Achieving gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but also is a critical ingredient in the fight against poverty, hunger and malnutrition. As the world celebrates International Rural Women’s Day on 15^th October each year, the day shines a spotlight and recognizes the significant contributions of women to global development. And this is precisely what we did with the women on this year’s Rural Women’s Day in Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka, joined by Hon. Roshan Ranasinghe, Minister of Irrigation and Sport and Hon. Anupa Pasqual, State Minister of Social Empowerment. 

Rural women constitute a quarter of the global population and are the driving force behind food systems, poverty reduction, climate resilience, and the overall well-being of rural communities. Their unwavering commitment and resilience lay the very foundation upon which the prosperity of our rural landscapes is built. According to the ILO, giving women the equal opportunities with men could help 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 globally.

Yet, women’s potential is seriously hampered due to structural exclusion, particularly in terms of their access to land, livestock ownership, water sources, extension services, credit and markets. They are not given equal pay and remain absent in decision-making processes.

In Sri Lanka, over 80% of the poor reside in rural areas. Women make up only 34.3% of the economically active population in Sri Lanka, of which 33.8% are engaged in the rural sector.  Amidst the current economic crisis, we have no option but to fully optimize women’s contributions to socio- economic recovery. 

This structural exclusion is often observed in the agricultural sector. As agricultural small holders and home gardeners, rural women play significant roles in food production, providing towards household food consumption, while keeping nutrition levels from deteriorating. Women engage in minor crop cultivation, livestock management, food preparation, seed conservation, and the transmission of traditional knowledge, while building climate resilience. Despite their critical contributions, they remain invisible in national data and policy frameworks, and encounter numerous barriers to equitable participation in agriculture knowledge development, technology transfer, climate smart cultivation, market promotion, and key government initiatives in agricultural advancement. 

From the cost-of-living crisis and the impact of climate emergency, women have been disproportionately feeling the brunt of the hardships. Sri Lanka’s first Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI), recently published by UNDP in Sri Lanka and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), outlines that 55.7% of Sri Lankans are multidimensionally vulnerable. Accordingly, the incidence of vulnerability for the Pollonaruwa district was at 61.9%, with the highest deprivations experienced in terms of adaptive capacity to climate-induced disasters and physical health conditions.  Polonnaruwa is identified as 9th most vulnerable district out of 25. Therefore, it further amplifies the significance of commemorating the day with the women there as they have added responsibilities of ensuring food is provided to the table, while caring for the elderly or family members with a disability. Equipping them with the right tools and skills to tackle these challenges, while creating resilience among vulnerable communities is therefore essential. 

While visiting the rural communities, we saw how women worked hard to cope with the situation. They often work 13 hours per week longer than men in agriculture. The gender pay gap in these regions can be as high as 40%, and shockingly, less than 20% of women worldwide own land. Their under-valued labour also hinders positive steps towards mechanization and innovative technological advancements, diminishing efforts that will help ease the burden on women in agriculture. 

UNDP in Sri Lanka is committed to easing the burden of rural women through gender sensitive agriculture programmes such as climate smart agriculture promotion among rural women, rainwater harvesting and drinking water supply in the dry zone to ease the care work burden, quick grant schemes for agro-based enterprises and crop cultivation, engagement of women in small irrigation systems and water management. This is evident in our renewed efforts towards area-based programming, for integrated and coherent solutions that consolidate various interventions, irrespective of funding sources and implementing partners, for exponential results. The celebrations on Rural Women’s Day were a testament to this approach, bringing together a range of development partners, on the ground stakeholders and technical experts, providing holistic livelihood support for the most vulnerable. Together with partners, UNDP has identified the most-vulnerable women-headed households and brought integrated-water management solutions, climate-smart agriculture techniques, livelihood opportunities, access to financing and financial literary, and waste to energy solutions. When the shocks have been sudden and acute, we must invest in building the resilience of the families from different angles so that they could come out of the cycle of poverty and deprivations.