At dinner, a mother says: “Eat, I’m not hungry.”
This is a composite scene. But behind it lies a real problem: according to the FAO, when food is scarce, women often reduce their own food intake so there is enough for the rest of the family.
15 October is the International Day of Rural Women. It honours those who grow crops, care for animals, preserve seeds and feed their families. At the same time, rural women face greater difficulties in accessing land, credit, education and markets. A significant share of their work remains unpaid and invisible, the UN notes.
There is a painful injustice here: working with food every day does not necessarily mean having enough food for yourself.
Change is possible. Secure land rights, access to equipment and training, decent pay and childcare facilities are all tangible solutions. According to an FAO estimate published in 2023, closing the gap between women and men in farm productivity and agricultural wages could reduce the number of people facing food insecurity by 45 million. This is an estimate of a possible impact, not a result that has already been achieved.
When travelling, we admire terraces, vineyards and village markets. But behind the beautiful landscape is someone’s daily work. Seeing the person behind the postcard is also a way to understand a country.
A woman who feeds others should still have a place at the table. And the right to a future of her own.
The illustrations were created with the help of AI. The characters and scenes are composite and do not depict a specific family.
