Background
The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008. This day, established by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007, recognizes “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”
Rural women play a critical role in the rural economies of both developed and developing countries. In most parts of the developing world, they participate in crop production and livestock care, provide food, water and fuel for their families, and engage in off-farm activities to diversify their families’ livelihoods. In addition, they carry out vital functions in caring for children, older persons and the sick.
On the International Day of Rural Women, UN Women is calling for action to support rural women and girls and grow their capacities to respond to climate change through agricultural production, food security, and natural resources management.
This year’s International Day of the Rural Women in the northern region was impressively organized by the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA – Gh) where over 500 people including men and women from Nyeko, Tampion and its surrounding villages were present.
Explaining the rationale behind SWIDA-GH leading this year’s celebration at Nyeko, the Executive Director for SWIDA-GH Hajia Alima Sajito Saeed explained that “We are here as an organization to appreciate them and let them know that what they are doing is being appreciated not even at their community level but globally and so far we’ve met with over 300 to 400 women here.”
Hajia Alima added that as an organization, they recognize the rural women that they have been working with and in the Nyorko community alone they have four Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) groups that they have been working with and together they are working with over 120 active women who are into various value chains like rice, Soya bean, and sorghum. They are also into the shea value chain as well as vegetables.
The women who were present at the durbar ground benefited from free breast cancer screening and breast cancer sensitization sponsored by SWIDA-GH, the Executive Director said, they know that it is also important that the health of the rural women like any other women is recognized and appreciated so that they can be healthy to produce more for Ghana and the world.
She however thanked their partners for funding and supporting this year’s celebration.
SWIDA-GH
As a nongovernmental organization contributing to improving the socio-economic lives of the people of Northern Ghana through the promotion of basic human rights and social justice, good governance and advocacy, gender development, economic empowerment, environmental management and capacity building to demand social services by communities and groups.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
