A/HRC/22/72 alternative land”.44 The pursuit of land and water as commodities are particularly problematic for women belonging to indigenous communities for whom the environment and the land are essential elements with a strong cultural value. 45 B. Insufficient or discriminatory access to financial services, markets and employment 1. Credit and other financial services 36. Frequently, practical factors, such as limited financial skills due to lack of education and training, limited time, mobility, transport services, lack of control over land or livestock that could serve as guarantees, as well as institutional practices blended with socioeconomic and cultural barriers obstruct rural women’s access to credit.46 In turn, the lack of loans stifles the entrepreneurship potential of rural women, as they lack the means to invest in technology, production materials and infrastructure. In particular storage facilities are relevant for income generation when perishable foodstuffs are produced and to store food products for food-insecure times or famine. 37. It has been observed that most rural financial programmes have been designed for male heads of households as clients, thus omitting to recognize women as productive agents with their own financial needs and constraints.47 The confinement of women in the private space in certain countries limits their participation in agricultural or financial training and their ability to benefit from working with extension agents, or veterinarians. 48 38. Research indicates that women prefer programmes that help them build savings, insure against risks, and borrow without the risk of losing their assets. However, financial institutions often rely on biased practices that do not offer women tailored financial products. Institutions may not fund activities run by women, may not accept women guarantors, or may grant smaller credits to women than to men for similar activities.49 39. In addition, among financial institutions there is also the assumption that women may rely on the male head of household to obtain the funds they need. This assumption does not take into consideration the different models for composition of families, such as the polygamous households50 or family dynamics that may be harmful for women and result in domestic violence. 40. For this reason, it is not sufficient to design financial programmes addressing poor households, but it is important to make women direct beneficiaries. This would have the effect of strengthening the position of women in the household and enhance their control over resources and decision-making capacity. Thus, financial services can improve rural women’s condition if they address the constraints of rural women and if they enhance women’s productive capacity51 with a focus on the creation of women’s cooperatives and self-help groups. 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 CEDAW, concluding observations, Togo (CEDAW/C/TGO/CO/6-7), 2012, para. 37(e). CSW Report, para 11. Ibid., para. 31. FAO, D. Fletschner, L. Kenney, Rural Women’s Access to Financial Services. Credit, Savings and Insurance, ESA Working Paper No.11-07, March 2011, p. 2. Ibid., p. 4. Ibid., p. 6. Ibid., p. 7. Ibid., p. 12. 11