Rural women and their contribution to the economy

Women in rural areas make a huge contribution to the economy, but their contributions often go unnoticed. Hence, since today (October 15) is ‘International Day of Rural Women’, let’s focus on rural women and their work. 

If we take the world at large, European women, both in the cities and rural areas, are recognised for their efforts. But it is not the case in Asian countries. Women in Asian need more opportunities to work. Do they get equal work opportunities compared to Asian men? 

We talk about gender equality, but do we empower women? Research suggests that when women have equal opportunities, they can raise agricultural production by 2.5 to 4 per cent. When women are actively involved in employment, the result is malnutrition dropping by 12-17 per cent. 

Women engage in minor crop cultivation, livestock management, food preparation, seed conservation, and the transmission of traditional knowledge. They can be involved in projects that aid climate resilience. Despite their loft and critical contributions, they remain invisible in national data and policy frameworks. They encounter numerous barriers to equitable participation in agriculture knowledge development, technology transfer, climate-smart cultivation, market promotion, and key government initiatives in agricultural advancement.

In Sri Lanka, starting from the parliament, most sectors or institutions are male-dominated. We need to empower women and not hold back when we do so. This is why Sri Lankan political parties have pledged to increase slots in their parties and also in parliament. This is slowly happening in this country. 

Women are often the force behind achievement and goals. From working mothers to those who have succeeded in entrepreneurship, there are so many stories that highlight the great heights that women have scaled over the years.  

Women are also great counsellors and watchdogs of society. We know of a large number of women who have taken to counselling and succeeded. Then there are women who take up the role of credit officers who encourage and guide rural women who have taken loans to start businesses. Some of these businesswomen are either doing badly in business or don’t have solid payback programmes to facilitate paying the loan premiums. Such women would be comfortable working with women, offering guidance rather than getting business advice from males. Women are often exploited by men when they are cash-strapped. 

According to government data, in Sri Lanka, over 80 per cent of the population resides in rural areas. For the record, 34.3 per cent of women are engaged in economically active programmes and out of that number, 33.8 per cent live in rural areas. 

We also have to take into consideration the teachers who do yeoman service to society. Most teachers employed in rural areas go through many hardships to educate children. Some of these teachers get to teach in challenging work stations; rural postings are given to trainee teachers, but hard-working teachers still comply.

Then we also have the women serving the defence services and the police. Work can be managed, till you also have to run a family. Playing the role of mother and being on the roster at work is not easy. 

Let’s look back and reflect on how rural women have contributed to our society and economy. All those women in rural areas should take a bow.