INTERNATIONAL RURAL WOMEN’S DAY

BUILDING RURAL WOMEN’S RESILIENCE IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19

TEHRAN, 15 October 2020 (UNIC) – United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his message on the International Day of
Rural Women, 15 October 2020, called for building rural women’s resilience in
the wake of COVID-19.

The full text of his message reads:

Rural women play a critical role in agriculture, food
security and nutrition, building climate resilience, and managing land and
natural resources. But many rural women suffer from discrimination, systemic
racism and structural poverty.

The COVID-19 pandemic has now affected more than half the
world’s women farmers with restrictions on movement, the closure of shops and
markets, and disruption to their supply chains. Combined with challenges
including increased unpaid care and domestic work and rising rates of
gender-based violence, rural women are bearing some of the heaviest burdens of
the pandemic.

Digital channels can offer a lifeline in rural areas,
providing information on access to healthcare as well as agricultural updates.
However, the gender digital divide is particularly wide for rural women, who
make up just a quarter of users of digital agricultural solutions.

Helping rural women through the pandemic and building their
resilience for the future will require solidarity and support from all.

Together, we must invest in rural women so that they have
access to the healthcare, social protection and agricultural information
services they need. We must close the digital divide and provide essential
services to respond to the shadow pandemic of violence against women. And we
must tackle the discriminatory land and inheritance laws and practices that
make rural women vulnerable to losing their sources of income.

On the International Day of Rural Women, let us renew our
commitment to rural women in all their diversity; increase our efforts to
support them through the COVID-19 pandemic; and work with them to build their
resilience to future crises.

 https://iran.un.org/en/95781-building-rural-womens-resilience-wake-covid-19