14 October 2008
Cultural, social and traditional problems, such as initiation rites, the large number of households headed by women, and the difficulties put in the way of girls' access to education, are the greatest enemies of the development and empowerment of Mozambican women.
Making this point on Tuesday, Anabela Mabota, a spokesperson for the Women's Forum, a coalition of associations and NGOs dealing with women's issues, said that it is of crucial importance to reverse this situation, given that women constitute the majority of the population, and could play a key role in dynamising the economy.
Speaking in Maputo at a National Meeting of the Rural Women's Forum, Mabota argued that the forum could show the way forward if it were to set up a secretariat that would fight for the granting of credit for rural women, and simplifying the procedures for women peasants to obtain title to their land.
"The forum must be close to the decision makers", she said. "It must serve as a secure link between the members of its associations and the decision making sphere, in the search for investment, support, the purchase of agricultural inputs, and the spread of experiences".
So that women may play their full role within the "Green Revolution" promoted by the government, they need to be empowered so that they have easy access to land, information, credit, technologies, and training in business matters, Mabota argued.
It was crucial to increase the income of rural women, she added. That meant ensuring that women could participate in the market, selling their production, and buying inputs and whatever they needed for their families.
The forum also wanted to see women represented in all decision making bodies from district level upwards.
Data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), cited by Mabota, show that agriculture, livestock, fishing and forestry employ 87.3 per cent of the female work force, but only 68 per cent of the men.
Many of these women bear the full burden of bringing up their families. Figures from 2007 show that 23.5 per cent of all Mozambican households are headed by women. These include single women and widows, but also people whose husbands are absent for most of the time (because they are working in the cities or in South Africa).
This two day meeting has been organised by one of Mozambique's most prominent NGOs, the Community Development Foundation (FDC). It will approve a Declaration of Rural Women, and a Plan of Action. It also marks the first official presentation of the Mozambican Rural Women's Forum (FMMUR).
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