For billions of people around the world, rural transformation means new opportunities. Greater access to knowledge and tools means more productive farming, while greater productivity on the farm means more resources for education, health and other activities. Through rural transformation, rural people can drive economic growth, fight hunger and lift their own communities out of poverty.
To realize this potential, however, rural transformation needs to be inclusive. As it stands, women – and especially young women – are unable to take advantage of all the opportunities that rural transformation can provide. With less education, fewer job opportunities and more restrictive cultural expectations, young rural women typically face additional barriers that other people in poverty do not. Unless policies address these disparities, rural transformation runs the risk of continuing to overlook the needs of young rural women – and leaving women further behind.
Because of the pre-existing challenges that young rural women face, inclusive rural transformation won’t just happen naturally. Rather, we need to make it happen. Here are five ways that FAO is addressing these challenges and increasing inclusivity by enabling young rural women to participate in rural transformation.
1. Freeing up women’s time
With workloads similar to their adult counterparts, young rural women are often responsible for arduous and time-consuming tasks (such as gathering water and firewood, weeding and manually processing food) on top of their role of caring for other people in the household. These demands significantly limit the time women have to study or develop other income-generating opportunities.
As a result, women benefit significantly from investment in time-saving basic infrastructure, such as improved access to sources of water and energy. Farming technology like tractors and milling facilities can also cut down on women’s labour, freeing up their time to develop new livelihoods and engage in activities outside the home.
2. Promoting life-long learning and skills development
Despite relatively high rates of primary school attendance, rural women tend to have low literacy rates and spend less time in secondary school than their male or urban peers. Distance, safety, costs and parental attitudes about educating daughters all affect rural girls’ attendance; meanwhile, even fewer girls continue to attend during menstruation or after giving birth. Additionally, educational opportunities outside of school, such as vocational training, may not be relevant or available to young rural women.
Increasing educational opportunities yields significant improvements in the lives of women: educated girls are more likely to delay marriage, find work and raise healthier children. Programs aimed at making secondary school more accessible (by reducing fees, strengthening counselling services or foregrounding discussion of gender) and improving vocational training (by matching skills training to local market opportunities, or by tying financial literacy lessons into training on nutrition, entrepreneurship or farming) are both ways to promote learning for young rural women. Especially with the help of woman mentors, young woman can gain the benefits of not only education, but also of increased confidence and broadened aspirations.
