Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature

“Rural women play a critical role in ensuring the world can be fed - yet they continue to experience systemic racism, structural poverty and discrimination.”- António Guterres, UN Secretary-General. Women have long confronted a culture of exclusion. Today, rural women remain especially vulnerable to these systemic barriers, even though women make up nearly 40 percent of the world's agricultural labor force. Rural women have less access to a range of resources, from land rights and credit to education and technology. Although women make up almost four out of every ten people in the agricultural workforce, they own only about 15 percent of agricultural land. Structural barriers and discriminatory social norms continue to constrain women’s decision-making power and political participation in rural households and communities. Women and girls in rural areas lack equal access to productive resources and assets, public services, such as education and health care, and infrastructure, including water and sanitation, while much of their labour remains invisible and unpaid. Globally, with few exceptions, every gender and development indicator reveals that rural women fare worse than rural men and urban women, and that they disproportionately experience poverty, exclusion, and the effects of climate change. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007, International Day of Rural Women honours the vital role of rural and indigenous women in agriculture, food security, and rural development. The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on October 15, 2008. This day recognizes the role of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty. The idea of honouring rural women with a special day was put forward at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995. It was suggested that October 15 be celebrated as “World Rural Women’s Day,” which is the eve of World Food Day, to highlight rural women’s role in food production and food security. The theme of this year’s International Day of Rural Women, “Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature”, honors the work rural women do every day: conserving seeds, protecting biodiversity, managing water, and restoring degraded land. They feed communities, sustain livelihoods, and safeguard the natural resources on which we all depend. The narrative surrounding rural women needs a new and more inclusive script. Rural women must help shape agricultural policies and decide how funding is used to address climate change, protect biodiversity, and restore land. Their leadership must be reflected in commitments, budgets, and action. Globally, governments must invest more in rural women and work to remove barriers to their economic agency and environmental leadership. Rights, resources and power must match their contributions to food systems, land, water, and biodiversity. Prioritize Rural Women. The status of rural women across the globe is similar. This unfortunate similarity is rooted in a culture of patriarchy and discrimination. 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. 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 goals #2 that speak to Zero Hunger, goal #5 that addresses Gender Equality. Let us promote the work of rural women as food providers and protectors of the environment. Let us demand their participation in decision-making within their communities. Let us promote rural areas where women can have the same opportunities as men. Today and every day, we stand with rural women who sustain our world and guard our planet. Join the movement for equal opportunities and equal voices! 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 ©