MANILA, March 10 –- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said on Wednesday it has set up a women’s desk in all Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) nationwide to ensure the protection of the rights of women.
“It is good news to rural women, who are often overlooked, hardly given access to credit, treated as second fiddles to husbands, seldom accorded due respect and recognition for their roles in the family and in the community and, worst, subjected to physical abuses,” said Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman.
The DAR chief said they are seeking to reshape the future of rural women while putting an end to discriminatory acts against female beneficiaries of the government's agrarian reform program.
Pangandaman said the women’s desk will be tasked to formulate and implement programs and activities related to the protection and promotion of women’s rights as provided for under Republic Act No. 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program extension with reform (CARPer) Law.
“Basically, our objective here is to improve the lot of rural women, restore their dignity and ensure that support services are extended equally between female and male beneficiaries,” he said.
Among the programs and activities to be pursued are the establishment of community-based enterprises and the conduct of livelihood seminars to enable women to rediscover their hidden talents they could exploit to earn extra income and be a major partner in rural development, Pangandaman said.
“Given the opportunity, I’m sure our rural women can contribute as much as our men can in improving the welfare of their respective families as well as of the community, in general,” he added.
Pangandaman said the women’s desk also provides an avenue where women can register their complaints and grievances principally related to their rural activities. (PNA)scs/JCA