Social and economic inequalities between men and women result in less food being produced, less income being earned, and higher levels of poverty and food insecurity

As rural women often spend a large amount of their time on additional household obligations they have less time to spend on food production or other income opportunities. Women also have less access to markets than men which hamper their opportunities to earn an income even further, and thus their possibilities to be able to buy food. With fewer assets and heavier burdens, women are more vulnerable to shocks and less well positioned to respond to e.g. the effects of climate change or other rapid changes in the environment. Inequalities in ownership of, access to and control of livelihoods assets negatively affect women’s food production and food security. Tenure insecurity for women results in lower investment and potential environmental degradation. It compromises future production potential and increases food insecurity and reduces women´s income and the availability of food.

Education is an investment, not an expense. Women Business Hub is Building strategic Partnerships with different organizations to provide adequate resources for community based trainings on Self-Reliance

These are some of the resource materials Women Business Hub is using to train Women and youth on Self-Reliance. Today’s world is competitive, more than it’s ever before. Women and youth need to get a type of education which enable them to meet the exigencies (urgent needs) of life. The young generation need to be prepared for a vastly broader scope than we’ve ever had before.  With proper employability skills, Work is the sensation by which talent is brought to the surface and dreams become reality.

 

Sharing about the Fund for Global Human Rights to Help our community members understand why strategic partnership is core to us as Women Business Hub

Learning More to understand as grassroots communities the Launch of The Legal Empowerment Fund which is supporting local Human Rights Initiatives.

What Do Human Rights Mean?

As grassroots Community members, Let us learn and understand How did the Fund for Global Human Rights get its start?

Why Do Women Need Independent Rights in Land?

Land is often the most important household asset for supporting agricultural production and providing food security and nutrition. Women's collective land rights provide economic security for households and communities. Land access and ownership is crucial to gain access to markets and better standards of living for women. Ownership of land and property empowers women and provides income and security. Without resources such as land, women have limited say in household decision-making, and no recourse to the assets during crises.

Women Business Hub is engaging rural women and youth as frontline Change Makers in addressing Poverty through an organized intervention by making sure they own land and have full Rights for its governance. This will make  Small and Medium Agro Enterprises development for employability and Self-reliance be realistic and sustainable. 

Women Business Hub therefore strive to:-   (1) Strengthen rural women and youth land ownership rights and governance through grassroots advocacy, Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) and Public Interest Litigation (PIL). (2) Promote regenerative agriculture among indigent rural women and youth for sustainable household economic growth, environmental conservation and mitigation of threats to rural livelihoods. (3) Strengthen community driven value chain systems in agricultural sector through establishment and promotions of women and youth owned Small and Medium Agro Enterprises (SMAEs)  

  

Why should women own the land?

Women have massive indigenous understanding of local plant species which helps them to provide a wide variety of nutritious food for their families.  Therefore, curbing malnutrition at a household level can only be achieved when women have full control and management of land and other natural resources attached to it.  Studies show that women account for nearly half of the world’s smallholder farmers and produce 70% of Africa’s food. Yet, less than 20% of land in the world is owned by women and over 65% of land in Kenya is governed by customary laws that discriminate against women, limiting their land and property rights. Research shows that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they would increase the yields of farms by 20%-30% and reduce hunger by up to 17%.  

Regionally, the Africa Union, in its 2009 land declaration, recommends that its member states allocate at least 30% of land to women. Article 7 of the Maputo Protocol, the African Charter on human rights, grants both women and men rights to an equal share of joint property acquired during marriage in the case of separation, divorce, or annulment.

In Kenya, Article 40 of the constitution guarantees a right to property for all. The Land Act, revised in 2016, requires spousal consent to sell land. The 2013 matrimonial property act allows women to register alongside their husbands for property acquired during marriage. The 2016 Community Land Act states that boys and girls above 18 years have a right to vote on community land decisions. 

Women Business Hub believes that giving women their constitutional rights to own land, and have control on the  management of natural resources will save indigent families from hunger, malnutrition and effects of climate change.