International Rural Women’s Day is celebrated on October 15 every year. The day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007 in recognition of the role that rural women and girls play in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods, and promoting overall well-being.

Nevertheless, structural barriers and discriminatory social norms continue to hinder women’s decision-making power and political participation within rural households and communities. Rural women and girls lack equal access to resources and productive assets, as well as public services such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure, including safe drinking water and sanitation services. Many of them also perform multiple tasks that remain unrecognized or unpaid, even as their workloads increase significantly due to men’s migration abroad.

The theme of this year’s International Day of Rural Women, “Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature”, honors 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.