CHURCH IN FOCUS: International Day of Rural Women 15 October 2011
15 October Secretary-General's Message on the International Day
of Rural Women 2011 This year’s International Day of Rural Women falls
at a time of heightened awareness of the important contribution women are making to
social progress. Women have been rightly recognized for their role in supporting movements
for democracy, human rights and peace. Their contribution to sustainable development
is equally significant.
Study after study has demonstrated that rural women
are pivotal to addressing hunger, malnutrition and poverty. They are the farmers and
nurturers, the entrepreneurs and educators, the healers and helpers who can contribute
to food security and economic growth in the world’s most remote and vulnerable settings.
Despite
the heavy responsibility rural women shoulder, they lack equal access to opportunities
and resources. This hampers their advancement and holds all people back. More than
100 million people could be lifted out of poverty if rural women had the same access
to productive resources as men, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization. Productivity on women’s farms would increase up to 30 per cent. The
number of hungry people would drop by as much as 17 per cent – an impact that translates
into improvements for as many as 150 million individuals. The benefits would reverberate
even further as these women’s children gain better access to health services, education
and nutrition.
We know how to achieve these gains: Invest in rural women.
Eliminate discrimination against them in law and in practice. Ensure that policies
respond to their needs. Give them equal access to resources. Provide rural women with
a role in decision-making.
These measures will help drive sustainable development
– one of the great imperatives of the 21st century. As we prepare for the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held next year in Rio, let us remember
that rural women have enormous untapped potential to generate results.
On this
International Day, I call on all partners to recognize the contribution of rural women
to our world, and to help them do even more for our shared future.