| Rural Women and Development |
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Cultivating better lives: rural women and world food security
Women play a critical role in the rural economies of both developed and developing countries. In most parts of the developing world they participate in crop production and livestock care, provide food, water and fuel for their families, and engage in off-farm activities to diversify the family income. In addition, they carry out vital functions in caring for children, older persons and the sick. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 428 million women work in the agricultural sector around the world, compared to 608 million men. In many parts of the world, agriculture is the first sector of employment for women, for instance in Sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia, where respectively 68 per cent and 61 per cent of working women are employed in agriculture. 1 |
After Liberia’s civil war ended in 2003, Rebecca Benson answered her government’s call to go back to the land, by taking up rural farming after the conflict. Liberia was counting on agriculture to help rebuild the national economy and decrease its dependence on costly rice imports.
Benson cultivates mostly rice and rubber on 22 hectares of land in northern Liberia and has won national prizes for her upland rice crop. Thanks to the efforts of farmers like her, Liberia has seen its rice production increase in the past few years, though the country is still grappling with widespread hunger and poverty.
“It’s a struggle with all the constraints,” says Benson, a mother of two. She says limited cash and poor roads hamper the efforts of local farmers to transport and market their products. “But I feel very proud of what I have done.”
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Dairy operation in Afghanistan. ©FAO/Danfung Dennis |
In rural communities worldwide, women play a key role in agricultural production and income generation.
In sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, women produce up to 80 percent of basic foodstuffs, and in Southeast Asia, women account for up to 90 percent of the labour that goes into rice cultivation.2
But, unlike Benson, many toil away without receiving recognition or practical support for their efforts. Worldwide, women in agriculture are less likely than men to have access to land, equipment, credit, training and other tools which could help them to improve their food security and livelihoods. In Cameroon, women perform more than 75 percent of all agricultural labour, yet they hold less than 10 percent of the land titles. 3
Many of the tasks which rural women perform, though indispensable, are difficult to quantify, such as clearing land and sowing seeds, gathering wild plants for food and medicine, hauling water and wood, and keeping small livestock for household use. This, combined with deeply ingrained societal biases which place little value on women’s work, can render the contributions of rural women virtually invisible.
The lack of recognition for women’s responsibilities often extends to the additional stresses and hazards which they face, such as the loss of livelihood when sexual violence leaves them injured or afraid to return to the fields. Many women are overburdened when their multiple agricultural responsibilities are combined with their roles as mothers and family caretakers.
“Narrowing the gap between the general perception of rural women and their actual contributions and needs is essential to reducing hunger and improving lives in rural, developing areas, which are home to 70 percent of the world’s poor and hungry men, women and children,” says Eve Crowley, Principal Advisor in the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
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| | Women carrying wood in Malawi. ©FAO/Eddie Gerald |
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As the UN’s lead agency for agricultural and rural development, FAO is in the midst of hosting a series of high-level encounters on the increasing numbers of hungry people in the world. The events, which will culminate in the 16-18 November, 2009 World Summit on Food Security, present a vital opportunity for experts, policy makers and civil-society organizations to develop more effective and sustainable agricultural and rural development policies.
“One of the cross-cutting issues to be reckoned with at every level in rural development is how social and economic inequalities between men and women can stand in the way of food security for an entire household, nation or region.” says Crowley.
“We need to look at how gender differences can be taken into account to enhance the access which both rural men and women have to essential resources and opportunities to improve food security and sustainable agriculture.”
FAO Report on the State of Food Insecurity: http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i0876e/i0876e00.htm
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Rural women’s access to education and health
In developing countries, 25 per cent of rural children do not attend primary school, compared to 16 per cent of urban children,4 and gender inequalities in access to education remain: 69 per cent of rural girls attend primary school compared to 73 per cent of rural boys.5
Different factors, including the need for their labour, the low levels of education of their parents, and lack of access to quality schooling, account for the high proportion of out-of-school children in rural areas.6 The gender disparity is partly due to the fact that girls are heavily relied upon for housework and child care. Other factors that account for girls’ unequal access to education in rural areas include a lack of a safe means of transportation, poor security in schools, and the lack of separate sanitation facilities.
Rural women are also disadvantaged in their access to health. For instance, in many countries, reproductive health care remains inadequate, and maternal mortality continues to be high, with the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. In every region of the world, the presence of skilled birth attendants is lower in rural than in urban areas.
Fistula: a rural issue
“One of the most serious injuries of childbearing is obstetric fistula, a hole in the vagina or rectum caused by labour that is prolonged – often for days – without treatment. Usually the baby dies. Because the fistula leaves women leaking urine or faeces, or both, it typically results in social isolation, depression and deepening poverty. Left untreated, fistula can lead to chronic medical problems.
