This article discusses the land rights of Africa and how they are going to change for the better. The land in Africa is very useful, and when put into perspective most of the income made from the African people is from farming. Therefore, they want to focus on getting land out to those people who need it most, and shockingly they want to work on women’s rights to land. The article did not address the effects of this besides that it will alleviate some poverty; it was more on the how this program was going to work.
Without saying it directly, they are going to empower women. Giving them land to farm and sell goods ultimately gives them the power to handle the finances. This would be an incredible step if it works out. It is proven that women handle money much better than men. When the female spends the money, the family strives. The money she spends goes to essentials, such as food. When males handle money, they will spend some of it on pleasure items, like beer. Also, if more people have farms, they are making food for themselves. The next step to this would be teaching women about microfinance, but in hindsight this could be pushing it too much. Men would not truly allow women to have “ALL” the power.
Another aspect would be that it would alleviate some poverty. If poverty is alleviated even by a small amount, things are subject to change. It would be a positive for progression. Africa could truly start developing. Although, when reading all this, there is still that saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Overall, this action plan, “Nairobi Action Plan” would be a positive step into the future.
http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_12946.html
This topic also reminds me of some discussion in "Half the Sky" where when women have a means of income, the result is more equality in the household. This progress is evident everywhere from Kenya to Bangladesh. When women have equal say in finances and how the house is run, all children are more likely to attend schooling and be better fed. The land rights in Africa is a complex issue that will inevitably bring equality to women.
ReplyDeleteI find this article very interesting because I don't believe that women spend money better then men. I think women spend a lot more money than men because of shopping. Besides that little fact, I believe in anything and everything that will help out Africa. They need help more then anyone I know, so I think it is great to see so many willing people helping out.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article. In lots of poor countries land means a lot. By trying to get woman to get land, it will allow woman to feed their children. Like we talked about in class, allowing woman to own land gives them power and they spend the better. This seems to be a great idea.
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