A quarter of the world's population is comprised of women who work in agriculture. The United Nations International Day of Rural Women recognises the crucial contribution made by these women towards food security and society. The theme for 2020 is "Building rural women’s resilience in the wake of COVID-19" and highlights the effects of restricted access to land ownership and resources faced by rural women and exacerbated during the pandemic.

Gender CCSA is a nonprofit organisation which seeks to address these issues by empowering women both in grassroots communities and within national, regional and international climate policy arenas. The Government of Flanders supports their Gender and Climate Resilient Communities Initiative (GCRCI) Project in which they partner with the Hebron Mango Tree Owner Primary Cooperative in the North West province. This cooperative of smallholder farmers produces a variety of indigenous food products which enhance the nutrition and food security of their families and community. We joined them at Hebron Village to celebrate this day with some of the rural women who are forerunners in the struggle against poverty, climate change and the effects of COVID-19.