Eliminating hunger is a crucial step in the fight against poverty. An estimated 870 million people in the world (60% of whom are women) are undernourished.

A lack of food leads to instability, which leaves women and girls at great risk for abuse and exploitation. In the rural areas of Nepal, where She Is Safe works, many families who have no means of income sell their daughters to traffickers.

Small farms play a large part in providing food and other resources for local populations. However, women farmers often don’t have access to the same resources as men and are often unable to fully utilize their land.

Empowering women farmers could have a huge impact in the developing world. According to a recent article by the Council of Foreign Relations, which cites reports by leading research institutions, “equalizing resource access between men and women could increase agricultural productivity by 2.5 to four percent in developing countries.”

The ramifications are huge. According to the article, “the number of hungry people could be reduced by up to 150 million if women farmers had access to the agricultural resources and services they need to run their farms.”

Studies like these make it increasingly clear: investing in women bears fruit. She Is Safe works in developing countries to provide resources and vocational training to empower women and girls to generate income for their families. In Nepal, impoverished families are provided with resources, including goats, so that they can sell goats instead of girls.

Visit our Work page to learn more.

Read the full article on the CFR’s website.