Theme for 2007: “The right to food: Rural women produce and provide”
Initiators: The International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW), Network of African Rural Women Associations (NARWA), and the Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) at a UN Conference for Women in Beijing in September 1995.
For more information: www.rural-womens-day.org/index.html
About World Rural Women’s Day
- Rural women, mainly farmers, are at least 1.6 billion and represent more than a quarter of the total world population
- Women produce on average more than half of all the food that is grown: up to 8O per cent in Africa, 6O per cent in Asia, between 3O and 4O per cent in Latin America and Western countries
- Women own only 2 per cent of the land, and receive only one per cent of all agricultural credit
- Only 5 per cent of all agricultural extension resources are directed to women
- Women represent two third of all illiterate people
- The number of rural women living in poverty has doubled since 197O
The World Rural Women’s Day provides rural women and their organizations with a focal point to:
- Raise the profile of rural women
- Sensitize both government and public to their crucial, yet largely unrecognized roles
- Promote action in their support
Initiatives on how to celebrate this day are left to individual organizations and communities, according to their own traditions and requirements. Activities or events should be concrete and visible.
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