"Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance."
-- Kofi Annan United Nations secretary general
The greatest obstacle to ending hunger is the severe discrimination against women and girls in many developing countries.
There are three distinct ways in which promoting gender equality and empowering women is critical to ending hunger.
Women’s nutrition is critical to the health of everyone. Women often eat last and least, even when pregnant and nursing. Undernourished women give birth to undernourished children, and this cycle continues.
Women’s productivity. Women produce 80 percent of the food in Africa, and more than 50 percent of the farm output in South Asia, yet they are bypassed by virtually all government programs. Women own only 1% of the land, and receive only 7% of farm extension services and 10% of small-scale farm credit.
Women’s decision-making. When women control more money they are up to 18-times more likely as men to spend it on the nutrition of their children. When they have voice in the community, they shift the agenda towards meeting basic human needs.
Ending hunger – and meeting all the MDGs – requires action to:
Educate girls and women. A recent study shows that 41% of the reduction in hunger in the last 25 years is due to education of women.
jc@thp.org
