Two strong women: This is how they are changing Africa's agriculture!

Two strong women: This is how they are changing Africa's agriculture!

In Zambia, two courageous women, Elly and Ann, are committed to improving the living conditions of women and young people in rural areas. Elly describes the challenge that mothers face: they have to look after their children, work in the fields and also fulfill the role of wife. They often have little time to prepare healthy meals between these tasks, leading to malnutrition. Elly and her fellow campaigners give mothers practical tips on how they can use the produce from their harvest to cook varied and nutritious dishes. They also encourage women to grow diverse crops that can be used both for their own needs and for sale, as reported.

Advancing through education and networks

In Kenya, Ann highlights the similar situation of mothers who are often forced to take their young children to work because kindergartens are prohibitively expensive. This causes them to be less productive and miss opportunities to grow professionally. Their initiative, the Go-Getters Youth Group, aims to bring young people together and provide them with valuable knowledge about finance and sustainable economic practices. These measures aim to ensure that young people are able to start their own businesses and become financially independent. A cooperation with a university in Kenya was also initiated to support graduates through internships and further support.

However, the challenges women face in both countries are not just regional. The debate about gender roles and equality has become indispensable, at least since the legal achievements in Germany and Poland. Despite legal equality, statistics show that women are still disadvantaged in politics and on the job market. Historically, women in Germany have had equal legal rights since 1918, but the reality is different in many areas. The proportion of women in the Bundestag is 35%, which shows the need for action. The stereotypical perception of gender roles that sees women as sensitive and caring and men as strong and unemotional hinders progress and equality. This is visible both in education and in the professional world, where gender-specific attributions still prevail, so that a rethink is also necessary in the use of language in order to fairly represent the diversity of gender identities, as the Space for Women Foundation emphasizes in its report.

Weekly newspaper DLV reports on Elly and Ann's inspiring stories while on Diversity DPJW the social challenges of gender equality are addressed.