‘Women farmers are invisible’: A West African project helps them claim their rights — and land

By JACK THOMPSON
Associated Press

ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal (AP) — Women play a crucial but underappreciated role in West African farming. One project in Senegal is inspiring them to overcome gender traditions that prevent them access to land. It’s training women to sustainably feed their communities, adapt to climate change and boost rural development. Women usually don’t own land because it’s expected that when they marry, they leave the community. But when they move to their husbands’ homes, they aren’t given land because they aren’t related by blood. The founder of We Are the Solution watched her mother struggle and gave up her own dreams for years. Now she’s expanding her work.