The UN mission in Western Bahr El Ghazal State concluded the commemoration of the International Women Day yesterday with a panel discussing ways to get rid of hunger and build a brilliant future for girls and women.
The event discussed the theme for the International Women’s Day celebrated last week and pointed out ways to improve the living standards of women in the field of agriculture, Radio Voice of Hope reported.UN child and gender coordinator Maria Makbito said hunger and poverty are connected with each other and must be fought together.
She added that women have a central role in agriculture Ð they represent 80 percent of the working force Ð but their work is not effective as they use improper tools.
Ms Makbito stessed the importance of improving production methods in order to reduce hunger.
She asked the Government if it wanted to keep women underdeveloped or preferred to give them better tools for them to produce the food they need and combat poverty.
Human Rights Coordinator Ann Fardar underlined the right of women to acquire land in order to increase productivity.
She asked the Government to bring women’s rights treaties into the local laws to be able to fight violence, discrimination and early marriage, and allow women to participate in economic growth.
Kaidy Cleto Hassan, an activist in the field of civil and women activities in Western Bahr El Ghazal, shared her experience in women’s activities during war time and after the signing of peace agreement.
She explained that the output of women in the rural areas must be linked to education and direct field work to strengthen their role in the family.
The seminar was organized in collaboration with civil society organizations and the state government.
It was attended by many women, a number of representatives from the judiciary and members of human rights protection organizations.