International Day Of Rural Women

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“Rural women have a triple workday and yet they are invisible.”- Emma Ortega. Historically, women have always faced discrimination. The challenges of rural women are even more intense given that discriminatory laws and cultural practices are more embedded in rural areas. The advocacy concerning women’s rights and gender equality oftentimes eludes rural women and this is problematic. In many societies rural women are frequently deemed as invisible due to the system of patriarchy that renders them voiceless and powerless. As a result the issues of rural women are not given a sense of urgency. Notwithstanding this stark reality, rural women account for about 22% of the global population. They play an important role in the health and wellbeing of their communities. Rural women can face challenges like higher rates of poverty (as both extreme and multidimensional poverty are higher in rural areas globally), as well as unequal access to education, health and other social services, and employment opportunities. Rural women can also experience gender inequality resulting from discriminatory social institutions, formal and informal laws, social norms and practices. Challenges can be even greater for rural Indigenous women and girls. Rural women have less access to a range of resources, from land rights and credit to education and technology. Rural women also face higher rates of illiteracy than their counterparts in urban areas. Without a doubt rural women are central to rural health and care systems. Women globally make up 67% of the healthcare workforce and an estimated 70% of community healthcare workers. The International Day of Rural Women is observed annually on October 15th. The day is set aside to recognize the important role and contribution of rural women, including Indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty. The theme for the International Day of Rural Women is "Rural Women Sustaining Nature for Our Collective Future: Building climate resilience, conserving biodiversity, and caring for land towards gender equality and empowerment," highlights the pivotal role rural women play. The theme highlights the essential role that rural women and girls play in the food systems of the world. The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008. In this the sixteenth year of the International Day of Rural Women it affords the international community a renewed opportunity to commit to a different way of organizing our world. Artificial Technology Assisting Rural Women. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies become more widely available the technology is greatly contributing to solving some of the most pressing challenges, from climate change to food insecurity. Precision farming and regenerative practices, guided by artificial intelligence, can help us avert a global food crisis and mitigate climate change. Precision farming is also known as site-specific crop management. It merges data collection and remote sensing with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to allow farmers to respond to in-field variability with their crop management. Artificial intelligence excels at performing simple tasks more accurately, and at speeds no human can match. AI is already being used in agriculture and this rapidly growing technology will assist farmers to make decisions on their farms. The use of Artificial Intelligence to empower farmers including rural women in order to monitor data that predicts how things will happen before they occur is revolutionary. Drones have huge potential for precision farming. They can monitor anything from livestock to plant health. They are effective for assessing damage after a storm or natural disaster. Drones can recognize areas in a field that need replanting, thinning, or pruning and can even identify and spot spray-invasive weeds. The use of technology is a game changer regarding the work of rural women. Re-imagined World Order. This re-imagined world order must take into account the voices of rural women. Therefore governments and the wider society need to pay attention to their needs and invest more in them. Such an investment in rural women will pay high dividends which will lead to the political and socio-economic empowerment of rural women by supporting their full and equal participation in decision-making at all levels. Additionally, by investing in rural women governments should promote economic skills of rural women in banking, modern trading and financial procedures and provide microcredit and other financial and business services, or design laws to ensure that rural women are accorded full and equal rights to own land and other property. Prioritize Rural Women. The status of rural women across the globe is similar. This unfortunate similarity is rooted in a culture of discrimination and restrictions. Despite their industrious nature rural women lack recognition as well as sufficient avenues for financing their projects. Rural women producers have minimal access to agricultural resources and financing, and are deprived of recognition for their contributions to maintaining the economic stability of communities and the country. The Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP) was established in May 1999, with the mission of being a socially responsible, creative and innovative organization, dedicated to the upward mobility of rural women so that they may improve their quality of life and the social and economic conditions of their communities, thereby contributing to national development. On this the International Day for Rural Women let us remind ourselves of the essential role that women play in the global food systems and the importance of eliminating the gender gap in agriculture. The international community should also use this day to stress the importance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and how these are aligned with the plight of rural women. Of particular interest are goal #2 that speak to Zero Hunger, goal #5 that addresses Gender Equality and goal #8 that speaks to Decent Work and Economic Growth. On International Day of Rural Women we honour their contributions as agents of health and empowerment in their communities, working towards a more sustainable and equitable future for all. In the words of Ban Ki moon, empowering rural women is crucial for ending hunger and poverty. By denying women rights and opportunities, we deny their children and societies a better future. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #InternationalDayofRuralWomen

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