The theme of this year’s International Day of Rural Women, “Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature,” honours the work rural women do every day: conserving seeds, protecting biodiversity, managing water, and restoring degraded land. They feed communities, sustain livelihoods, and safeguard the natural resources on which we all depend. On this day, we celebrate their knowledge and leadership in building a more resilient future.
Yet their rights, resources and decision-making power too often fall short of their contributions. Rural women need enforceable rights to land, water, and natural resources; equal access to finance, markets, technology, and agricultural services; decent work, social protection and resilient infrastructure. Their unpaid care work must be recognized, reduced, and redistributed.
The International Year of the Woman Farmer and this year’s meetings under the three Rio Conventions-on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification-offer an opportunity to turn recognition into action. Rural women must help shape agricultural policies and decide how funding is used to address climate change, protect biodiversity, and restore land. Their leadership must be reflected in commitments, budgets, and action.
UN Women calls on governments, financial institutions, businesses, and development partners to invest directly in rural women and remove barriers to their economic agency and environmental leadership. Rights, resources and power must match their contributions to food systems, land, water, and biodiversity.
