By the Witness Radio Team.

As the world marks the International Day of Rural Women on 15 October 2026, with the theme “Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature,” the spotlight shines on women whose tireless efforts nourish food systems, shield biodiversity, and safeguard the natural resources that sustain entire communities.

This year’s celebration carries special weight as the United Nations declares 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer, spotlighting women’s vital roles across agri-food systems, from planting seeds to driving trade. This recognition opens the door to challenge the persistent inequalities that threaten women’s livelihoods and silence their voices in decisions about agriculture, land, and the environment.

In its statement marking the day, UN Women called for rural women’s rights, resources and decision-making power to match their contributions to food systems and environmental protection.

“On this day, we celebrate their knowledge and leadership in building a more resilient future. Yet their rights, resources and decision-making power too often fall short of their contributions,” UN Women said.

The agency called on governments and other groups to ensure women have enforceable rights to land, water, and natural resources. It also asked for better access to finance, markets, technology, and agricultural services, as well as decent work, social protection, and strong infrastructure. The agency highlighted the need to recognize, reduce, and share women’s unpaid care work.

These calls to action highlight the stark inequalities rural women endure. They are the backbone of community nourishment and environmental stewardship, yet too often they lack the resources and influence needed to improve their lives and shape the future.

Ambassador Ada Francisca de Asis Hernández Rivera, the Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Program (WFP), underscored rural women’s importance in eradicating poverty, ending hunger and transforming agri-food systems into more inclusive, resilient and sustainable systems.

She noted that women contribute to food production, biodiversity conservation, sustainable ecosystem management and the resilience of families and communities. Yet many still face barriers to accessing land, financial services, technology, information, markets, and technical assistance, as well as opportunities to participate in decision-making.

“These inequalities, of course, will reduce their opportunities and limit the potential of family farming to contribute completely to sustainable development,” she said.

Karina David, a representative of the Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organizations (INFO) and the Rural Women in Action Network, also highlighted the gap between recognizing women’s contributions and addressing the inequalities they face.

David cited findings indicating that 75 percent of agricultural policy documents across 68 countries recognize women’s roles and challenges, but only 19 percent contain clear gender equality goals.

She argued that closing this gap is not only a matter of equality but also essential to improving food security, household incomes, resilience and rural development.

“Gender inequality has a real cost, and if I were to close the gap between women and men in the agri-food system, it could add almost $1 trillion to the global economy and reduce food insecurity for 45 million people,” she said.

The findings make it clear: governments must move beyond words and turn promises into real policies, funding, and programs that break down the barriers holding women farmers back.

The scale of women’s participation in agri-food systems further underscores why empowering them must be a priority. Tako Ndiaye, a team leader on gender issues in FAO’s Division for Rural Transformation and Gender Equality, cited findings from a report on the status of women in agri-food systems showing that 41 percent of working women globally are employed in these systems.

She noted that agri-food systems are particularly important sources of livelihoods for women in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where 70 percent of working women in each region are employed in the sector.

Ndiaye also emphasized the importance of empowering women farmers, their organizations, and networks to participate effectively in family farming policymaking. She called for stronger roles for gender experts and women’s organizations in monitoring the implementation of policy commitments.

Women farmers do more than feed rural economies; they champion environmental sustainability. They conserve seeds, nurture biodiversity, manage precious water, and heal degraded land, using wisdom and practices that keep ecosystems thriving and help communities withstand the challenges of climate change.

Yet their ability to continue this vital work depends on access to land, financial support, modern technologies, and other resources that let them farm sustainably and adapt to a changing environment.

UN Women has called on governments, financial institutions, businesses, and development partners to invest directly in rural women and remove barriers that limit their economic independence and environmental leadership.

The agency also stressed that rural women must have a meaningful role in shaping agricultural policies and decisions on funding allocation for climate action, biodiversity conservation, and land restoration.

Mpigi – The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), through the Department of Land Crimes and the Department of Witness Protection and Victim Empowerment, early this week, held a stakeholders’ engagement at the Mpigi Regional Office to enhance the capacity of prosecutors and investigators in the management of land crimes, witness protection and victims’ rights and empowerment.

The engagement brought together prosecutors and investigators from the region to share knowledge, exchange experiences and explore practical solutions to challenges affecting the effective investigation and prosecution of land-related offences, while strengthening the protection of witnesses and the empowerment of victims within the criminal justice system.

In her welcome remarks, the Regional Officer, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Ms. Rachel Bikhole, welcomed the participants and facilitators to the Mpigi Regional Office. She appreciated the Departments of Land Crimes and Witness Protection and Victim Empowerment for collaborating with the Regional Office to equip prosecutors and investigators with the knowledge and skills necessary to improve service delivery.

The Head of the Department of Land Crimes, Mr. Andrew Odiit, noted that the engagement was timely, given that the region has the highest number of registered land cases in Central Uganda. He expressed optimism that the engagement would provide a valuable platform for sharing experiences, addressing existing challenges and identifying practical solutions to improve the management of land crimes.

