August 08, 2022

Championing the rights of indigenous women

topic:	Indigenous people
editor:	Bob Koigi

Spread across 90 countries, there are approximately approximately 476 million indigenous people, half of whom are women. They remain the pivotal guardians of their regional biodiversity and of over 5,000 cultures and 7,000 languages spoken worldwide. They protect indigenous medicine and science, promote food security through unique farming techniques, adopt and spearhead innovative climate adaptation mechanisms, build communities’ resilience to shocks and advocate for conflict resolution through indigenous justice. 

Yet, despite the crucial role they play, indigenous women have had to contend with a myriad of challenges, first as indigenous people, and second as women. Many of them face a lack of access to education, health, sanitation, employment, credit and land, and they are often victims of discrimination and sexual violence. 

As we mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, the world should pause and reflect on the unique and special role indigenous women continue to play in keeping cultures and biodiversity alive and intact while appreciating how western society owes some of its achievements to the efforts of these women. 

There have been considerable gains in some communities in including these women in decision-making and giving them access to key services, resources and roles, such as land and education among others. In indigenous communities like Ujamaa in Tanzania that have empowered women in leadership roles, the results are evident: it has led to a harmonised, prosperous community with reduced cases of conflict and economic empowerment of entire societies. The time is ripe to have a candid discussion on giving indigenous women a seat at the table for the sake of our future. 

In the words of the United Nations' former Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, “Indigenous women help protect the fragile territories in which they live. Indigenous women are crucial transmitters of knowledge related to sustainable environmental management to future generations.”

Photo by Ian Macharia

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