Rural women play crucial role in development

HEAL Zimbabwe Trust joins the rest of the world in commemorating International Day of Rural Women.

The commemorations for this year are running under the theme Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All.

The theme underscores the essential role that rural women and girls play in the food systems of the world.

This day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007, to recognize the critical role and contribution of rural women.

Women play an essential role in agriculture and the development of rural areas.

Restrictions put in place by government to contain the spread of COVID 19 pandemic negatively impacted on the livelihoods of women living in rural areas and remote parts of Zimbabwe.

Most women and girls depend on small-scale farming and due to the restrictions which were put in place, their livelihoods were affected.

Regardless of gender differences, rural women have played an important role of development at the grassroots levels.

Despite the challenges faced in 2021, rural women have continued to cultivate and produce food for their families.

Heal Zimbabwe acknowledges the work of women in working towards and ensuring community development.

Women play a pivotal role in peace-building and ensuring that there is social cohesion in their communities.

Heal Zimbabwe Trust has over the years established womenled community structures such as Community Accountability Action Teams and Women Safe Spaces for Reconciliation.

These structures are responsible for human rights awareness and have created platforms for women to openly discuss important issue such as genderbased violence, women’s rights to land, discriminatory gender norms and other important issues.

On the occasion of International Rural Women’s Day, Heal Zimbabwe implores government to fully implement sections 17, 56 and 80 of the constitution that provides for gender equality, non-discrimination and rights of women respectively.