The government and parliamentarians session brought the dialogue to one of its most important questions: how do rural women move from being consulted after decisions are made to becoming a force that shapes the decisions themselves? The session challenged the idea that government is a distant institution sitting somewhere above communities. Parliamentarians reminded the sisters that government is made up of three arms: the executive, the judiciary and parliament. All three are meant to represent citizens. Parliament makes laws, approves budgets and holds the executive to account. In other words, the money being allocated to agriculture, climate action, food programmes and rural development is public money. It belongs to the people.
One parliamentarian reflected honestly that before attending the dialogue, she had heard of traditional farming but had never encountered agroecology as a concept. Her admission became an important moment in the room. It showed that rural women’s knowledge cannot be assumed to be understood by the people making policy. Parliamentarians may hold positions of influence, but they do not automatically know the realities of seed saving, climate shocks, land insecurity or the everyday struggle to feed families. “You do an amazing job. The knowledge you possess is so vast and so rich,” she told the sisters.
Her message was not that rural women should wait for leaders to become informed. It was that they must take their knowledge into parliament and insist that it is heard. The audience were challenged to begin with their own representatives. “Who is your Member of Parliament? Have you ever met them? Have you asked how they voted on agricultural budgets, land laws or food policies? Have you followed parliamentary proceedings to understand how decisions taken in the capital affect the women planting, harvesting and selling food in rural communities?”These questions were direct because the problem is not that rural women are few in number. Farmers are many. Rural women are many. The problem is that their voices are not present where budgets are allocated, policies are written and laws are made.
The parliamentarians emphasised that rural women are asking to be recognised as producers, innovators, seed custodians, protectors of biodiversity and holders of indigenous knowledge. They are asking for policies that reflect the reality of women farming under climate stress, often without secure land, reliable water, market access or financial support. The session also made clear that political engagement must be strategic. Rural women were encouraged to identify parliamentarians who sit in ministries and committees connected to agriculture, gender, land, trade, markets and climate change. These are the champions who can raise motions, question ministers, challenge public spending and carry the demands of rural women into formal decision-making spaces.
A key message was that parliament responds to organised pressure. Motions are not abstract documents. They can begin with communities coming together and saying clearly: this law must change, this budget must be redirected, this policy is failing rural women, this seed system needs protection. The call was not for women to enter politics quietly. It was to enter collectively.
“Parliaments are afraid of noise,” the speaker said, reminding the room that organised women, speaking publicly and persistently, can make it difficult for leaders to ignore their demands. This “noise” can take many forms. It can be women meeting their Members of Parliament. It can be petitions, policy submissions, public hearings, local radio discussions, market campaigns, social media mobilisation, community dialogues and collective visits to government offices. It can also be women building alliances with parliamentarians who are willing to learn and act.
The session ended with a clearer understanding that rural women do not only need access to policy spaces. They need power within them. They need to know the laws being made in their name. They need to understand where agricultural budgets are going. They need to demand accountability when public funds fail to reach small scale farmers. And they need to make sure that agroecology, seed sovereignty, land with water, fair markets and climate finance are no longer treated as side issues. Because when rural women bring their knowledge from the fields into parliament, they should arrive as leaders.
