Blogs & Opinions

Hunger Is an Often Overlooked Cause - and Effect - of Gender Inequality

Feb 25, 2020 | Annie Reneau

Around the world, women and girls face many obstacles to advancement, such as unequal access to education, lack of economic opportunity, and disproportionate rates of…

Gender Inclusivity in Attaining Food Security

Feb 25, 2020

In nearly two thirds of the countries worldwide, women are more likely than men to face food insecurity. The differences in gender roles, norms, and…

Climate Heroines: Women on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis

Feb 22, 2020

They are the ones who pick up the pieces after extreme weather, droughts, floods, storms.

They are the ones on the frontline when crops fail, when…

Educating Girls Is More Effective in the Climate Emergency than Many Green Technologies

Feb 21, 2020

Hydrogen powered superyachts and donations from billionaires often grab headlines in the fight against climate change. Whilst more simple and potentially more effective ways to…

In Myanmar, a Land Rights Program Is Accelerating Gender Equality, Growing Rural Incomes, and Preserving Forests

Feb 21, 2020 | Beth Roberts

Ma Phyu, who lives in one such village, recently received a land certificate guaranteeing her right to land she had been farming for two decades.…

"Women, Peace, and Security" Initiatives Are National Security Initiatives

Feb 19, 2020 | Alexandra A.K. Melse

Welcome to today’s symposium, “National Security as a Feminist Issue: Twenty Years of Women, Peace, and Security Initiatives.” In recognition of UN Security Council Resolution…

Australia Needs to Walk the Talk on Women, Peace and Security

Feb 19, 2020 | Louise Allen

In October 2000, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1325, which formally established the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda. The agenda has become the central…

Meet Five Newly Empowered Women Farmers from Zambia and Mozambique

Feb 19, 2020 | Patricia Malasha

Nine traditional chiefs have partnered with USAID and DFID over the last five years to demarcate and document the land rights of 30,000 women farmers across Zambia…

Marriage of Survival: Will Climate Change Mean More Child Brides?

Feb 19, 2020 | Abigail Higgins

After Cyclone Idai battered southern Malawi last year, the hotline Weston Msowoya manages was flooded with calls. They were reporting cases of young girls being married off…

Gender Inequality, Health and Safety of Women in Small-Scale Mining

Feb 18, 2020 | Gibson Mhaka

Narrating her life as a female miner, Ms Joyce Mpofu (54), a single mother from Bubi District of Matabeleland North province, shared incidents that threaten…

India's Looming Water Scarcity and the Need for Bringing Women to the Centre Stage

Feb 12, 2020 | Ananya Pathak

As the summer months approach, a reality haunts most households across the length and breadth of India and that is an impending water crisis. Be…

Carving Out Meaningfut Space for Justice in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda?

Feb 11, 2020 | Kimberly Brown

At the core of SDG16+ is the understanding that in order to enable a better and more sustainable future for all, peace, justice and inclusion…

How Small Water Enterprises Are Transofrming Women's Work

Feb 10, 2020 | Rebecca Root

In low-income countries, women are often shouldering the responsibility of managing household water supply. Whether it’s walking to the nearest borehole, pump, or pond, women…

New Deal for Women Farmers in Pakistan

Feb 10, 2020 | Quratulain Fatima

When Pakistan’s eastern Sindh province passed the ‘Sindh Women Agricultural Workers Bill’ on 20 December, giving women in agriculture, livestock, fisheries and other agro-based work the same rights and…

Bridging the Gender Gap in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Feb 10, 2020 | Ines Gabrielle Boumaiza

With abundant natural resources and a thriving mining sector, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is showing promising economic growth. Nevertheless, the country remains one of the…

India Climate Activist Licypriya Kangujam on Why She Took a Stand

Feb 6, 2020

She is only eight, but Licypriya Kangujam has already been campaigning for action to tackle climate change in her native India for two years.The young…

The Eco Gender Gap: Why Is Saving the Planet Seen as Women's Work?

Feb 6, 2020 | Elle Hunt

It was not long ago that, if you wanted to reduce the impact of your consumer choices on the environment, your only option was to…

Women Bear the Burden of India's Water Crisis

Feb 5, 2020 | Arpit Jain and Reshma Anand

Across cities and villages in India, an impending water crisis is at our doorsteps. India will face a water shortfall of almost 50 percent by 2030,…

In Tribute to a Land and Gender Champion: Chief Nyamphanda

Feb 5, 2020

The international development community mourns the loss of Chief Nyamphande IV, a traditional chief of the Nsenga Tribe of Zambia, who passed away suddenly on…

Unsung Sheroes, Climate Action, and the Global Peace and Security Agendas

Feb 4, 2020 | Marisa O. Ensor

“We’re fighting for our lands, for our water, for our lives,” said an indigenous woman from Colombia, describing her work as an environmental defender. She…

"Getting Gender Right" Is Essential for the Sustainability of Food Systems

Feb 4, 2020 | Elizabeth Bryan

The growing emphasis on sustainability of food systems (rather than of agriculture alone) highlights the importance of considering gender at all stages, from production to…

How Can Data Build a Truer Picture of the Gender Gap in Food Insecurity?

Feb 4, 2020 | Teresa Welsh

Getting an accurate picture of the differences in food security between men and women can be hampered by typical household survey methods, experts say.

The most…

Building Women's Resilience and Livelihoods

Feb 3, 2020

At IFAD we know that the face of a farmer is often a woman’s face. Around the world today, women make up over half the…

For Thailand's Female Land Rights Defenders, Activism Is a Dangerous and Daunting Necessity

Feb 2, 2020 | Lam Le

Growing up, cassava farmer Nittaya Muangklang did not think she would ever become an activist – let alone that she would lead a group of…

Why Post- War Women's Livelihood Strategies Have Failed in Lanka's Eastern Province

Feb 2, 2020 | PK Balachandran

Sri Lanka’s post-war livelihood strategies for women in the Eastern Province have failed, necessitating fresh thinking based on the experience garnered so far and the…

Mountain Women Bear the Brunt of Climate Change

Feb 1, 2020 | Suruchi Bhadwal, Ghanashyam Sharma, Ganesh Gorti, and Sudeshna Maya Sen

Climate change impacts are disproportionate and influence lives and livelihoods variedly. One crucial determinant of these disproportionate impacts is gender. Existing social norms determine roles…

Enhancing Gender-Responsive Disaster Risk Management: Why a Change of Mindset Is the First Step

Jan 30, 2020 | Emily Brearley, Thembi Kumapley, and Katharine Vincent

Mortality rates from disaster occurrences are exponentially higher for women than for men. Some studies actually find that women and children are 14 times more…

Climate Breakdown "Is Increasing Violence Against Women"

Jan 29, 2020 | Fiona Harvey

Climate breakdown and the global crisis of environmental degradation are increasing violence against women and girls, while gender-based exploitation is in turn hampering our ability…

Climate Change is Contributing to Exploitation of Women, New Report Details

Jan 29, 2020 | Tebany Yune

Climate-related crises in poorer countries increases violence and exploitation of women, says a recent report, and current attempts to address climate change fail to tackle this…

Facing Climate Change in Honduras: The Importance of Gender Equity

Jan 28, 2020 | Arely Valdivia

The women of the municipality of Namasigue, Honduras, have found empowerment in the Local Technical Agroclimatic Committee (LTAC) of the municipality of Choluteca. LTACs allow women to…