Gender equality

As an expert in the fields of agroecology and gender equality, SWISSAID works in nine countries. On the ground and in close cooperation with local partners, we promote initiatives by people who are independently seeking a way out of poverty.

Targeted campaigns in the Marathwada region sensitise young people, adults and state actors against gender based violence and discrimination. Through a holistic approach, the dream of a life free of violence should finally become a reality for as many girls and women as possible.

After the pandemic, girls and boys from the community of Sincé in northern Colombia had to go back to school – if only getting there wasn’t so difficult. This is exactly where this SWISSAID project comes in: Using new educational methods, the emotional and psychosocial well-being of the insecure young people is to be strengthened again. Awareness-raising measures are designed to prevent violent situations and creative learning methods help young people to rediscover the joy of learning.

SWISSAID strengthens the independence of indigenous women in Ecuador. Agroecology, leadership, basic rights: Thanks to training in these areas, women can improve their food security and economic independence. And they help to combat violence.

Goats are an important pillar of many SWISSAID projects in Chad. Not only do they provide smallholder families in the Global South with vitamin-rich food, their manure also improves the harvest. And thus independence for many.

In Guinea-Bissau, SWISSAID has set up literacy courses for women, covering reading, writing and arithmetic. These new skills, which make selling and negotiating easier, enable them to increase their income and feed their families.

Achieving gender equality in rural areas, where 80% of the agricultural workforce is female, has been a cornerstone of SWISSAID’s work for decades. Development may sometimes seem slow, but the successes are there for all to see. As in Chad, where access to land, livestock and agro-ecology training is improving the living conditions of women, and with them those of their entire families.

The lack of agricultural knowledge, access to credit, and the ever-increasing cost of living keep rural families in southern Shan State, Myanmar, trapped in poverty. With the rise of violent conflicts and the effects of climate change, many people are forced to migrate. SWISSAID has initiated a project to enhance the value of crops through agroecology, enabling farmers to envision a dignified future.

In recent years, poverty and inequality have been on the rise again in Nicaragua. In rural Terrabona, one of the poorest regions of the country, the food security is threatened. The challenges of adapting agriculture to climatic changes are great and the opportunities of the population are few. Agroecology shows smallholder families a way out of the impasse. 

The project launched by the Colombian alliance «Guardianas de los Páramos», of which SWISSAID is a member, aims to protect the ecosystems of six municipalities in the Boyacá region. The focus is on the rehabilitation of traditional agricultural varieties and techniques, the protection of biodiversity and the strengthening of the role of rural women. Fernando Chaves Valbuena, journalist for elcampesino.co, tells us about it through the women who carry this project.

In some parts of the world, owning land is the key to sustainable food security and the assurance of being able to provide for one’s family. But with women – 50% of the population – denied access to land, incomes are meagre and families struggle to make ends meet. A project on access to land for women in Guinea-Bissau aims to restore this balance and improve the agricultural diversification of families.

14.12.2021 | The fight against hunger is multi-faceted. It starts with women being able to inherit and own land. This is what Isabela, a farmer from Guinea-Bissau, is fighting for. With the help of SWISSAID, she has broken through the patriarchal traditions in her country.

27.08.2021 | More than 70 people participated in the webinar on local markets and food sovereignty organized by SWISSAID on August 24. All speakers as well as the guests agreed: Many people in the South are dependent on local markets. They, especially women, deserve more help, remuneration and weight for their products.

In the rural areas of Guinea-Bissau, the best way to provide sustainable and effective aid is to work directly with the farmers, grouped together in associations. But bringing these smallholder farmers together is only the first step.

26.01.2021 | From sustainable fish farming on the coast to organic watermelon cultivation and responsible mining of raw materials in gold mines in the interior: SWISSAID is active in Tanzania in many different areas. Our new programme officer Christina Aebischer reports on her project visit.

The idyll in the south of Tanzania is deceptive. Many young people are moving to the cities. Those who stay behind struggle with dwindling fish stocks, malnutrition and poverty. A fish farming project promises new perspectives.

October 2020 | SWISSAID supports women in its projects in the South and campaigns for women’s rights in the Swiss landscape. The same fight is waged in many different ways. Like in October 2020, for example, when SWISSAID launched a week of action under the motto “I step out of the shadows”.

A significant aspect of SWISSAID’s mission is to enhance the role of women in society. Grounded in the principles of the United Nations, our approach involves forging robust partnerships and leveraging in-depth expertise in this domain. Learn more about our dedication to promoting gender equality

Unfavorable political decisions, deeply rooted cultural traditions and recent pandemics are casting a dark shadow over the aspirations of gender equality worldwide. These challenges highlight the importance of empowering women. Daniele Polini, Head of Gender at SWISSAID, looks at developments in recent years and explains how SWISSAID is working for women in its projects.

25.03.2020 | The global corona crisis does not affect everyone equally. Some people are much more economically and socially affected than others. Women, who are often victims of domestic violence as well as being the sole earners of their families and in precarious employment, are especially under pressure.

The 17 SDGs, also known as Agenda 2030, commit the international community to making its contribution to a fairer and less poor world. SWISSAID is working actively and energetically to achieve some of these goals.

In Myanmar today, many women farmers are also taking part confidently in discussions with groups of men. They have been on courses where they expanded their knowledge of agroecological cultivation methods and built up their self-confidence.

October 2019 | SWISSAID has set itself the task of bringing experts from the global south into conversation with the Swiss public. We organize events with them or realize media appointments. In October 2019, Aissé Barry, from SWISSAID Guinea-Bissau, spent time in Switzerland for this purpose.

Women feed the world – yet they often have few rights. This is why SWISSAID has been working for decades to empower women. One of them, the farmer Louise Ndodjita, is successfully asserting herself in the male-dominated society of Chad. This is thanks in part to a literacy course.

The issue of gender equality is to be given even greater weight: This is what SWISSAID decided together with employees from Switzerland and the nine countries on the occasion of the development cooperation strategy for the years 2019-2024. For ethical reasons, and also for practical reasons: projects that take gender relations into account usually have a greater impact and more sustainable results. -translated with DeepL