilized in solidarity through the Inclusive Generation Equality Collective, as well as an affirmation of feminist principles advocating for stronger inclusion, including of individuals with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics, and affirming that the realization of the human rights of one group must notcome at the cost of the rights of any others.
What’s next? Promises made at the Forum must be followed by concrete action.
For starters, pledging entities should ensure the majority of funding goes to diverse feminist movements, including refugee-led women’s rights organizations, and is disbursed transparently. Funding to feminist and grassroots movements, in particular in humanitarian response, is critical to providing them with sustainable resources to bring lasting change. During crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, or conflict, refugee-led organizations often provide direct support to affected populations and understand best the needs of their communities. Using existing funding mechanisms such as the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund can help ensure resources go directly to women leaders and their representative organizations, including those facing barriers to their participation in peace processes.
Commitments are important and it was promising to see major humanitarian donors, like the United States, renew their support for initiatives such as Safe from the Start and the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies. But pledges alone do not let governments off the hook from fully implementing their obligations under human rights law, refugee law, and international humanitarian law, as well as UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace, and security.
Twenty years after the adoption of Resolution 1325, which called for women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation, the UN must finally make the direct participation of women a requirement in all UN-led and co-led peace processes. Concrete steps outlined in the roadmap by the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security are still waiting to be implemented and are as urgent as ever with increasing attacks against women speaking out for peace and justice.
Generation equality means gender justice for all, including displaced women and girls.
England women set for Wembley return with World Cup qualifier
Wembley return - England Women will play again at the national stadium in October
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London (AFP)
England will return to Wembley for their 2023 Women’s World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland on October 23, it was announced Wednesday.
It will be the first competitive fixture for the Lionesses at the national stadium since the north London venue reopened in 2007, although the ground has hosted two friendlies against Germany in 2014 and 2019.
England last met Northern Ireland at St George’s Park in February for their first international since the coronavirus pandemic, with the hosts enjoying a comfortable 6-0 win.
Sue Campbell, director of women’s football at England’s governing Football Association, said: “Having the chance for our England team to play again at Wembley in a competitive fixture is so important.
“From a performance point of view, it will give us the chance to get close to a big-game occasion of the kind we hope our squad will experience at next summer’s home UEFA Euro.
“Having had such a challenging 18 months, the day will mean so much to our players and of course we hope the chance to play in front of so many fans will be something truly special.”
Campbell added: “We have missed the supporters and let’s hope that things are heading in the right direction on that front.
“We want Wembley to feel like home for our England team and we want the players to be able to thrive when they run out to play.
“We are at the start of an exciting season and with Sarina Wiegman coming in as head coach, there is every reason for us to be upbeat for the months ahead.”
Northern Ireland manager Kenny Shiels said: “This is an amazing piece of news for the team and my staff and I am excited to take our country to play at the home of football.
“But rest assured we will go to London and be competitive.”
© 2021 AFP