In rural and periurban areas in the State of São Paulo in Brazil, women share a history of domination, resistance and retrieval of their rights when it comes to land use and control over their own bodies. In partnership with Brazilian NGO Sempreviva Organização Feminista (SOF), GRET’s teams are implementing the “Agroecology and feminism” project, which aims to strengthen the rights of some 100 women farmers by promoting a more environmentally friendly agriculture while fighting against gender-based violence.
The body-territory: feminist re-appropriation
The notion of body-territory is central in Brazilian women farmers’ reflections. This idea is based on the observation that the oppressions their bodies are subjected to are directly related to those they experience in their territories. The idea is not that women are intrinsically close to nature, rather that capitalism is based on patriarchal and racist domination. As with the earth, women’s bodies are exploited, controlled and often denied their autonomy. Yet, they are also vehicles of resistance and power.
In the quilombola territories, where Afro-descendant communities live, this struggle takes on a special meaning. This land, captured after centuries of oppression, is the product of a history of collective resistance. Today, certain women are fighting a double battle here for their work in the fields to be acknowledged and their voices to be heard in the public sphere. “The machismo culture deprives us of professional opportunities and our right to grow what we want. In the home and in the fields, women are often ignored”, explains one of the women farmers supported by the project. “We are asking for the same rights as men, for our work to be valued. We want to work within our own community and generate our own income.”
“Women farmers are subjected to violence on several levels: individually, when their husbands forbid them to plant the vegetables they want; community-based violence, when the plot they’re renting is taken back from them as soon as it becomes productive; and institutional violence, when banks refuse to give them credit to buy inputs or tools, in the belief that ‘a woman never manages to repay a loan’”, adds Marion Disdier, project manager at GRET. This gender-based violence is not exceptiona, these are mechanisms that perpetuate a patriarchal system of domination.
Agroecology and solidarity: a response to oppression
Agroecology is much more than a simple alternative to agro-industry. For these women, it is also a political act. By choosing to cultivate native seeds, to use natural fertiliser and combine crops, they are retrieving power over their environment and their economic autonomy.
Mutirão, the community-based practice of working together in the fields, provides a space where people can collectively build on their strengths. Through their mutual support, these women emerge from isolation and protect themselves from the violence they experience: “We must unite, even with our differences. What makes us stronger is our unity and our solidarity”. Solidarity among women is crucial to overcome the obstacles imposed by patriarchal society.
Influencing national policy on technical assistance for rural extension
According to UN women, public policies to fight against gender inequalities are more effective when they are underpinned by human rights, to connect politics and economics, expand the notion of work, and reassert the principle of universality. This is why the “Agroecology and feminism” project is not limited to actions in the field. It is also contributing to structural transformation by influencing public policies. This means involving the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Family Farming, and municipalities, in activities to raise awareness on gender-based violence during which women farmers express their concerns directly. The project is also conducting an activity enabling SOF to participate in the National family farming council, which is preparing the national conference on technical assistance for rural extension, which will take place this year. This institutional grounding makes it possible ensure that the policy is feminist and non-violent.
The Brazilian women farmers’ combat for agroecology is inextricably linked to their fight for equality, socio-environmental justice and “living well”. By cultivating their land sustainably, they are retrieving their economic autonomy, their food sovereignty and their right to a life free from violence. Their mobilisation extends beyond the local area, drawing on organisations such as SOF, which highlights their demands in decision-making forums and influences public policies on their behalf. Miriam Nobre, SOF coordinator, is convinced that “it’s about combining the individual and the collective, by strengthening all women victims in their search for the means to overcome violent situations, supporting communities to welcome them, and advocating for public actions to create and maintain environments in which we feel safe.[1]”. In a context where women’s rights and access to land are major political issues, their resistance is a powerful message: each cultivated plot, each transfer of knowledge and each act of solidarity contribute to a fairer, more sustainable world, in Brazil and beyond.
[1] “Mulheres em defesa do corpo-território-terra por uma vida livre de guerras e violência”, Miriam Nobre
