International Day of Rural Women, celebrated annually on October 15, is designed to remind society how much it owes to rural women and how valuable their work is.
Rural women make up more than a quarter of the world's population. They play a leading role in food production and in developing rural stability. And not only in industrialized countries, but also in developing ones. In addition, they carry out most of the work of caring for children, the elderly and the sick. And given that 76% of the world's poorest people live in rural areas, ensuring rural women's access to productive agricultural resources can help reduce hunger and poverty in the world.
But despite this, they are often unable to protect their right to land, access vital services such as health care, credit or education. Their vital contribution to public life in many countries remains invisible. Women make up less than 15% of landowners worldwide. In rural areas, the gender pay gap reaches 40%.
The empowerment of rural women is therefore a critical factor not only for the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities, but also for the overall productivity of the economy, given the significant presence of women among working farmers around the world.
The idea of holding World Rural Women's Day was proposed at the 4th UN Women's Conference, held in Beijing in 1995. The observance of this day was seen as a practical way to gain public recognition and support for the multifaceted role of rural women. As a result, it was decided that World Rural Women's Day would be celebrated annually on October 15.
In 2007, this holiday was officially approved by the UN General Assembly, which, in its resolution 62/136 of December 18, 2007, recognizes the critical role of rural women, including indigenous women, and their contribution to accelerating agricultural development and rural areas, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty«.
How exactly to celebrate this day — is entirely decided by the interested organizations and communities themselves. But every year all events are held under the auspices of a slogan relevant to rural women, be it access to credit, information and communication technologies, education or clean water.
Postcard «October 15 — International Rural Women's Day» Story «Happy Woman»