This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #PressforProgress, “motivating and uniting friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.” But what does this mean for indigenous women across the globe?
Worlds away from the red carpet and the Time’s Up movement, Indigenous women the world over play a vital role in their community and protecting the world’s forest.
A report released last year by Rights and Resources Institute demonstrated that the fight for land rights is intertwined with women’s rights.
“Women’s ability to access forests and to take part in decision-making regarding resource utilization is crucial to conservation and climate change mitigation efforts, the report notes. It also contributes to economic development at the community and national levels. But even in cases where community-level practices provide women with access to, and control over land, weak regulations on tenure rights increase their vulnerability to social, economic and environmental shocks.”
Three indigenous and local community women tell us their story and share their message to women across the globe.
Read more about the report here. Access the full report here.