Food often brings people together, but it can have the opposite effect in some villages in rural India, where women traditionally eat after their family and aren’t involved in decisions about the household’s food.
“This tradition of prioritizing men’s needs means sometimes when women sit down to eat, there isn’t enough left,” Vandana Mishra, of the Rajasthan Nutrition Project in India, is quoted as saying by the BBC.
In some cases, this means food secure and food insecure people could be living in the same household. It’s why the two-year Rajasthan Nutrition Project, implemented by local charities Freedom from Hunger India Trust and Grameen Foundation, launched in Banswara and Sirohi, India. It encouraged women to eat with their families, among other initiatives.
The results were promising — as food security among women surveyed more than doubled and children’s well-being improved, as their mom’s health improved. “Now everyone gets equal food,” Karma, one women who participated in the project, is quoted as saying by the BBC. [bbc.com]
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