Like maternal mortality, fistula is almost entirely preventable. Yet at least 2 million women in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Arab region are living with fistula, and some 50,000 to 100,000 new cases develop each year. (…) Obstetric fistula occurs disproportionately among impoverished girls and women, especially those living far from medical services.”
Source: UNFPA website |
Most pregnant women in rural areas continue to work while pregnant and resume work soon after delivery. Moreover, the absence of timely medical care, inadequate diet and heavy workload often results in complicated pregnancies and high maternal mortality rates.7
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Rural women and poverty
Rural women are particularly vulnerable to poverty. According to the World Bank, 75 per cent of the poor in developing countries live in rural areas.8 While women work the land, they often do not hold formal and clear land titles. Less than two per cent of land in the developing world is owned by women, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).9 A lack of rights over land makes women extremely vulnerable to eviction and negatively affects their economic options.
Women’s access to credit is also limited because land is the major asset used as collateral to obtain loans. Women have to rely heavily on the unregulated, informal sector to meet their needs, and often pay higher interest rates as a result. While limited access to land and credit affects rural women as a whole, some groups are particularly vulnerable and marginalized, such as widows, indigenous women and women heading households – a growing category, due to male out-migration.
To increase the prosperity and enhance the well-being of rural women, IFAD, another lead UN agency dedicated to gender sensitive rural development, works to strengthen women’s leadership and decision-making in agriculture and natural resource management at all levels; advocate in favour of increased investments for rural women in the context of sustainable agricultural development and food security; and invest in technology development and strengthen capacity for gender equality and rural women’s empowerment through its grants programme.
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Global challenges
Women and girls, particularly in rural areas, are also acutely exposed to the food crisis currently affecting the world. High food prices mean that the poor have to spend a larger proportion of their income on food and will probably buy less food or food that is less nutritious.
The time burden of collecting wood for fuel
“Women and young girls have to allocate large amounts of time to the collection of firewood, compounding gender inequalities in livelihood opportunities and education. Collecting fuelwood and animal dung is a time-consuming and exhausting task, with average loads often in excess of 20kg. Research in rural Tanzania has found that women in some areas walk 5–10 kilometres a day collecting and carrying firewood, with loads averaging 20kg to 38kg. In rural India, average collection times can amount to over 3 hours a day. Beyond the immediate burden on time and body, fuelwood collection often results in young girls being kept out of school.”
Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2007/2008 |
Moreover, in some societies the practice for men and boys to eat before women and girls may further compromise the latter’s food intake in times of shortages.
Another current global issue that disproportionately impacts rural women is climate change. Women and girls living in areas affected by desertification and deforestation have to walk longer to collect water and firewood, which further limits the time they can devote to school or income-generating activities. It may also put them at greater risk of gender-based violence.
Moreover, rural women suffer more from natural disasters, such as floods, fires, and mudslides, than men. A study of 141 countries showed that natural disasters killed more women than men, both directly and indirectly, in countries where the status of women was low.10 Other research provides evidence that there are frequently higher female casualties during floods because women have not been taught how to swim.11
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International frameworks
Ensuring gender equality is a key concern of the United Nations, and over the past decades, a number of United Nations conferences and summits have addressed the situation of rural women. These include the Fourth World Conference on Women, in 1995, and the Millennium Summit, in 2000.
Moreover, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the only human rights instrument that specifically addresses the situation of rural women. Article 14 calls on States parties to eliminate discrimination against rural women and to ensure that all provisions of the Convention are applied to rural women.
Despite this attention given to the situation of rural women, discrimination remains rampant, from access to education and health care, to access to and control over land and other productive resources, to opportunities for employment, income-generating activities, and participation in public life. The rights and priorities of rural women continue to be insufficiently addressed – a situation that the International Day of Rural Women will, it is hoped, contribute to remedying.
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UN resolutions and reports
62nd session of the General Assembly (2007)
Resolutions
Reports
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Resources on other UN websites
NEW: IFAD launches new publication on gender and rural microfinance on International Day of Rural Women, 15 October 2009
This year, to coincide with the annual commemoration of International Day of Rural Women, a new IFAD publication “Gender and rural microfinance: Reaching and empowering women” offers an overview of gender equality-related financing for rural practitioners, specifically in relation to microfinance and banking tailored to the needs of rural women.
