26 May 1988

15th plenary meeting

Rural women and development

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolution 1987/24 of 26 May 1987 and decision 1987/121 of 26 May 1987, in which it endorsed the decision of the Commission on the Status of Women to consider problems of rural women as the priority theme under the objective of development at its thirty-second session,

Recognizing that the economic and financial crises that are affecting most of the developing countries have severely affected the socio-economic status of women,

Bearing in mind the enormous burden on women engaged in food production,

Bearing in mind also that the majority of women in developing countries are active in agriculture as farmers in their own right and as wage labourers in commercial agriculture,

Recognizing women's limited access to and control of agricultural resources, such as land, appropriate agricultural technologies, credit and training,

Recognizing that better health and sanitation are among the goals of development,

Bearing in mind that fetching water for domestic use is a major time-consuming task and primarily the responsibility and concern of women,

Recognizing that education is the basis of improving the status of women,

Aware that the lack of education and training for women in developing countries reduces their socio-economic options, particularly employment opportunities,

1. Urges Governments:

(a) To undertake projects exclusively designed for rural women;

(b) To involve women in the design, planning and implementation of such projects;

(c) To design projects to improve access to water supplies and sanitation and to promote the development of agricultural technologies and extension services for women;

2. Urges Governments to provide women with adequate education and training facilities to ensure their access to equal employment opportunities;

3. Appeals to donor countries to increase aid and fellowships to improve the status of women in developing countries;

4. Requests the development agencies of the United Nations system to pay particular attention in their programmes to the general role of women in rural development, especially in the areas of food, water supply, access to credit facilities and appropriate technologies;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to convene a seminar on women and rural development, using the resources available in the Trust Fund for the Preparatory Activities of the 1985 World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women and drawing on the results of the Interregional Seminar on National Experience relating to the Improvement of the Situation of Women in Rural Areas, held in 1984 in preparation for the World Conference.