GENDER JUSTICE IN AGRICULTURE

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GENDER JUSTICE IN AGRICULTURE

• The seeds of poverty of men and society lies in
  the exclusion of women

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Recognition

• WOMEN farmers, including gatherers are the key
  food producers in traditional agriculture. They
  are farmers in their own right

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Recognition

• Womens knowledge, skills and roles are necessary
  for ensuring food security for the family and the
  community for health care and sustainability of
  the environment

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Recognition

• WOMEN are custodians of seeds who have knowledge
  and practice from selection, preparation, soil
  management, of plants and pest control, harvest,
  processing and storage. They have the capacity
  to determine good harvest, able to combine seeds
  that brings about sustainability in agriculture.

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Recognition

• Women practiced agriculture based on principles
• Seeds are life not sold, only exchanged.
• Seeds and genetic resources are for the
  community and not for any individual ownership.
• Belief in diversity

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Recognition

• WOMEN had control and access over land, farms
  and genetic resources

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GENDER EXCLUSION

• The seeds of poverty for men may lie in the
  exclusion of women. -Bina Agarwal.
• Exclusion began with the disastrous green
  revolution. It strengthened patriachy in land
  ownership , decision making.
• Imperialist Globalization Victoria Park in Hong
  Kong on December 14. We demand WTO to get out of
  agriculture where most of us derive our
  livelihood, for WTO to get out of our lives,
  chanted the women delegates who represented
  peasants, indigenous women, Dalits, herders and
  fishers.

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PATRIACHAL COMMUNITIES

• In India, the communities that manage forests and
  land tend to be male-dominated executive
  councils even though women depend on these
  commons more than men.
• This injustice persists because women are often
  excluded outright from village decisionmaking, or
  allowed only nominal or passive roles. There is
  the outward semblances of access or
  participation, but in reality, little influence
  or power.

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IMPACT

• Women own less land and animals than men, have
  less cash and access to markets, and have more
  everyday needs that must be satisfied through the
  commons. Thus, any enclosures of the commons by
  the state or market or village patriarchy tend
  to hurt women disproportionately

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INVISIBILITY

• But women farmers remained invisible farmers as
  they were subordinated and controlled through
  patriarchy, class, caste and ethnicity within
  traditional agriculture.

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CORPORATE AGGRESSION

• The Green Revolution changed traditional
  agriculture changed roles further reduced
  womens decision making power strengthened
  patriarchal control

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Global Dictator Mechanisms

• Control over Production of Food.
• Removal of Subsidies Support Double
  standards.
• TRIPS, PATENTS AND SEED CONTROL.
• LOSS OF LAND, RESOURCES AND LIVELIHOOD.

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CORPORATE AGGRESSION

• Through imperialist global strategies and
  mechanisms of WTO, TRIPS, TRIPS-plus, FTAs, women
  lost total control over seeds, land, genetic
  resources.
• At the national level, IPR regulations and seed
  laws further took away womens control and access
  to seeds and genetic resources.

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GLOBAL IMPACT

• Constance Walyaro, East Africa Region Focal Point
  for Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS agrees.
  For her, no important outcomes have been
  achieved for women's rights we are only more
  aware that no matter how much we as women in
  developing countries produce or how hard we work,
  trade relationships will continue to benefit the
  rich world the most.

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CORPORATE AGGRESSION

• Land, seeds, generic resources, water became
  commodities to be traded for profit.
• This commodification was legalized and accorded
  legal rights to own and trade seeds and genetic
  resources.
• This aggression in agriculture trampled and
  violated inherent rights of rural women and
  agriculture communities.

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Syngenta challenges PAN APs Materials on
Paraquat

• PIC COP2 - Syngenta (the sent letter to Jacques
  Diouf, Sec Gen of the FAO complaining that PAN
  had violated the Code of Conduct on the
  Distribution and Use of Pesticides by spreading
  undue alarm about paraquat, particularly
  through the 'Ban Paraquat' posters.
• They claimed PAN made serious and
  unsubstantiated alarmist claims about the
  herbicide paraquat, contravening article 5.4 of
  the Code.
• These were earlier displayed at the Vienna SAICM
  meeting.
• Syngenta asked for posters not be displayed at
  the PIC COP2!

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EXPOSURE
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CONFLICT

• Between traditional agriculture, livelihood,
  right to food and land and sustainability of the
  environment
• Increased feminization of poverty, violence
  against women, exploitation of women, hazards to
  womens health and reproductive health, widening
  gender gaps.
• Loss of culture and disintegrated the community

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THE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS- A GROWING GLOBAL CRIME
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Modern Day Slavery

• Forced Prostitution
• Bonded Labour
• Smuggling and Trafficked for babies
• Foreign Brides

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BURMA
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GENDER JUSTICE

• Gender justice can be defined as the protection
  and promotion of civil, political, economic and
  social rights on the basis of gender equality. It
  necessitates taking a gender perspective on the
  rights themselves, as well as the assessment of
  access and obstacles to the enjoyment of these
  rights for both women, men, girls and boys and
  adopting strategies that realizes total
  transformation.

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GENDER JUSTICE

• There are two elements necessary to incorporating
  a gender justice agenda
• The first requires acknowledging the specific
  needs of women in a system that has been designed
  to acknowledge and seek justice for crimes
  experienced and defined by men. Inclusion of
  women in all processes designed to deliver
  redress for the past.
• The second element moves beyond inclusion of
  women into existing mechanisms. The system must
  be changed. There must be a transformational
  holistic change attacking root causes and
  building on rights and equality.

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GET CONNECTED
STOP PARAQUAT
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Community Based Pesticides Monitoring

Gendered communities

• Empowerment

Sustainable Agriculture

• Equality
• Rights

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FOOD SOVEREIGNITY

• WHERE DOES WOMENS
• FOOD SOVEREIGNITY LIE?
• Fundamental and in truth it lies in gender
  justice and gender equality.

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EMPOWERED
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thank you

• Irene Fernandez
• Malaysia