Innovations in financial services, particularly in microfinance, have enabled millions of women and men in rural areas, who were formerly excluded from the financial sector, to gain access to financial services on an ongoing basis. Nevertheless, serious challenges remain in establishing microfinance and banking in rural areas, particularly services which would not only reach but also empower women in rural areas. Financial services should be linked to the wider context of rural women in development and to the sustainable development process so that these services help develop markets and value chains and strengthen the local and national economy and livelihood opportunities for these women.
The comprehensive, 79-page guide focuses on gender sensitive rural microfinance, defined as “all financial services targeting poor and low-income rural households and individuals, with a focus on rural women’s needs.” It describes how financial institutions should take into account the needs of women as well as men clients when designing products. It provides practical suggestions for designing financial products, such as credit, savings, insurance and remittances to promote gender equality and empowerment. It puts emphasis on demand-driven product development, such as market research and financial literacy and the need to see how group structures can be developed as the basis for change. The guide also includes several checklists for gender audits in organizations, product and programme design and enhanced gender impacts.
The guide has been prepared by Linda Mayoux, a well-known expert on gender equality and economic development, including microfinance, in collaboration with IFAD Technical Adviser, Gender and Social Equity, Maria Hartl.
http://www.ifad.org/gender/pub/gender_finance.pdf
DAW – Women2000 and Beyond: Rural women in a changing world: Opportunities and challenges
Launched on the first observance of the International Day of Rural Women on 15 October 2008, this issue of Women 2000 and Beyond explores the situation of rural women and the full diversity of their experiences in the context of the changing rural economy, including their position within households, community and economic structures; the gender division of labour; their access to and control over resources; and their participation in decision-making.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/W2000andBeyond.html
Dimitra
The Dimitra project, launched in 1994 in Brussels, Belgium, by the European Commission, with the support of the King Baudouin Foundation aims to improve the living conditions of rural women. It promotes information exchange and disseminates information on gender equality and rural development, with a focus on Africa and the Middle East.
http://www.fao.org/dimitra
FAO – SEAGA
The Socio-economic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA) Programme was established in 1993 to promote gender awareness when meeting development challenges. It aims to incorporate socio-economic and gender equality considerations into development policies, programmes and projects in order to ensure that all development efforts address the needs and priorities of both men and women.
http://www.fao.org/sd/seaga/4_en.htm
IFAD
IFAD’s website provides information on the fund’s efforts to mainstream a gender perspective in its work, including in the areas of financial services, markets, technologies, land and other natural resources.
http://www.ifad.org/gender/
IFAD: International Day of Rural Women 2009
This year, on the second annual celebration of the International Day of Rural Women, IFAD strengthens its commitment to gender equality and to the increased prosperity and enhanced well-being of rural women through the MDG3 Torch Campaign.
http://www.ifad.org/media/events/2009/rural_women.htm
Statement by IFAD President to the MDG3 torch ceremony and to the 80th meeting of Development Committee
8 October 2009 - During the World Bank meetings in Istanbul, the Danish Cooperation Minister Ulla Tørnæs handed the IFAD President the MDG3 torch as part of a campaign to create more awareness and commitment to achieving the Gender Equality goal. Accepting the torch means pledging to “Doing Something Extra” to support gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. During the ceremony IFAD’s President outlined how poor rural women are central to the organisation’s work and how these women can become powerful agents of change in their communities and play critical roles in overcoming rural poverty and hunger. The torch campaign was launched in 2008 in Copenhagen and has so far been awarded to more than 100 representatives of governments, the private sector, international organizations, civil society, the media and individuals around the globe.
http://www.ifad.org/events/op/2009/mdg3.htm
Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook
A joint product of the World Bank, FAO, and IFAD, the Sourcebook provides an up-to-date understanding of gender issues
with a rich compilation of compelling evidence of good practices and
lessons learned to guide practitioners in integrating gender dimensions
into agricultural projects and programs.
http://worldbank.org/genderinag
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Observances of International Day of Rural Women
The International Day of Rural Women directs attention to both the contribution that women make in rural areas, and the many challenges that they face. This new international day, established by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007, recognizes “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.” In 2007, at the tenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, Member States of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, expressed in the Quito Consensus their decision to promote the adoption of an International Day of Rural Women “as an explicit recognition of [rural women’s] economic contribution and the development of their communities, in particular with regard to the unpaid work they perform.”12
The idea of honouring rural women with a special day was put forward by international NGOs at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It was suggested that 15 October be celebrated as “World Rural Women’s Day,” on the eve of World Food Day, in order to highlight the role played by rural women in food production and food security.
“World Rural Women’s Day” has been celebrated, primarily by civil society, across the world for over a decade. The first International Day of Rural Women was observed in New York on 15 October 2008. |
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