Roots for Equity, in collaboration with rural women's organizations from Hyderabad, Badin and Tando Mohammed Khan, celebrated Rural Women's Day on October 15, 2009 at the Hyderabad Press Club in Hyderabad, Sindh Province, Pakistan. The event featured speakers Sony Bheel, Veena, Tabasum Bhatti, Hasina Ali, Sainth, Azra Sayeed and Alo Bheel and culminated in a statement of demands to the government.
At the conference, the women highlighted their issues in the context of the severe livelihood crisis they are facing due to a combination of feudal practices and corporate globalization. A minute of silence was observed to remember the tragedy of the 16 women and 2 girls who were crushed to death in Karachi as they were trying to access free food distribution.
Among the issues discussed was the lack of women's rights faced by rural women, including the abysmal state of maternal and infant morbidity. The issue of thousands of home-based women workers in the rural economy was also highlighted. While rural women workers are responsible for contributing millions of rupees to the country's production system and economy, they are not able to earn even 50 rupees per day. Instead of holistic public policy for these workers, microfinance has been allowed to exploit rural women further through very high interest rates for loans given.
The impacts of climate change were also brought forth. A fresh disaster as a result of industrialization, the women spoke of how the benefits are being reaped by the rich while the impacts are being felt by poor rural communities. In addition, the issue of land grabbing and its consequences were discussed. However, based on the spirit of resistance among the participants, it was articulated that they could overcome the great onslaught of corporate agriculture. They stressed that rather than allow foreign investors to buy land, the first and only right to land should be the rural women and peasant communities.
Demands of the Rural Women
We, the Rural Women demand from our democratically elected government:
- Availability and access to nutritious, safe food;
- Free education for all rural women;
- Availability and access to maternal care;
- Freedom from malnutrition and hunger;
- Freedom from maternal and infant morbidity and mortality;
- Control and access to land and all productive resources for agricultural and food production;
- Access to sustainable livelihood;
- Freedom from state and non-state violence.
We, the Rural Women Reject:
- Control over our lands by foreign governments, corporations, and investors;
- Corporate Agricultural Farming;
- We reject control Agro-chemical Transnational Corporations control over our genetic resources.
Roots for Equity is an non-government organization which was formed with a clear agenda of being part of the anti-globalization movement in general, and supporting and strengthening Pakistani peasant movements to create a force against market economy forces in the agriculture sector.
Contact:
Azra Talat Sayeed, Waku Haider
B-260, Block 6
KDA Scheme No. 24
Gulshan-E-Iqbal, Karachi
Phone: 21-498 4409
Email:
