Last Updated on 12 October 2024 IST | International Day of Rural Women is observed on 15th October every year to recognize the significant role and involvement of rural women. This International Day of Rural Women proposes a transforming opportunity to pledge to a changed system of organizing our ecosphere, to shape the vision of the Feminist Plan. The focus is on the effects and multi-stakeholder commitments of the recent United Nations Food System Summit thereby benefiting the rural women equally from their productivity and food and nutrition shared by all.

International Day of Rural Women 2024: Highlights

• International Day of Rural Women commemorates the contribution of rural women for their different achievements. 
• The U.N. The General Assembly declared October 15 as “International Day of Rural Women”.
• The theme of 2024 is Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All, however in 2021 it was ” Rural women cultivating for all’
•  “IDRW recognizes the role of women in improving rural development and food security
• The first International Day of Rural Women was on 15 October 2008. 
• Across the world, food systems depend on the daily work of rural women
• Women farmers achieve yields 20-30% lower than men due to unequal access to resources
• Eternal Knowledge (Tatavgyan)  by Saint Rampal ji Maharaj changes the society against any discrimination.

International Day of Rural Women 2024: Date, History and Significance

The first International Day of Rural Women was commemorated on 15 October 2008. The Rural Women Day recognizes the significant role and involvement of rural women in improving agricultural and rural development, enhancing food security and eliminating rural poverty.

The UN has decided to celebrate the Day before World Food Day to signify rural women’s role in food security. Women play a vital role in the rural economy in many poor nations. Rural women are involved in all rural activities including agriculture, livestock, cooking, arranging drinking water and fuel for their families.

Across the world rural women ensure that both their families and communities are nourished. But the same women often face lack of nutritious food and a higher risk of hunger. This is because of unequal power relations and discriminatory gender norms.

International Day of Rural Women 2024 Theme 

The theme of The International Day of Rural Women of 2024 is “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”.

Rural Women’s Vital Role in Global Food Systems

The year 2024 the theme of International Day of Rural Women, is “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All,” The theme represents the vital role that rural women and girls play in global food systems. The women may be part of families, communities, paid or unpaid, involves from farming to food processing, preparation, and distribution. It is important to realise here that these women often lack the same authority as men, and their incomes are lower than men and they face greater vulnerability to food insecurity.

Addressing Food Insecurity and Empowering Rural Women

Everyone believes that who gives birth also sustains, inspite of enough food for everyone, issues like hunger and malnutrition are increasing globally. The situation has worsened during COVID-19 pandemic and climate challenges. Approximately 2.37 billion people have faced food shortages in 2020, a 20% rise from the previous year.

UN Women’s report, “Beyond COVID-19: A Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice”, emphasizes the need of restructuring the global food system by empowering rural women. The report further calls for strengthening the women’s ability to grow and distribute diverse, nutritious food is essential to this effort. The readers must know that Sustainable Development Goals have left fewer than 10 years to meet the, particularly Zero Hunger (Goal 2) and Gender Equality (Goal 5). In this regard, UN Women is committed to supporting rural women and girls worldwide, enhancing their flexibility, skills level, and leading capabilities.

UN Women’s New Feminist Plan

The UN Secretary-General has asked for a makeover of our food systems so that everyone gets healthy food. There is a need to restructure the global food system for UN Women’s new Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice. The Feminist Plan is meant for strengthened relationship in governments and civil society to improve gender-responsive agroecology. It will act as an alternative to industrial agriculture that has proven benefits for women small-scale farmers. It will also support food security and protect precious biodiversity and ecosystems.

By focusing on rural women’s empowerment, the plan seeks to create systems that allow women to thrive, ensuring their voices are central to policy discussions on sustainability, gender equality, and economic growth.

UN Women Supports Empower Rural Women Program

UN Women works to support rural women empowerment programs. Along with FAO, IFAD and WFP, UN Women in a Joint Program on Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment has reached 80,000 rural women across Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Nepal, Niger and Rwanda. The program employed integrated approaches to help rural women’s livelihoods. 

■ Also Read: International Day Of Girl Child: Who Is Helping Girls To Get The Deserved Respect?

They addressed discriminatory social norms and unpaid care and domestic work. They also improved agricultural productivity and enhanced food security and improved nutrition. For example, in Senegal, UN Women made joint efforts with REFAN, the Network of Female Rice Producers of the North, to back rural women. They improved the rice value chain to enhance livelihoods, food and nutrition. Simultaneously they tried to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in an effort to combat climate change.

Facts & Figures: Rural Women and the Millennium Development Goals

• Rural women face worse conditions as compared to rural men and urban women and men for all MDG indicators. The lack of data impacts on global ability to confidently measure and effectively control progress toward the MDGs.
• Rural women support households and communities in achieving food and nutrition security, generating income, and improving rural livelihoods and overall well-being.
• Rural women contribute to agriculture and rural enterprises and contribute to improve local and global economies.
• Rural women play an active role in achieving the MDGs but lack persistent structural constraints. It becomes a barrier in fully enjoying human rights. It also hampers their efforts to improve their lives as well as those of others around them.

The World Community Stands Committed With Rural Women

• Farming First expresses worry, “Women farmers typically achieve yields 20-30% lower than men due to unequal access to productive resources and services yet closing this gender gap could reduce the number of malnourished people by 12-17%.”
• CGIAR GENDER Platform says, “Rural women’s empowerment starts with resilience. Only when able to withstand shocks and stressors from climate change, pandemics and other crises, rural women will be able to take up their rightful roles as leaders in farming and business, improving their lives, livelihoods, and entire food systems.”
• Geneva International Centre for Justice shows full commitment to the implementation and promotion of all rural women rights. Equally, GICJ would like to point out the importance of their empowerment, not only to improve their well-being and living conditions, but equally to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Eternal Knowledge Is the Key for the Change

Gender inequality has its roots fabricated everywhere into the minds of people. But a program is run against discrimination of urban to rural, man to women under the leadership of Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj. The great Saint says-

Our race is living being, Mankind is our religion,

Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, there is no separate religion

SatGuru Rampal Ji reveals the True Spiritual Knowledge (Tatvgyan) that all souls are created by the word power of Supreme God Kabir. All creatures of the universe have same soul irrespective of the body,  so there lies no space for discrimination. The purpose of all is to achieve Salvation 

Sat-Bhakti Is the Solution 

There is only one Enlightened Saint in the whole universe in the form of SatGuru Rampal Ji Maharaj who delivers the True Spiritual Knowledge or Tatvgyan and bestows Naam Diksha. He preaches Sat-Bhakti (True Devotion) in accordance with Holy Geeta chapter 17 verse 23. SatGuru has also laid successful foundations of a society that promotes equality among people, as they consider each and everyone equal in the eyes of our father Supreme God Kabir without discrimination. Therefore, without wasting even a minute, take Naam Diksha (Naam Initiation) from Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj to achieve the right purpose of human birth. 

FAQs About International Day of Rural Women

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