International Day of Rural Women

 Observed on October 15th , the  International Day of Rural Women  is to recognize the vital role rural women play in agriculture, food security, and rural development . It also aims to highlight the challenges they face, such as unequal access to resources , and to promote policies that empower them and improve their livelihoods . The observance of the day promote the crucial work of rural women in crop production, processing, preparing, and distributing food . It acknowledges their role in agricultural and rural development, the eradication of rural poverty, and achieving sustainable development goals. It promotes awareness of their challenges, such as lower incomes and food insecurity, and advocates for increased access to resources, decision-making power, and opportunities.

The celebration of the  International Day of Rural Women recognizes that rural women are uniquely situated to help mitigate the causes of global warming and adapt to its impacts on the ground . Additionally, it acknowledges that climate variability has a more pronounced impact on women, primarily indigenous and peasant women, whose agricultural dependence, living conditions and marginalization expose them to a greater degree of changes due to climate, loss of diversity and pollution.

Rural women ensure food security for their communities, build climate resilience and strengthen economies. Yet, gender inequalities, such as discriminatory laws and social norms, combined with a fast-changing economic, technological and environmental landscape restrict their full potential, leaving them far behind men and their urban counterparts.

This week, UN Women marks three UN observances that reflect women's key role in development, beginning with International Day for Rural Women on October 15t h, World Food Day on October 16th and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17th . Rural women are key agents for development. They play a catalytic role towards achievement of transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. But limited access to credit, health care and education are among the many challenges they face. These are further aggravated by the global food and economic crises and climate change. Empowering them is essential, not only for the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities, but also for overall economic productivity, given women’s large presence in the agricultural workforce worldwide. UN Women supports the leadership and participation of rural women in shaping laws, policies and programmes on all issues that affect ...

The Internation Day of Rural Women was officially established by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/78/279 on December 18, 2007, with the first observance in 2008. The idea originated from international NGOs at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing . The date, October 15th , was chosen to be the day before World Food Day (October 16th) to highlight rural women's role in food production and security.