Women’s Role in Agriculture and Gender Related Issues in Syria

1. Women’s Role in Agriculture and Gender Related Issues in Syria Prepared by Samira Soubh Rural Development Division

2. Main Points Highlighted in This Paper • Presentation purpose • Introduction • Gender Issues in Syria • Syrian Women’s Role in Agriculture • Rural Women Access to Pentagon Assets • Human Capital • Financial Capital • Social Capital • Physical Capital • Natural Capital • Conclusions and Recommendations RDD of NAPC

3. Presentation purpose • Highlight the traditional role of women in the economy and gender issues that constrain rural development • Provide a quantitative, qualitative, and comparative data on women's role in agriculture. • Assess women's status in accessing capital assets: human, social, financial, physical, and natural capital. RDD of NAPC

4. Introduction • Women are the shortest rout to ending poverty by playing these key roles • Ensuring household food security • Doing most of the farm work • Unless the obstacles that prevent women from realizing their potential are removed, it will be difficult to achieve the UNMDG. RDD of NAPC

5. Gender Issues in Syria • Men and women were not trained on several gender roles • Gender traditional roles lead to constrain development process • Because gender was neglected in all development projects, many have failed • Achieving development objectives require insertion gender concept in development programs. • Syrian civil law stipulates that all citizens, irrespective of sex, are treated equally before the law, but: • Women are treated as dependents in marriage and divorce cases • unequal treatment in the penalty (honor Killing) • Women have limited access to productive resources and services due to conservative traditions RDD of NAPC

6. Syrian Women’s Role in Agriculture Reproduction Production Women’s Role Community Management Household Market For Members ForMarket Household Food Security Population Growth Overall Food Security

7. Labor Gendered distribution in agricultural production RDD of NAPC

8. Rural Women Access to Pentagon Assets • Rural Women’s Access To HumanCapital • Educational Status of Rural Women • Illiteracy rate (Syria, 2003 est.) is 23.1%, (36.1% females, 10.3% males • 78% of female employees in agriculture are illiterate • Health Status of Rural Women • Mortality rate is 107 deaths for 100,000 births • 37% of rural women receipted health care after giving birth RDD of NAPC

9. Rural Women’s Access To Financial RDD of NAPC

10. Rural Women's Access To Social Capital • Government supports integrating woman into society, but their participation rate still low • Women do not have notable role in decision making inside their household . • Wives have no word regarding education or marriage sons and daughters. RDD of NAPC

11. Rural Women's Access To Physical Capital • lack of adequate physical and institutional structures. • Fragmented land holdings decrease and limit effective use of technology • 56% of rural households are provided with piped water • 92% electricity supply. • Only 29% of households are supplied with modern sanitary net, • Increased women domestic burden (water fetching and using fuel for cooking). RDD of NAPC

12. Rural Women's Access to Natural Capital • Women have to work in the land, but not permitted to own it • Land ownership by females constitutes 5% of aggregate land ownership • Owning transport means and agriculture wells is completely not permitted RDD of NAPC

13. Conclusions and Recommendations • Enabling women to participate in development process • Facilitate accessing to productive resources and basic services • Providing special support (credit) to set up income-earning activities • Changing the ancient perception of women's role and their rights • Liberate women through complete and comprehensive process RDD of NAPC

14. Thanks For Your Attention