Jeannette was one of the speakers during the CSW 62 parallel session hosted by World Resource Institute (WRI) on March 12 in New York. The objective of the session was to examine factors that advance gender equality through and for the benefit of environmental sustainability, sharing examples from various sectors and modes of operation, policies and regulations that foster women’s rights, to community initiatives that strengthen women’s engagement and spark social change on gender
norms, and advocacy initiatives aimed at increasing political action and financial investment to advance the status of rural women.
Rural women are highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods and the subsistence needs of their families, and their rights to natural resources are critical to advancing nearly all other rural women-focused issues (e.g. agriculture, health, food security, household duties of fuelwood, water, cooking). Unfortunately, even when national policies afford women equal rights to resources, customary practices often prohibit women from exercising their rights. While women’s rights are critical to their well-being and that of their families, they are also essential to achieving local and global environmental outcomes.