Rural women hold congress

In solidarity with the international community which celebrates Rural Women’s Day every October 15, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and the Pambansang Koalisyon ng mga Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK) organized the 2009 National Rural Women’s Congress on October 14, 2009.

Representatives from the national government agencies and women sectoral groups from all over the country gathered at the ISO Building in Ateneo de Manila University for the event. The program was highlighted by simultaneous group discussions on issues affecting rural women: agrarian reform, fisheries, indigenous women and peace, health and violence against women, water and sustainable agriculture, microfinance and social protection, and GAD and governance. The main output is an action plan that will be jointly implemented by the interagency committee.

The activity culminated in the signing of the MOU which aims to sustain government and non-government organizations’ partnership towards the implementation of the action plan anchored on CEDAW Concluding Comments, Beijing Platform for Action and the Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development.