Women farmers: reasons for hope

On Rural Women's Day, Sinergias commemorates the importance of women for the social development of the countryside and their urgent need for equal access to health and education.

Feisty, enterprising and leaders. These are the women of Colombia's rural areas. They are part of a population that despite inequitable conditions has refused to disappear.

The countryside is perhaps the sector in which the State has the greatest historical debt. The lack of attention, due to the geographical complexity of the country, and the lack of budget for rural development, have opened a huge gap with the cities: according to the National Agricultural Census, 44.7% of farmers live in poverty, 11.5% are illiterate and 20% of children between 5 and 15 years of age have never attended an educational institution.

Furthermore, in terms of gender equity, rural women have little participation in decision-making spaces: in 60% of the country's dispersed rural areas, men decide on the land, and although today 28% of them are heads of household, access to credit tools and technical training is limited.

In this sense, Decssy Cuspoca, Technical Advisor in Community Participation of the 1000 days project, which Sinergias develops in Cauca, has stated that the spaces of participation for rural women have been limited by machismo, lack of resources and interest both in the population and in the rural area and that, although a differential approach in public policies has been achieved since the 91 Political Constitution (which includes peasants, indigenous and afro-descendants, among others, living in rural areas), it is necessary to invest in strategies and projects that allow equitable access to health and education services for women.

"The Colombian countryside needs equity in all areas: not only in the provision of services but also in access. In terms of public health, it is essential that rural women, together with their traditions and knowledge, be recognized by the institutions," she says.

These statements are supported by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations): according to the organization, there is a relationship between the empowerment of rural women and the development of the family and the community. Moreover, when they have access to education, their children have a better chance of surviving the first five years of life.

When rural women are in charge of farms and have equal access to health, education, credit systems, irrigation and technical training, they are builders of hope. Empowered women farmers can eradicate extreme poverty, help reduce the number of underweight children, and it is even estimated that countries could increase their agricultural holdings by 2.5 to 4 percent.

Health: an ally for empowerment

Improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases are part of the Millennium Development Goals. However, for rural women, both goals are a challenge.

Strategies such as the articulation between institutional entities and rural communities, and the dialogue between traditional knowledge and western medicine are fundamental for the social development of rural women. It is essential that traditional care and midwives are taken into account when implementing laws to achieve equitable health.

"Health policies in general do not dialogue with traditional knowledge and many of these customs are intended to be erased in the communities when a regulation is applied. Bringing both approaches into contact allows rural women to be recognized in their knowledge, in their communities, in decision-making spaces and community and institutional networks, turning them into allies for the enjoyment of health," says Cuspoca.

On this day we remember the work that Sinergias does to improve maternal health in rural communities: only with the articulation of different institutional and community actors will it be possible to build an equitable social development for women and men in the Colombian countryside.