IN SENEGAL, SUPPORTING RURAL WOMEN STARTS WITH RESHAPING GENDER NORMS

Gendered social norms don’t just dictate the roles women can play in rural economies, they limit their access to the tools they need to invest in income-generating activities. Mariama, a farmer and mother of three living in the Casamance region of Senegal, knows this well. For as long as she can remember, Mariama was told that she belongs in the rice field or at home with the children. She’s heard that it isn’t a woman’s place to decide on financial or agricultural matters alone, that this is the responsibility of her husband.