Participants received presentations from Mr. Atuhaire Godwin, the Registrar of Titles at Mpigi Zonal Office, who took them through land transfers and registration in Uganda. He explained the procedures and requirements for effective land registration, equipping participants with a better understanding of the processes involved in land transactions and documentation.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dr. Daisy Nabasitu and Deputy Assistant Superintendent of Police (D/ASP) Bernice Aine respectively made presentations on the prosecution and investigation of land crimes. They highlighted the challenges encountered in handling land-related offences and shared best practices to strengthen investigations and prosecutions.

The Head of the Department of Witness Protection and Victim Empowerment, Mr. Charles Kaamuli, sensitised participants on the legal framework governing witness protection, including the circumstances under which a person may qualify for protection under the law. He also emphasised the importance of empowering victims by guiding them through court processes, explaining what is expected of them and keeping them informed about developments in their cases.

Mr. Kaamuli urged prosecutors to make greater use of the Department of Witness Protection and Victim Empowerment, particularly in cases involving vulnerable witnesses who may require protection and support throughout the criminal justice process.

The engagement underscored the importance of collaboration among prosecutors, investigators and other stakeholders in addressing land crimes, protecting vulnerable witnesses and upholding victims’ rights.

Source: ugstandard.com

By the Witness Radio team.

Safeguarding ancestral land often comes at the cost of heartbreak and loss. Across continents, those who stand against land grabbing and environmental destruction are met with violence, threats, and endless legal battles. In 2025, at least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed, with land disputes fueling more than half of these tragedies, Global Witness reports. Indigenous Peoples and small-scale farmers remain at the epicenter of this ongoing crisis.

The dangers reach far beyond physical harm. At times, the law itself becomes a weapon, recasting defenders of land and livelihoods as criminals in the eyes of the state.

Global Witness, a UK-based organization that investigates links between environmental destruction, conflict, corruption, and human rights abuses, describes criminalization as creating, amending, or reinterpreting laws to make previously legitimate activities illegal, or to increase the severity of penalties and sentences.

In northern Tanzania, these fears reignited when five Maasai men were arrested and detained in Ngorongoro. Indigenous communities now feel the pressure on their ancestral lands intensifying.

Nangei Meitaya, Salangat Makko, Ezekiel Kishau, Dickson, and Thadeus Clamian were taken into custody on the night of October 6 and held at Arusha Central Police Station before release the following night. According to the Oakland Institute, four of the men work for the Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC), a local organization empowering Indigenous pastoralist women and girls in northern Tanzania.

Although the five men have been released, their ordeal shines a harsh light on the wider crisis confronting Maasai communities. Human rights groups point to a troubling pattern of arrests, intimidation, and restrictions that threaten access to land and essential services.

Joseph Moses Oleshangay, a Maasai human rights lawyer and activist from Ngorongoro District, described the detention as part of what he sees as a broader effort to intimidate community members.

“The abduction and subsequent detention of our community members is one of the many incidents of lawless targeting of the Maasai people in Ngorongoro – a deliberate campaign to instill fear and censorship, designed to make state dispossession and displacement easy,” Oleshangay said.

He added that when abductions become routine, it signals a complete breakdown of reason and compassion.

These arrests unfold against a backdrop of rising tension in northern Tanzania. The Oakland Institute notes that more than 30 community members have been detained in just two months, with thousands of livestock seized in nearby Loliondo.

The organization also reported that authorities barred the five men from seeing their families or legal counsel during detention. Meanwhile, officials allegedly searched the homes of other Pastoral Women’s Council staff without consent.

These incidents raise urgent questions about whether community organizations, human rights defenders, and local leaders can keep working safely as land and conservation disputes escalate.

The Oakland Institute argues that the mounting pressure on Maasai communities is part of a broader effort to diminish their presence in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and pave the way for expanded tourism and conservation projects.

Anuradha Mittal, the organization’s executive director, said the arrests should not be viewed as an isolated incident.

“Far from an isolated incident, this is a calculated campaign of intimidation. Driven by its goal to attract eight million safari tourists by 2030, the Tanzanian government is escalating pressure to evict the Maasai from their ancestral lands,” Mittal said.

She added that as conditions worsen across the region, some community leaders have once again been driven into hiding.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is celebrated as one of Tanzania’s crown jewels for conservation and tourism. Yet it remains the ancestral heartland of Maasai communities, whose traditions, way of life, and social bonds are woven into the very fabric of this land.

The region is celebrated worldwide for its ecological significance and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mittal warned that international tourism is inseparable from the realities faced by the communities whose lands draw visitors. She urged those planning safari tours to Tanzania to recognize that tourism revenues are inadvertently fueling the government’s violent campaign against Maasai communities, whose ancestral lands are being taken in plain sight.

In August 2026, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), an independent expert body that monitors the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, called on Tanzania to immediately halt the forced evictions of Maasai Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands in Ngorongoro and Loliondo.

The committee cited allegations of displacement, restrictions on access to land and natural resources, arbitrary arrests, intimidation and excessive use of force.

CERD also expressed alarm over reports that significant numbers of Maasai had been uprooted from their ancestral lands in the two areas in the name of conservation and tourism, without adequate and meaningful consultation or obtaining the communities’ free, prior and informed consent.