International Day of Rural Women - 15 October

Achieving gender equality and empowering women is the prime focus to fight against extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Equal opportunities to women could rise agricultural production by 2.5 to 4 per cent in the poorest regions and the number of malnourished people could be reduced by 12 to 17 percent. It's possible by land and livestock ownership, equal pay, participation in decision-making entities, and access to resources, credit and market. This International Day, under the theme "Rural women confront the global cost-of-living crisis", let’s recognize the work of these heroines in the food systems of the world, and let's claim rural areas with equal opportunities for all.

The form and extent of work, political participation, levels of education, state of health, representation in decision making bodies, access to property etc. are some relevant indicators of status of the women. Patriarchal norms restrict Indian women's education and employment choices, from the choice to acquire education to the entry into the workforce and to the nature of work.

The Constitution offers better terms for women empowerment. It includes The principle of gender equality. The Constitution not only guarantees equality to women, but also provides the State with the power to take measures of positive discrimination in favor of women in order to mitigate their cumulative socio-economic and political disadvantages. Women have fundamental rights to not be discriminated on the grounds of sex (Article 15) and get equal protection under the law. (Article 14). The Constitution also imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen to renounce the practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

Despite the government's effort, the literacy rate of women in India, especially in rural areas, still remains very poor due to distance from school. Traditional practices like female infanticide, dowry, and early marriage have also contributed to the problem as many families find it economically unviable to educate the girl child.

Indian Society considers the roles of men compared to women takes more financial responsibilities and work outside. Also women may be considered to be less reliable as workers because of their child-rearing functions.

The representation of women in different legislative bodies remains low across India. According to the report of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women, India ranks 148 out of 193 countries in the number of elected female representatives in parliament. In India, despite of continuous efforts in the field of Safety, women are threatened by various acts via feticides, domestic violence, rape, trafficking, forced prostitution, honour killings, sexual harassment at workplace etc. Women not only in India but across the globe face a social barrier preventing women from being promoted to top jobs in management.

Women also face UTI health issues due to lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual education and hygiene and sanitation facilities necessary to properly manage menstruation. According to a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) study conducted in 2011 only 13% of girls in India are aware of menstruation before menarche.

Education to girls and women play a vital role in overall sustainable development. Giving education to women means giving education to the whole family. It also enables people to change she/her status in society. Education enables and builds confidence to make decisions in a better way. It'll happen by a change in education policy.

Skilling and micro financing can get women financially stable. Training women in non-traditional skills with market demand, creating more public and private sector jobs for women. Due to safety concerns women after education and skilling most of the women not taking part in flow.

A multi-sectoral strategy to raise awareness among women about the current government initiatives and mechanisms should be devised to ensure the safety of women throughout the country. Panic Button, Nirbhaya Police Squad are some good steps in the direction of women’s safety.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 was enacted to ensure safe working spaces for women and to build an enabling environment that respects women’s right of equality of status and opportunity.

Specified Actions at the Lowest Level of Governance: There is a need to devise, support and promote projects at the lowest level of governance, to bring more inclusivity in governance and improve the status of women in India. Like celebration of the birth of girl, higher financial incentives and scholarships for higher education, Rewards to villages/districts that are able to attain equal child sex ratio through education, information and communication campaigns.

The ripple effects of Women Led Development are undeniable as an educated and empowered woman will ensure education and empowerment for future generations. 

Let's see women empowerment through agroforestry. Particular agroforestry practices examined include fodder production and utilisation, soil fertility management, woodlots and indigenous fruit and vegetable production and processing. Agroforestry is the entire solution for rural development. The review shows that agroforestry has the potential to offer substantial benefits to women; however, their participation is low in enterprises that are considered men’s domain, such as timber and high in enterprises that have little or no commercial value, such as collection of indigenous fruits and vegetables.

Furthermore, the degree of women’s involvement relative to men in technologies such as soil fertility management, fodder production and woodlots is fairly high in terms of proportion of female-headed households participating but is low as measured by the area they allocate to these activities and the number of trees they plant. In marketing, women are confined to the lower end of the value chain (retailing), which limits their control over and returns from the productive process. 

In order to promote gender equity in agroforestry and to ensure that women benefit fully, the paper recommends various policy, technological and institutional interventions. These include 

(1) facilitating women to form and strengthen associations,

(2) assisting women to improve productivity and marketing of products considered to be in womens’ domain and 

(3) improving women’s access to information by training more women extension staff, holding separate meetings for women farmers, and ensuring that women are fully represented in all activities.

Agroforestry systems include both traditional and modern land-use systems where trees are managed together with crops and/or animal production systems in agricultural settings.

These systems have the potential to increase ecosystem services – including soil carbon sequestration, water retention, erosion control, soil nutrients, pollination, pest- and disease-control – and biodiversity, while improving farming productivity, profitability and sustainability of farmers’ incomes.

The management of agroforestry systems is critical for their positive impact on climate and the environment as well as to ensure a balance with productivity and profitability for farmers. This is essential to promote the uptake and long-term sustainability of agroforestry.