RAJKUMAR POREL, M.SC GEOGRAPHY, WBSU.

1.  Sustainable Development policy and strategy for
the benefit of rural women
Whatis SustainableRural Development:-
Sustainable rural development is vital to the economic, social and environmental viability of
nations. It is essential for poverty eradication since global poverty is overwhelmingly rural. The
manifestation of poverty goes beyond the urban-rural divide, it has sub-regional and regional
contexts. It is therefore critical, and there is great value to be gained, by coordinating rural
development initiatives that contribute to sustainable livelihoods through efforts at the global,
regional, national and local levels, as appropriate. Strategies to deal with rural development
should take into consideration the remoteness and potentials in rural areas and provide targeted
differentiated approaches.
Objectives of rural sustainabledevelopment:-
(a) Promoting poverty eradication in rural areas;
(b) Promoting pro-poorplanning and budgeting at the national and local levels;
(c) Addressing basic needs and enhancing provision of and access to services as a precursorto
improve livelihoods and as an enabling factor of peoples engagement in productive activities;
(d) Providing social protection programmes to benefit, inter alia, the vulnerable households, in
particular the aged, persons with disabilities and unemployed many of whom are in rural areas.
Women as objects or subjects of rights?
All women - including the rural women face many questions that are:
· constitutional: such as recognition of their existence as adults, equality in their rights as
citizens, capacity to bring legal actions, rights to vote and to be elected;
· economic: such as the right to inherit' the capacity to engage in business, access to land as
owners, access to sources of finance, banking institutions and credit;
· social: such as access to and equality in work, tasks and pay. access to subsidies, welfare and
family allowances. recognition of their status as parents, economic producers and workers.

2. EXCERPTEDFROM THE THIRD PROGRESSREPORT ON THE WCARRD
PROGRAMME OF ACTION (FAO, 1991 b)
Rural poverty
Often the burden of droughts, famines and seasonaltroughs fall[s] disproportionately on female
members within poorhouseholds – in terms of consumption adjustments, asset depletion, work
burden and, in extreme cases, destitution and abandonment.
Literacy
Women's literacy was consistently lower than men's. In some cases, as many as 70 percent of
rural men were illiterate, compared with 82 percent of rural women, although the gain in
agricultural productivity resulting from education was larger for female than male farmers.
Infant mortality and malnutrition
Infant mortality was in inverse proportionto the mothers' literacy level. The percentage of
underweight children was higher among females in Asia.
Work
Women typically work more hours per day than men. They were more likely to be engaged in
casual labour contracts than permanent ones, generally earning 30 to 40 percent of men's wages.
Technology
In some specific cases, the effects of new technologies on women were not altogether
favourable. In the Gambia, for example, an attempt to introduce new technology in the
cultivation of rice (a food and cash crop traditionally cultivated by women) resulted in the
expansion of household farming under male control and in the displacement of women by men
in the cultivation of rice.
Savings and credit
Programmes for granting credit and guaranteeing loans benefit male farmers, while women,
who have no land or guarantee, are excluded from these, although it is recognized that they are
less likely to default on payments and that they have a greater propensity to save.
Land
The distribution of land rights under communal tenure often became less equitable. Women not
infrequently saw their land rights eroded. Land redistribution programmes usually targeted the
household unit, with little attention to the distribution of land within the household or to
women's special needs.
Extension work
The bias against women was particularly striking, especially in Africa where agricultural
extension systems often did not serve women farmers as effectively as male farmers. The role
of female labour in food and cash crop production, food processing, food storage and marketing
was critical. In Africa, the low proportion of female extension workers (11.1 percent of
extension personnel, 7 percent of field staff) contrasts with the rural population as a whole
where there were more women than men.
Rural organizations and cooperatives
Women represented a very small proportion of the total membership of agricultural
cooperatives.

