Empower women farmers to ensure food security
Speakers tell South Asian women's conference
Women delegates visit 'biodiversity fair' at Ridaipir Bidyaghar of Ubinig in Delduar upazila in Tangail yesterday. Local women farmers arranged the fair on the occasion of the three-day South Asian conference on 'Women and Biodiversity'.Photo: STAR
Speakers at a conference yesterday said strengthening the position of women farmers through the combined efforts of all can help ensure protection of agriculture and food security as well as peace in family and society. Politicians have to play a role while the governments should change their principals for the purpose, they said at South Asian conference on 'Women and Biodiversity' at Hridaipur Bidyaghar of UBINIG at Delduar upazila in Tangail yesterday. Narigrantha Prabartana and Nayakrishi Andolon in collaboration with GRAIN organised the women's conference to mark the International Women's Day. There is a connection between increase in oppression and violence against women and food, water and environment condition, " the women representatives said at the conference. Destruction of environment and overall agriculture condition brings natural calamity and leads to increased violence and women trafficking, they said. Introducing the biodiversity-based agriculture management can help protect the variety of food production and its development to face food scarcity, they said. Under false allurement, the corporate companies with the help of government are earning huge money by selling fertiliser, pesticide etc, they said. These companies have no concern about food security as earning money is their only aim, they said, adding, "Women are being attacked with different complicated diseases due to use of pesticides." In the first session yesterday, Farida Akhter, executive director of Narigrantha Prabartana and UBINIG and Salini Bhutani of GRAIN spoke on introduction of the thematic issues. Rekha Tulachan and Ananta Pokhrel of Nepal, Nazma Sadeque and Nahid Kazmi of Pakistan, Sivagowry Manickasabapathy of Sri Lanka, Deblina Gupta and Sukla Dev Mitra of India, Tum Hpang of Myanmar and Mahmuda Khatun Sheuly of Bangladesh took part in discussion on 'Country Overview of Biodiversity Situation and Women's Struggles'. In the second session, Farida Akther, Lucile Sircar and Khurshid Jahan spoke on 'Technologies and Women's Health'. Salini Bhutani of GRAIN and Rukmini Rao of SANGAT facilitated the first and the second session of the conference. A total of 188 women (26 foreigners and 162 locals) delegates of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh participated in the conference. The conference that was inaugurated at the same venue on Monday afternoon, will conclude today. On the occasion, a biodiversity fair has been arranged where local women farmers set 16 stalls of seeds, herbal trees, indigenous loom items, handicrafts and etc.
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