15 October 2011 - World Rural Women’s Day

The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008. This new international day was established by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007. This UN day aims at promoting awareness on the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

At the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, which established the CEDAW convention in 1995, it was suggested that 15 October be celebrated as “World Rural Women’s Day,” on the the eve of World Food Day, in order to highlight the role played by rural women in food production and food security. “World Rural Women’s Day” has been celebrated, primarily by civil society, across the world for over a decade.

In accordance with its multi-year programme of work for 2010-2014, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will consider ‘The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges' as its priority theme during its fifty-sixth session in 2012.