3. Women's demands as the basis for policiesof integration:-
In 1975. Which was International Women's Year, the United Nations Decade for Women was
inaugurated in Mexico, with the integration of women in economic development being chosen
for special attention. About 100 countries adopted and signed a world plan of action benefiting
women and this was then the subject of a midterm progress appraisal in Copenhagen in 1980. In
1985, the decade was closed in Nairobi, with an appointment being made for 1995, when
advances in the sphere were to be evaluated. In 1989 over two-thirds of UN Member States
ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
which had been adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979.
As well as these events and achievements, there have been other government-level
demonstrations of a concern not to neglect women, with such measures as: the establishment of
the right to vote and be elected; the recognition of women's status as adults; the proclamation of
equality between men and women; and the outlawing of polygamy.
In more specific terms, major attention was given to a regional conference of West African
countries which met in 1988 and 1990 to draw up a plan of action for African women. This
became known as the Lomé Conference for the Integration of Women in Development.
The Decade for Women really did mobilize countries and had some concrete outcomes. It
influenced ways of thinking and encouraged governments to give close attention to the question
of women's position in society. People became aware of an unjust situation and of
the vital need to involve women in development.
Actions:-
(a) Build socialcapitaland resilience in rural communities. In that context:
(i) Empower women and small-scale farmers, and indigenous peoples, including through
securing equitable land tenure supported by appropriate legal frameworks; (ii) Promote
equitable access to land, water, financial resources and technologies by women, indigenous
peoples and other vulnerable groups; (iii) Supportand promote efforts to harmonize modern
technologies with traditional and indigenous knowledge for sustainable rural development; (iv)
Provide access to credit and other mechanisms as well as resources for farm-based activities,
especially for small-scale farmers, including women in particular, in developing countries to
better manage the various risks they face, including price, weather, climate, water shortages,
land degradation and natural disasters, including by providing aid and promoting the
development of agricultural insurance markets; (v) Protectand ensure sustainable use of
traditional knowledge, including indigenous knowledge in accordancewith article 8 (j) of the
Convention on Biological Diversity, for the management of natural resources to address the
challenges of sustainable development;
b) Strengthen the human capacities ofrural people. In that context:
(i) Strengthen rural health-care facilities and capacities, train and increase the number of health
and nutrition professionals and sustain and expand access to primary health-care systems,
including through promoting equitable and improved access to affordable and efficient health-

4. care services, including provision of basic health-care services for the poorin rural areas, in
particular in Africa, for effective disease prevention and treatment; (ii) Create and develop
educational programmes for rural communities aimed at disease prevention; (iii) Eliminate old
and new forms of illiteracy in rural communities and ensure provision of primary education and
access to secondaryand tertiary educational opportunities as well as vocational and
entrepreneurship training including proactive and market-related elements to build capacities
within rural communities, in particular for youth, young girls, women and indigenous people;
(iv) Encourage rural communities? participation in decision-making, promoterural
communities? empowerment and rural leadership; (v) Improve access by rural people and
communities to information, education, extension services and learning resources, knowledge
and training to supportsustainable development planning and decision-making;
Non-governmentalorganizations
In recent years' ordinary people have emerged from their silence and passivity, succeeded in
making their voices heard and their views felt, caused established powers and accepted beliefs
to waver and, thus, deserve credit for the democratic processesnow taking place.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which were already numerous prior to this period of
change, have multiplied quickly. The emphasis has moved from cooperation and technical
assistance NGOs to local NGOs.
NGOs are a force to be reckoned with, because they represent a way of exerting pressureand
influence on government attitudes to make them take into account the needs' interests and
possibilities of change for various categories of the population. Fully operational NGOs are
familiar with rural and urban environments, use highly participatory methods and are
demonstrably efficient. They have preferential relations with funding agencies, which see them
as "spearheads" and "front line elements". Donors involve them (or use them ) in testing out
innovative approaches to new projects in restricted geographic areas and in direct contact with
the ultimate beneficiaries. According to the results and government responsethey get, these
projects may becomewatchwords, the new approaches become strategies and the area affected
be extended. The NGOs respond favourably to such a role, because it correspondsperfectly to
their own philosophy of intervention; entailing creativity, change, room for man oeuvre and
flexibility.
Women's associations often find it difficult to cut the link between themselves and the state.
They have always been attached to the state machine and the prevailing political approach, and
it is difficult for them to distinguish between which issues fall within the state sphere and which
come into their own sphere of responsibility, or between what they can expect others to do and
what they have to do themselves. In a democratic context, the process ofindependence that is
linked to the progressive consolidation of a genuinely tree society is not easily accomplished.
Professionals also have a place in the movement to create organizations. Female lawyers,
traders, entrepreneurs and agricultural producers, are joining together to form unions or
federations. Some of these already existed, especially associations of female traders and
entrepreneurs. In the professional and economic fields, these are the organizations most in touch
with the situation and most aware of the opportunities. They also have the clearest views of
possible developments.

5. Professional women's associations, which are ignored or dismissed in favour of men's
associations, have often already established a network style of operation. They have set up
listening posts and relay stations across the country and have strong contacts both regionally
and internationally. They have economic and social significance and avoid bureaucratic
institutionalization.