World Rural Women's Day - 15th October

(Credit: Paul Jeffrey/UMCOR)

Did you know...

• Women make up 51% of the agricultural labour force worldwide.
• A study of the household division of labour in Bangladeshi villages found that women worked almost 12 hours a day - compared with the eight to ten hours a day worked by men in the same villages.
• In many regions, women spend up to five hours a day collecting fuelwood and water and up to four hours preparing food.
• In Southeast Asia, women provide up to 90 percent of the labour for rice cultivation.
• In Africa, 90 percent of the work of gathering water and wood, for the household and for food preparation, is done by women.
• In Pakistan, 50 percent of rural women cultivate and harvest wheat.
• In the world's least developed countries, 23 percent of rural households are headed by women.

(source: FAO)

The idea of a World Rural Women's Day to be devoted each year to honour these rural women, began at a UN Conference for Women in Beijing in September 1995. Because of their key role in food production and food security, it was decided that the World Rural Women's Day (also known as the International Day of Rural Women) fall on the 15 October - the day before the World Food Day.

Past themes have included: “Rural Women: Leaders of Tomorrow " (2006); "Biodiversity for food security: women farmers are ready!" (2004); and "Human Rights for All Rural Women" (1998). This year’s theme is ‘Rural Women at the Heart of Innovation'. As rural women play an essential role in countering three major scientific challenges (global climate change, food security and population growth) the focus for 2009 is on blending traditional knowledge and advances in human and agricultural sciences by forging links between rural women and researchers. Without these links agriculture's full potential will not be met and the empowerment of women to make decisions and become entrepreneurs will be held back.

 For more information see:

(1) A message from the President of the IFAP Committee of Women Farmers

(2) the FAO's gender and food security information

(3) The CAB Abstracts database with over 7500 records on rural women