VOA双语新闻:10、女性农民没有享受平等权利(在线收听

 

女性农民没有享受平等权利

 

A humanitarian group says if women farmers had the same rights as men much more could be done to reduce world hunger. Bread for the World says equal access to agricultural resources would help ensure food security and boost economic growth.

一个人道主义组织表示,如果女性农民拥有和男性农民同样的权利,那么在减少世界饥饿方面就可以取得更大的成就。“面包为世界”组织说,平等地获得农业资源,将有助于确保粮食安全,并促进经济增长。

Bread for the World’s new report – Empowering Women in Agriculture – says women are “active players” in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. But Faustine Wabwire says they receive little compensation for toiling in the fields. Wabwire, a Kenyan, is the group’s foreign assistance analyst.

“面包为世界”组织题为“在农业领域增强女性力量”的报告说,女性是实现千年发展目标的“活跃力量”,但是该组织的外国援助分析师、肯尼亚人福斯廷?瓦布瓦尔表示,在地里辛勤劳作的女性没有得到多少补偿。

“Women constituted half of the agricultural labor force in not just Africa, but the developing countries as a whole. And when you think of Africa alone it’s more than 60 percent of the total agricultural labor force being provided by women,” she said.

她说:“不仅在非洲,在整个发展中国家,女性都占到农业劳动力的一半。当你看非洲的时候,你会发现,女性提供了整个农业劳动力的百分之60以上。”

Few women landowners

The reports says, “In most countries, women in rural areas who earn an income are more likely than men to hold seasonal, part time, and low-wage jobs. Women also receive less pay for the same work.”

这份报告说,在绝大多数国家,农村地区获得收入的女性,比男性更可能获得季节性、临时和低收入的工作。女性和男性做同样的工作,收入也低于男性。

Wabwire said women farmers lack access to seeds, fertilizer, proper tools, credit and especially land.

瓦布瓦尔表示,女性农民更不容易获得种子、肥料、合适的农具、贷款,尤其是土地。

“For most of Africa, we have about 80 percent of the population living in rural areas and they subsist on agriculture. Now women make 60 percent of the agricultural labor force and they have no access to resources. So for example, land is one good example where less than 20 percent of all landholders are women,” she said.

她说:“对于非洲的绝大部分地区而言,我们有大约百分之80的人口生活在农村地区,他们靠农业为生。现在女性占整个农业劳动力的百分之60,她们却无法获得农业资源。土地就是一个很好的例子,只有不到百分之20的土地所有者是女性。”

That’s often been the case for both legal and cultural reasons.

这其中既有法律,也有文化方面的原因。

“Women, who have lost their husbands, because they have no control, they no legal rights over the land, the only way they could sustain that land is (if) they got married to say a brother of the deceased husband. So constraints like this are still very prevalent in most African societies and they continue to impede women‘s ability to fully enjoy their human rights,” she said.

瓦布瓦尔说:“失去丈夫的女性,由于她们没有控制权,没有拥有土地的法律权利,她们保有土地的唯一途径就是比如说,嫁给去世丈夫的一个兄弟。这类的约束条件在绝大部分的非洲社会仍然非常普遍。”

Feeding the future

However, she said the role of women in agriculture has become more visible. For example, the new Kenya constitution grants women the right to own land. But she said there’s still a long way to go. That’s why Bread for the World is lobbying the U.S. to maintain or increase funding for poverty-related development assistance.

瓦布瓦尔说,尽管如此,女性在农业领域的作用越来越明显。比如,肯尼亚的新宪法规定妇女有权拥有土地。但是她说,为妇女争取平等权利仍然有很长的路要走。这就是为什么“面包为世界”组织正在游说美国继续提供或者增加对与贫困有关的发展项目的资金援助。

“This assistance through programs such as Feed the Future, which is the U.S. government’s agriculture program, is helping to elevate the status of women. It’s enabling women to access productive resources such as seeds. They are able to have access to extension services, which will enable them to produce more and contribute to healthy societies,” she said.

瓦布瓦尔说,“通过诸如美国政府农业项目‘保障未来粮食供给’这样的项目进行援助,正在帮助提高女性的地位。这些项目使得女性能够获得种子等生产资料和广泛的服务,这就她们就能够生产更多的粮食,对健康社会做出贡献。”

But Wabwire said more African governments must recognize the major role that women play in agriculture and elsewhere.

瓦布瓦尔同时表示,更多的非洲政府必须意识到女性在农业以及其它领域发挥的重要作用。

The Bread for the World report said, “Putting more income in the hands of women translates into improved child nutrition, health, and education.” It adds if women change their economic status, they will “transform the economic life of the communities and countries in which they live.”

“面包为世界”组织的报告称,让女性获得更多的收入意味着改善儿童的营养、健康和教育。报告补充说,如果女性的经济地位改变了,她们就能够改变所在社区乃至国家的经济生活。

It estimates that if women had equal access to agricultural resources, hunger could be reduced for an extra 100 million to 150 million people.

这份报告预计,如果女性获得拥有农业资源的平等权利,将会再解决1千万乃至1千5百万人的饥饿问题。

 

  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/voabn/2012/03/222610.html