Today is International Day of Rural Women

Today, Thursday (October 15), is the International Day of Rural Women. The day is observed every year to recognise the role of rural women in agriculture, food security and rural development. This year’s theme is “Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature.”

The United Nations General Assembly declared October 15 as the day through a resolution on December 18, 2007. Its aim is to recognise the important role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, their participation in agriculture and rural development, their part in ensuring food security, and their contribution to eradicating rural poverty. The day was first observed on October 15, 2008.

UN Women said this year’s theme honours the everyday work of rural women. They conserve seeds, protect biodiversity, manage water and work to restore degraded land. In this way, they put food on the community’s table, sustain livelihoods and safeguard the natural resources on which everyone depends.

However, the organisation believes that rural women’s rights, resources and decision-making power remain limited compared with their contributions. In its view, rural women need enforceable rights to land, water and natural resources. They also need equal access to finance, markets, technology and agricultural services, as well as decent work, social protection and resilient infrastructure. The organisation also stressed that rural women’s unpaid care work must be recognised, reduced and shared equally.

UN Women’s statement also said that the International Year of the Woman Farmer, together with this year’s meetings under the three Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification, offers an opportunity to turn recognition into concrete action. The organisation believes rural women should take part in shaping agricultural policy and in decisions on how funds are used for climate change, biodiversity and land restoration.

Against this backdrop, UN Women has called on governments, financial institutions, businesses and development partners. It has asked them to invest directly in rural women and to remove the barriers standing in the way of their economic capacity and environmental leadership.

Although rural women work tirelessly, from agricultural production to many tasks at home and in society, a large part of their work remains invisible and unrecognised. The day is seen as an opportunity to change that reality and bring the demands for participation and equality to the fore.