The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation reiterated on Friday its commitment to empowering women.

In a statement issued on International Women's Day (Friday 8th March), FAO said it would focus on work "to eliminate and prevent all forms of violence against women and girls," noting that "In spite of the major role played by women in producing food and feeding their families, little attention has been paid to the connection between gender, violence and food security."

The UN agency pointed out that ingrained discrimination, often legitimised through national legislation which tends to favour men over women, runs counter to efforts to achieve food security and must be addressed worldwide to improve wellbeing and access to food. FAO said on Friday that, "For many women struggling to feed themselves and their children today, food security would mean personal and legal security."

The agency added, "If we unite to increase food security for women, we also nourish the minds and bodies of whole communities. If a girl can attend school in a safe environment, she can reach her full mental and physical potential. She can avoid early marriage, forced marriage or other forms of violence. If a woman can register the birth of her children, legally own land and the money she earns, she can contribute to the benefit of her society and its economic development."

Speaking from Kampala, Uganda where he was involved in meetings with government officials focusing on poverty reduction and means of supporting rural smallholders, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva lamented that, in spite of the major role played by women in producing food, little attention has been paid to their work in agriculture. 

In a press conference, the FAO chief expounded on the need to support the emergence of more "self-reliant, inclusive [and] gender-equitable producer organisations and cooperatives" and allow them to thrive by "developing adequate policies, legal frameworks, economic incentives" in order to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty in sustainable ways.

Women make up more than 40 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries.  Improving equality in women's access to agricultural inputs (such as seeds, tools, fertilisers), education and public services would contribute significantly to achieving food security and better nutrition for all.  

Empowering women and girls legally and economically creates opportunities for development, enhances their political voice and reduces their vulnerability to violence. FAO said "Food security links the diverse elements needed to build a peaceful and fair future for them."

Last month, a widely respected, albeit controversial, professor of biology at one of the United States' most prestigious universities said that ensuring women the world over have equal rights is key to achieving food security. Professor Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University stated that ensuring women have equal rights to men across the world is the first major step on the road towards food security.