Posted December 1996
Cameroun
| Egypt
| Iran
| Maroc
| Namibia
| Philippines
| El Salvador
| Tanzania
Fact sheet: Women, Agriculture and Rural Development
Iran
Population: 59.8 million
Growth rate: 3.7%
Fertility rate: 6.1
IMR: 65/1,000 births
GNP/head: US$2,190
Source: "World Bank Atlas", 1994
Importance of agriculture to the economy
Agriculture plays a significant role in the economy of Iran. From 1989 to 1994, agriculture accounted for an average of 27.8% of the GDP, and employed 26.1% of the labour force in 1992. The principal cash crops are fresh and dried fruit. Agricultural produce accounted for 47% of non-oil exports in 1989. The main subsistence crops are wheat, barley, sugar beet and sugar cane. Mutton, lamb and poultry are also important for domestic food supply.
Role of women in agriculture
While 1991 statistics show that only about 8.5% of rural women are economically active, research and field observations indicate that the number is much greater. Rural women play an active part in food and other crop production, fisheries and livestock, especially poultry raising. In forestry, women are involved in the production and transplanting of seedlings. Since income from agriculture is often insufficient for subsistence, rural women's non-agricultural activities, such as carpet weaving and other crafts, are important to household survival.
Division of Labour by Gender
Although information on agricultural activities is not gender-disaggregated, case studies and observations show that rural women are engaged in various phases of crop production, including planting (particularly of rice), weeding, pest control, harvesting, processing and marketing. Women also play an important role in livestock raising and dairy production and in the processing and marketing of fish. Activities vary by region and crop. Increased farm mechanization has decreased women's part in planting operations, but has increased opportunities for employment in processing of food and animal products.
Gender Relations in Decision-making in Farming Activities
Most decisions related to food and other crops are made by men, although women sometimes participate in decisions on surplus production and the use of income from crops such as sugar beets, pulses and garden fruits. Women and men share equally in decisions on poultry and women also have a say in decisions regarding cattle and, to a lesser extent, sheep. Although, due to tradition, women have little decision-making power at the local level, elderly women have a special status and their opinions carry weight in household decision-making.
Sharing of power and decision-making
Members and Officers of Agricultural/Rural Organizations
Members and Officers of Agricultural/Rural Organizations. Women comprised about 9% of the membership of rural institutions and cooperatives in 1994. Women were not represented in the rural consultative councils set up after the Islamic revolution, but the Bureau of Women's Affairs has proposed the participation of women in these councils, as well as the establishment of women's rural cooperatives. As of 1994, there were 12 active rural women's cooperatives.
Women in Decision-making Positions in Ministries and Government Bodies
In 1994, women held only 3.4% of policy-making positions in the provincial divisions and affiliated organizations of the Ministry of Agriculture. Despite legal equality and the emphasis of government leaders and policy-makers on the importance of women's participation in national affairs, inadequate training opportunities and a deep-rooted patriarchal system hinder women's participation.
National Machinery
The Bureau of Women's Affairs, set up in December 1991 in the President's Office, promotes the advancement of women in all cultural, social and economic spheres. Among the projects it has recommended for implementation are the formation of rural women's cooperatives by the Ministry of Agriculture, research on rural women and basic data collection on rural women's activities.
WID Units or Focal Points in Technical Ministries
The Bureau of Women's Affairs has representatives in governmental offices and organizations. These women's units depend on the various ministries for funding. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has created the Rural Women's Development Office, the director of which is one of the four top executives of the Ministry's Extension Department. This office designs and implements training programmes for rural women. A Rural Women's Cooperatives Office has been set up in the Central Rural Cooperatives Organization, and a Rural Women's Planning and Study Group in the Center for Planning Studies and Agricultural Economics, in MOA's Planning Department. The Minister of Agriculture's Counsellor in Women's Affairs is responsible for coordination of planning activities for women. The Minister of Jihad-e-Sazandegi (MOJ), which is responsible for rural development, has also established a Women's Affairs Office.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Major NGOs include: the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee which assists the urban and rural poor; the Islamic Women's Society which promotes women's status in society and sponsors rural activities and training for women; the Women's Society of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development which promotes awareness building and research; and the National and International Marketing Centre for Women's Produce.
