SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct. 19 (EUROPE PRESS) –
Dozens of women gathered this week at the XIII Insular Meeting of Rural Women to claim their decisive and leading role in the socioeconomic development of rural environments. The event, organized by the Cabildo de Tenerife on the occasion of the International Day of Rural Women, which was commemorated on October 15, was dedicated to the work of female farmers on the island.
The island councilor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Parrilla, valued “the sacrifice, perseverance and resilience of rural women who work every day to raise our primary sector and our local product.”
In this sense, Javier Parrilla explained that the objective of this meeting is to continue making visible the work of women linked to the rural environment of Tenerife and to denounce the situations of discrimination and inequality that they still have to face. “Without them our primary sector would not be possible and today we want to pay them the tribute they deserve, because they have managed to undertake in sectors that are traditionally very masculinized,” he added.
The insular responsible valued the trajectory of the speakers and highlighted the quality of their work and their productions. “I will not tire of saying that in rural areas entrepreneurship has a woman’s name, that is why from the Cabildo we will continue to support and promote this type of meeting and launch training courses and outreach and awareness actions,” he added.
The event was also attended by the CEO of Equality and Prevention of Gender Violence, Priscila de León, and the insular director of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cayetano Silva.
Priscila de León stressed the importance of repeating this type of meeting, “which not only contributes to making visible the fundamental role of women in the primary sector, but also constitutes an ideal meeting point for women from all agricultural subsectors to get to know each other and can share initiatives, experiences and knowledge. Together we are stronger”.
The meeting, which took place at the School of Agricultural Engineering of the University of La Laguna, made visible the life and professional experiences of four women linked to agriculture and agrotourism, as well as the Canarian filmmaker Estrella Monterrey and the sociologist Ana María Morales.
Along with them, María del Mar González Álvarez (agrotourism Finca las Dulces), Ofelia Mármol (agrotourism Finca las Delicias), Antonia María Pérez Fumero (Bodega Vento) and Nieves Mora (ecological farmer) participated.
The speakers agreed that the situation of rural women has changed in recent years and that there are more and more women “in the front row”, whether they are farmers, ranchers or fishermen, leading and carrying out innovative and sustainable projects.
Prior to the colloquium, a presentation was held on Gender and rural tourism: the particular participation of women in the activity, by Ana María Morales, and later the documentary Like her thousands was screened, in whose production the Technical Service of Agriculture and Rural Development, which was attended by its director, Estrella Monterrey, and the female farmers who starred in the film.
This activity is part of the work that is being carried out by the Cabildo to give visibility and recognition to women linked to the rural environment of Tenerife, and which is also integrated into the Strategic Framework for Equality Policies of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Tenerife Violeta.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RURAL WOMEN
On December 18, 2007, the UN General Assembly established October 15 as the International Day of Rural Women. This sought to recognize the contribution of women in rural and agricultural development and make their situation visible in order to improve it.
According to the UN, rural women make up 43 percent of the agricultural workforce, yet they face significant discrimination. The gender gaps that most characterize the rural environment are: property, remuneration, decision-making capacity, access to resources and markets, access to a good education, salary and access to new digital knowledge.
