Basic Information
International Day of Rural Women is observed on October 15 to celebrate and honor the role of rural women in various activities of rural development.
Observed on: 15 October
Organized by: UN, UNWOMEN
Introduced in: 2007 (UN Resolution), 2008 (First Observation)
Observed: Worldwide
About International Day of Rural Women
United Nations decided to celebrate October 15 as International Day of Rural Women on 18 December 2007. Day of Rural Women was first observed in 2008. The date October 15 was selected as the eve of World Food Day, to highlight rural women’s role in food production and food security.
The aim of the observance of the day is to celebrate and honor the role of rural women in various activities like agriculture and rural development.
Activities and Programs on the Day
Many programs and events are organized to show the importance of rural women. Some programs include conferences, seminars, discussions, television shows, social media campaigns, print media campaigns, etc. Research papers and presentations are conducted to show the role of rural women in social, economic and agricultural development of the society.
Programs are conducted to raise fund to support rural women for their development. Strategic support from experts is given to rural women entrepreneurs and farmers to run the business and also discusses the problems they face.
Some other programs include village fair, sale of foodstuffs or handicrafts etc. to draw attention of people to role of rural women, sustainable development and problems of rural women.
Social media campaigns are hashtag with #ruralwomen.
Theme for International Day of Rural Women
International Day of Rural Women 2020 Theme is “Building rural women’s resilience in the wake of COVID-19”
International Day of Rural Women 2019 Theme was “Rural Women and Girls Building Climate Resilience“
Day of Rural Women 2018 Theme was “Sustainable infrastructure, services and social protection for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls“
2017 Theme: Challenges and opportunities in climate-resilient agriculture for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls
2016 Theme: Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too (Jointly with World Food Day)