Women's rights
The Constitution guarantees equal treatment for men and women before the law. Commensurate with the Islamic code, all human, political, economic, social and cultural rights are guaranteed to women. It obligates the Government to safeguard women's rights in the areas of motherhood, family values, marital rights, and support. The civil code provides that men and women should enjoy equal rights in land and livestock ownership, employment opportunities, social security benefits and application for commercial credit and loans. Efforts have been made, including public awareness programmes on radio and TV, and the addition of discussion of women's rights in school and literacy campaign programmes, to remove the inequalities that women have long suffered.
Dimensions and determinants of rural poverty
Massive damage to the country's resources in the Iran-Iraq war and the low international prices of oil have created economic problems. Recent economic restructuring measures and price liberalization policies have contributed to rising inflation rates. Adverse economic conditions tend to affect the poorer segments of the rural population, particularly female-headed households, more than other segments. Malnutrition affects 15% of rural boys and 23% of rural girls.
Access to agricultural resources and services
Land
Although there are no legal restrictions on women's land ownership, there are few women land owners. When women do own land, existing social and cultural norms tend to prevent them from acting independently in seeking loans or referring to government organizations.
Livestock
Rural women play a very important role in animal husbandry. More than 86% of the milking, and 42% of the feeding, watering and health care is done by women. Since women carry out 90% of the milk processing, both for home consumption and for sale, the MOJ has conducted several training courses for women in animal husbandry.
Forestry
In parts of the country, rural women are involved in tree planting, and the MOJ has provided training courses in different aspects of forestry for rural women.
Water
In 1993, 86% of the rural population had access to potable water.
Credit
Data on loans by the Agricultural Bank of Iran are not gender-disaggregated. Since loans are provided on land mortgage and women ordinarily do not possess land, it can be assumed that few women have received loans and credit. However, in recent years the Agricultural Bank has extended credit to women carpet-weavers and women members of cooperative societies. In 1993, 15% of the Bank's credit recipients were women.
Extension services and agricultural training
Since March 1993, the Rural Women's Development Office has been training women extension workers who are based in rural women's centres, in order to provide women with agricultural training and assist in the establishment of cooperatives. As of May 1995, 156 women extension agents had been trained.
Selected programmes in support of women in agriculture, forestry
and fisheries
Policy Planning and Research
The Bureau of Women's Affairs, the Rural Women's Development Office and other WID units in MOA have encouraged the inclusion of issues of concern to women in MOA's policy planning and research. An FAO-supported project analyzed questionnaires used in national and agricultural censuses in order find out what questions need to be included to facilitate the collection and gender analysis of data. A UNICEF-supported project organized a workshop on gender analysis for rural extension agents.
Legal and Policy Reform
The establishment of a unit of the Bureau of Women's Affairs at the Islamic Consultative Assembly (the nation's parliament) in 1992 has been instrumental in initiating dialogues with the legislative branch for exchange of information and coordination to remove legal obstacles facing women.
Access to Agricultural Resources and Services
The establishment of a Council of Coordination of Activities for Rural Women, with representatives from organizations at the village level, aims to maximize the potential of existing resources in the provision of services to rural women. The training of women extension agents and the establishment of rural women's centres and rural women's cooperatives has provided a means of overcoming women's lack of access to extension and credit.
Areas to be strengthened
Policy Planning and Research
Plans for the advancement of rural women include:
- conducting field studies on the social, cultural and economic obstacles confronting rural women;
- dissemination of research findings;
- application of findings in the planning and execution of projects in the nation's second development plan; and
- inclusion of questions on operational holdings of land by gender in future agricultural censuses.
Access to Agricultural Resources and Services
- The Rural Women's Development Office in the MOA plans to continue training women extension workers and will set up training centres for this purpose in two regions of the country.
- Systematic training of rural women in rice and vegetable growing, packaging of dates, literacy, nutrition and other subjects is planned to begin in 1995 through rural women's centres.
- The Rural Women's Cooperatives Office plans to expand the number of rural women's cooperatives in 25 provinces, which will provide credit to women. The Agricultural Bank has also devised a scheme to provide credit to women heads of households.
- The Women's Affairs Office and other units of the MOJ plan to continue the training of rural women in animal husbandry, handicrafts, and expand its construction groups and production networks for rural women.
Prepared by Women in Development Service (SDWW)
FAO Women and Population Division
Source: "National Sectoral Report on Women", 1994.
