In Latin American, women own less land and less productive land, even though they make up an integral part of the agricultural workforce and collective agricultural knowledge. The disregard for the work of peasant women stems from a gendered division of labor that creates a stark inequality between male and female land rights. Across Latin America, indigenous women and peasants have risen up against these disparities: in Brazil, the women of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) and The Peasant Women’s Movement of Brazil (MMC) have both carried out campaigns; and La Vìa Campesina’s Jakarta Declaration highlights the need for female land rights and integral agrarian reform. Additionally, Bolivia’s government recognizes the harmful effects of patriarchal, capitalist structures in regards to female labour, and Zapatista communities include subsistence agriculture in their political beliefs. The nurturing relationship between women and land is essential to food sovereignty and integral agrarian reform. Photo Credit: grain.org
