On International Women’s Day 2018, the CIHEAM embraces the official UN theme “Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives” by reinforcing its commitments to step up efforts to invest in the capacity of rural women.
Over the years, the programmes and the activities of the CIHEAM have grown along the lines of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by having among the main goals, Gender Equality. The CIHEAM Action Plan for the Mediterranean (CAPMED 2025) gives prominence to issues of capacity building and empowerment of women in agriculture, fisheries and more generally in rural and coastal Mediterranean areas. Whether in the struggle against the waste of natural and human resources, in the formulation of poverty alleviation policies, the support of entrepreneurship and in decision-making processes, the participation of rural women should be fostered and greater investment should be made in building their capacities aiming at their empowerment.
CIHEAM Zaragoza is carrying out several projects and initiatives with member countries and other partners, in order to empower and to promote the role of women in rural areas, as well as to reduce gender inequalities in agriculture and rural development:
We need to remember that the empowerment of women is highly important to combat poverty and is essential for the achievement of sustainable development.