Rural Women’s Rights: Timor-Leste takes its First Step towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Date:
Author: Christina Yiannakis
“Today is a day when we should all take off our hats and bow down to women,” exclaimed Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister, His Excellency Dr. Rui de Araujo, as he bowed down to an audience of hundreds who had gathered at the International Rural Women’s Day exhibition.
“We should bow down to women, especially those who live in the rural areas, for all the work that they do, and all the sacrifices that they make for their families, their communities, and our society.” His humble act of bowing to acknowledge the extensive contributions of rural women to Asia’s newest nation sent a ripple of excitement through the crowd, as many men stood to join him in his gesture.
The day’s celebrations had begun with a field visit by the Prime Minister to a number of women’s agricultural programmes across the district of Aileu, including the fish farm Diasoli, which has committed to a beneficiary quota of at least 30% women. An exhibition was being held simultaneously in Maubise, a town in Aileu’s neighbouring district Ainaru, where women’s products and contributions to the agricultural industry were being promoted to the public while workshops were running to provide information and discussion on women’s work.
With assistance from UN Women in the coordination of the day’s events, as well as longer-term plans to create sustainable changes to improve rural women’s lives, the Government dedicated the day to the signing of the Declaration of Maubise. This landmark agreement in Timor-Leste’s fight for gender equality demands more support for the 70% of the nation’s women who live in rural areas, addressing their access to human rights, resources and information.
The Declaration was inspired not just by the Government of Timor-Leste’s recent commitment to Sustainable Development Goal number five: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women (SDG 5), but also by this year’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action. While SDG 5 acknowledges that women’s empowerment is a vital step towards development and achieving global equality, the Beijing Platform for Action provides a detailed blue print of what changes governments must make to reach these targets.
In response to these calls to action the Government of Timor-Leste, led by the Prime Minister’s office, have worked closely with UN Women to ensure that their first response to the SDGs is dedicated to gender equality in the Declaration of Maubise. The document intends to work as a guideline for government departments, to initiate “a coordinated response from various government actors that strengthen the capacity of women, improve their access to inputs and support for the development of an environment conducive to gender equality.” Her Excellency, Veneranda de Lemos, Secretary of State for Relief and Socio-Economic Promotion of Women, highlighted the importance of the Declaration by commenting, “We, as women, are not meant to stand behind men, or in front of men. We are meant to stand next to men, as partners in development. Our country needs us to approach development together.”
The plan presented in the Declaration is ambitious, demanding measures such as gender sensitive data collection, the implementation of gender equality policies particularly within the agricultural industry, greater access to credit for women, and a commitment to a quota of 30% of women beneficiaries to be recipients of training in management, marketing, trade and advertising. The list of signatories pledging themselves to the challenge include the Prime Minister; Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; Secretary of State for Relief and Socio-Economic Promotion of Women; Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment; Ministry of Public Works , Transport and Communications; Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture; Ministry of Health; Ministry of State Administration; the Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment Policy, and the National Bank of Timor-Leste.
“Together we must recognize that rural women have contributed immensely to the development of this country and our food security,” Exclaimed the Prime Minister. The day’s events, and the development of the Declaration were a collaborative effort fromå the signatories with support from Rede Feto and UN Women.