INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RURAL WOMEN 2022: October 15 is celebrated as the International Day of Rural women across the world. The day focuses to promote gender quality and highlight the important role played by women in rural areas. Initially, the United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Rural Women on December 18, 2007.
This year, the theme for this significant day is “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”. The contribution of women’s labour in agricultural and other related fields is the backbone of the economies of several countries. As per a UN report, approximately 40 per cent of the total agricultural labour force in developing countries comprises women. For Asian and African countries this figure rises to nearly half.
However, despite this, women earn less than their male counterparts. The report highlighted that if these women were provided with equal opportunities, agricultural production go up by 2.5 to 4 per cent.
The recent disruptions to food and energy have only worsened the situation. According to a report by UN Women, in 2020, 23.7 billion did not have access to adequate food. This alluded to the fact that around 20% or 3.2 billion people more were pushed towards hunger. Invariably, the groups which faced most of the brunt were rural women and children.
Another report by the humanitarian organisation, CARE, revealed that 150 million more women than men were considered “food insecure” in 2021, a gap that remained eight times greater than in 2018. The report also mentioned that 18 million more women than men “were food insecure.”
October 15 is a significant day to observe the International Day of Rural Women as rebuilding the broken global food system from the bottom up is essential. By supporting rural women’s livelihoods to “produce and distribute diverse and healthy food crops” –it may be possible to build their resilience, skills, and leadership capabilities.
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