Rural Women Rising: Empowering Change and Equality for a Sustainable Future

The call this year is clear: bold action is needed to advance equality, safeguard rights, and ensure that rural women and girls are empowered to shape their own futures.

On this International Day of Rural Women, the world celebrates the resilience, leadership, and vital contributions of millions of women and girls who live and work in rural communities. These women are farmers, entrepreneurs, caregivers, and environmental stewards. Every day, they cultivate food, protect ecosystems, and uphold the social and economic fabric of their communities. Yet, despite their central role in sustaining life and livelihoods, they remain among the most marginalized and underrepresented groups globally.

The call this year is clear: bold action is needed to advance equality, safeguard rights, and ensure that rural women and girls are empowered to shape their own futures. Investing in their potential is not merely a moral imperative—it is an act of justice, sustainability, and global resilience.

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Persistent Inequalities and the Gender Gap in Rural Communities

Rural women face multiple layers of inequality—social, economic, and political. Many lack access to land ownership, credit, agricultural resources, healthcare, and education. According to UN Women and the FAO, if current trends persist, 351 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030, with rural areas bearing the brunt of this inequality.

These figures expose deep structural barriers: discriminatory land tenure systems, limited digital access, unpaid care burdens, and exclusion from decision-making. Moreover, the impacts of climate change and conflict disproportionately affect rural women, who often depend directly on natural resources for survival. As food insecurity deepens due to global crises, women and girls in rural areas are frequently the first to go hungry and the last to recover.

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Climate Justice and Women’s Leadership

Despite these challenges, rural women continue to lead collective movements for change. From mobilizing communities for sustainable farming to advocating for climate justice, they connect local realities to global solutions. Their leadership is essential in building resilience against environmental degradation and climate shocks.

For instance, women’s cooperatives across sub-Saharan Africa are implementing innovative agroecological practices—replanting forests, restoring soil fertility, and adopting renewable energy in agriculture. In Asia and Latin America, Indigenous women are spearheading biodiversity conservation and defending ancestral lands against industrial exploitation. These movements show that empowering women is key to ecological balance and food security.

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Stories of Transformation: The Case of Verene Ntakirutimana

One story that embodies this transformation is that of Verene Ntakirutimana, a farmer from Rwanda. Supported by the Joint Programme on Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment—a partnership between UN Women, FAO, IFAD, and WFP—she transitioned from subsistence farming to managing a successful small business. With access to training, microcredit, and market networks, Verene’s initiative not only increased her income but also transformed community perceptions.

Her leadership encouraged shared household decision-making, promoted women’s participation in local governance, and inspired younger women to follow in her footsteps. Her success story reflects a universal truth: when rural women thrive, communities prosper.

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Rural Women Rising: A Global Call to Action

The 2025 theme, “Rural Women Rising,” resonates as both a tribute and a call to action. It urges governments, organizations, and civil society to elevate the voices and visibility of rural women in shaping policy and driving sustainable development. This theme also aligns with the Beijing+30 Action Agenda, which reaffirms global commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Several major initiatives are amplifying this momentum:

• The International Year of Women Farmers (2026) will spotlight the indispensable role of women in global food systems.

• The Inter-American Decade for the Rights of All Women, Adolescents and Girls in Rural Settings (2024–2034) aims to strengthen policy frameworks for equality across Latin America.

• Grassroots movements such as Women to Kilimanjaro continue to advocate for rural women’s land rights, legal recognition, and leadership in decision-making spaces.

Together, these efforts represent a growing global movement to ensure that rural women’s work, wisdom, and rights are no longer overlooked.

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Empowerment as a Catalyst for Global Progress

Empowering rural women is a strategic investment with ripple effects across generations. When women gain access to land, education, finance, and technology, agricultural productivity rises, poverty declines, and food systems become more resilient. UN studies show that if women farmers had equal access to resources as men, agricultural yields could increase by up to 30%, reducing global hunger by up to 150 million people.

Moreover, empowering rural women strengthens the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goals 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 5 (Gender Equality), and 13 (Climate Action). Their leadership drives inclusive growth, preserves biodiversity, and promotes peace and social justice.

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Toward a Future of Equality and Resilience

As the world faces mounting crises—from climate disasters to economic instability—rural women stand at the frontlines, cultivating resilience and hope. Yet, they need more than recognition; they need rights, representation, and resources. Governments must prioritize gender-responsive policies, invest in rural infrastructure, and ensure that women’s organizations have a seat at decision-making tables.

This International Day of Rural Women is not only a moment of reflection but a clarion call for transformation. The empowerment of rural women is not a secondary issue—it is the cornerstone of sustainable development and global justice.

When rural women rise, fields flourish, families thrive, and societies move closer to a world of equality, peace, and shared prosperity.