Women do 70 per cent of the agricultural work in Senegal, but according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), own only two percent of the land that may be cultivated. Although property laws in countries such as Senegal, Tunisia and Burkina Faso recognise women' s and men's equal rights, and Islam gives women the right to inherit half what men inherit, in practice men retain land ownership. Women are dependent on fathers or husbands for land.

This economic literacy pack, the third in this series, is a tool for educating local women's constituencies on trade rules and negotiations. It explores four main themes, firstly 'How the WTO Treats National Health Emergencies in the Rubric of Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)'. This section demonstrates how the agreement protects the patent interests of private pharmaceutical firms based in developed countries, while jeopardizing the public health of the poor in developing countries.

Malawi is facing increasing land scarcity and food insecurity for its large rural population and is in the midst of an on-going land policy reform process. This report asks how these reforms may affect women's land rights in a situation of increasing scarcity and competition for land. Reforms include the formalisation of customary land rights as private land rights as a way to ensure tenure security and equitable access to land. It warns that through this approach, women's rights may become increasingly marginalised.

Aboriginal women in Canada are at the forefront of resistance when it comes to threats to their land and culture. This is the conclusion of this study, which examines the links between Aboriginal women, protest and human security. The study shows that restrictions on fishing rights, expansion in logging, and ski-resort development are being fiercely fought by Aboriginal women. They stand in front of trains, blockade roads and mobilise demonstrations and this often results in clashes with authorities and police violence. Aboriginal women both use and challenge their gender roles.

One of the greatest barriers to achieving full citizenship rights for women is culture. If development organisations are to help advance women's rights and full citizenship then they must abandon explanations on the basis of ?culture? that ignore gender-based discrimination, and overcome their anxieties about appearing neo-colonial. To do this, effective partnerships between northern-based development institutions and southern-based social movements are necessary since social movements can be a key means of transforming culture.

Current momentum around women's economic empowerment offers huge scope for bringing about real changes in women's lives. But earning an income or having access to credit cannot be assumed to bring automatic benefits for women. We need to ask critical questions about how increased access to resources can be translated into changes in the strategic choices that women are able to make - at the level of the household and community, as well as at work. What of the terms on which women gain access to resources - are these empowering or exploitative?

Trade liberalisation processes impact differently on men and women due to the fact that men and women have different roles in production. Despite the fact that women are actively involved in international trade, WTO agreements are gender blind and as such have adverse impacts on women. The General Agreement in Trade and Service (GATS), for instance, provides for a level playing field in service provision between big foreign owned companies and small locally owned companies.

Informe que  visibiliza la grave situación de discriminación que viven las mujeres rurales y campesinas en Colombia. Fue realizado por 70 organizaciones, con el apoyo de la ILC, para ser presentado ante la 72º. Sesión del Comité de la Convención para la Eliminación de todas las formas la Discriminación contra la mujer – CEDAW. 

Informe que  visibiliza la grave situación de discriminación que viven las mujeres rurales y campesinas en Colombia. Fue realizado por 70 organizaciones, con el apoyo de la ILC, para ser presentado ante la 72º. Sesión del Comité de la Convención para la Eliminación de todas las formas la Discriminación contra la mujer – CEDAW. 

Property conflicts have an enormous impact on relations between the members of farm households and their families. Given the long duration, frequency and intensity of these conflicts an investigation of how they arise and how they affect the daily lives of, and relationships between, landholders is certainly warranted. Conflicts over land visibly manifest themselves in destroyed fences, stolen crops, poisoned dogs, horses that are set free, bloody machetazos, hails of stones between children and murder.