The Regional Pastoral Support Project in the Sahel, Phase 2-Burkina Faso (PRAPS 2-BF), organized, on Friday, September 13, 2024 in Tenkodogo, a panel with about fifty women and men beneficiaries of the project’s support in the Center-East, to discuss and reflect on gender issues in the rural context, highlighting the specific actions and needs of women. It was in the presence of the project coordinator, Dr. Souleymane Pindé.
This panel, held on Friday, September 13, 2024 in Tenkodogo, is part of the preparation for the International Day of Rural Women, celebrated every year on October 15.
According to the gender specialist of the Regional Pastoral Support Project in the Sahel, phase 2-Burkina Faso (PRAPS 2-BF), Deborah Kam/Barry, this event aims not only to highlight the crucial importance of women, but also to raise awareness among rural women about the existence of the day dedicated to them.
“The various points discussed during this panel mainly aim to highlight the essential role of rural women. The ai
m was to make women understand their importance in rural areas and to raise awareness among the entire population of their multiple contributions,” she said.
According to Deborah Kam/Barry, rural women are often overloaded with tasks, working in the fields, looking after their families and managing their own farms.
“The aim is therefore to think about ways of reducing their workload in order to improve their living conditions,” she reassured.
The participants unanimously welcomed this initiative which allowed them to discover new aspects, notably the International Day of Rural Women.
‘We learned that October 15 is the International Day of Rural Women, a day that highlights the often overlooked work of women. This day allowed us to better understand their crucial role and their importance. It is an opportunity to raise awareness among heads of households so that they grant women equitable access to arable land,’ said one of the participants, Kaligueta Kaboré.
For Dimtenga-Naaba, one of the ministers of Hi
s Majesty Naaba Guigem Pollé, Dima of Zoungrane Tenga, customary chiefs have an essential role to play in gender issues in rural areas.
‘We need to advocate with decision-makers and influential people to change mindsets. Ignorance is often the root cause of unfair behavior towards women. If we understand that family success depends on the collaboration between men and women, we will be more inclined to work together,’ he suggested.
He proposed involving men and women in awareness-raising activities.
“Moreover, we should review the way of celebrating International Women’s Day in order to involve women themselves more,” added Dimtenga-Naaba.
At the end of the meeting, the beneficiaries presented concrete examples of projects and initiatives implemented by PRAPS 2-BF in favor of pastoral and agro-pastoral women, aimed at improving their quality of life.
According to the coordinator of PRAPS 2-BF, Dr Souleymane Pindé, the initiative aims to help women acquire autonomy that will allow them to flourish.
‘We w
ant the beneficiaries of our projects to be able to develop and become driving forces in their community. They must be able to promote their activities and become spokespersons for PRAPS. Our projects aim to strengthen the resilience of pastoralists and agropastoralists by securing pastoral areas, improving animal health and promoting socio-economic inclusion,’ continued the coordinator.
He hoped that the beneficiaries would become examples to follow and that they would encourage other people to get involved in the process.
The Regional Pastoralism Support Project in the Sahel, Phase 2-Burkina Faso (PRAPS 2-BF), was launched on October 5, 2021.
Its development objective is to strengthen the resilience of pastoralists and agropastoralists in certain targeted areas of the Sahel region.
Source: Burkina Information Agency