Innovative research in the Southeast Asian island nation of Timor-Leste has obtained data to help close the gender gap and provide food security for the local community.
In October 2018, Leocaldia de Araujo, a fisherwoman from a village of 300 people at the northern tip of TimorLeste’s Atauro Island, stepped quietly but confidently on to a stage in the capital, Dili. She was representing women fishers and fishworkers at the National Fisher Forum, the largest fisheries-focused gathering in Timor-Leste since independence. Her presence in front of a predominantly male crowd represented the start of a change taking place in Timor-Leste and its fisheries. She referred to herself and her community as an example of ami povu ki’ik (the poor and marginalized) that need to be heard..
Read the original article from ICSF SAMUDRA report, Issue No:83
This article is by Joctan dos Reis Lopes, Agustinha Duarte, research analysts with WorldFish Center, Timor-Leste, and Alexander Tilley, scientist with WorldFish Center, Malaysia