What differentiates rural women from their urban counterparts? To what degree is it accurate to assert that all women in the city possess virtuous qualities, whereas women in the village exhibit negative traits? Women in urban areas may possess extensive employment rights, whereas women in rural regions may lack equivalent rights. This is not a straightforward issue.
A precedent exists for Rural Women’s Day. The concept comes from the Beijing Declaration, issued during the Fourth World Conference on Women. ‘Rural women’ was one of the twelve issues that needed attention. Women experience prejudice, exploitation, and abuse in every city and town where they reside. Conversely, the circumstances of women living in rural regions are far more severe. We can consider them the most exploited among the exploited and the most marginalised among the marginalised.
Education, health (physical and mental), ownership of assets, employment, and decision-making rights are among the most important phenomena for human empowerment. But if we review the overall lifestyle of rural women, it can be seen that most of the mentioned phenomena are absent in the life of all women except a very few women.
Let’s talk about education first. Yes, the female education rate has also increased significantly in the villages over the last two decades. School attendance among girls is noticeable. However, many of these girls drop out of education after a while. One of the reasons is child marriage. There is no denying that the rate of child marriage is highest in villages.
Observations reveal that most teenage girls must navigate the marriage ladder during their ninth-grade education. Of the rest who get a chance to sit for secondary exams, many do not eventually secure a place in college. This is because, among those who do not marry, many are forced to discontinue their education due to financial constraints. Therefore, this half-baked education cannot bring much positive change to the lives of rural women.
The health of women residing in rural settings is exceedingly fragile. Rural girls become mothers of two, three, or even four children within this period.
Child marriage, adolescent motherhood, and the physical ability to conceive, which does not fully develop until the age of twenty, are to blame for this occurrence.
Premature motherhood, multiple childbirths, inadequate access to essential nutrition, and the burdensome demands of domestic responsibilities all exacerbate their declining health. A well-known saying about women’s physical condition undoubtedly arose from observations of women living in rural areas. A counter-slogan has emerged: “Not an old woman at twenty, not a child before twenty.” This statement cannot withstand the issue of child marriage.
It is well known that child marriage is more prevalent in rural areas, disproportionately affecting women.
We know that most of our village’s people depend on agriculture. Women must do most of the agricultural work in rural areas. Rural women and farmers are the backbone of the farming economy. Nevertheless, women in rural regions possess no rights to the crops they harvest. Urban women employed outside the home experience a degree of financial stability. They have a balance in the bank.
Despite the women in the village dedicating their entire day to work outside the home, they rarely receive recognition for their efforts. Due to insufficient information and awareness, they fail to recognise the crucial contributions of their labour and talent to their families’ development, the state’s production system, and economic growth.
Women from rural regions comprise the predominant workforce in the garment industry, a sector integral to Bangladesh’s economic advancement. The nation’s populace earns foreign currency through their efforts, not just in the agricultural sector.
Despite their significant contributions to national development, rural women frequently go unnoticed, endure mistreatment, and lack opportunities.
Victims of abuse exist universally, including within their own families, and they endure many forms of violence, encompassing both physical and emotional abuse. Considering this situation, the Beijing Declaration of the Fourth World Conference on Women identified rural women as a significant concern.
States have implemented measures to improve rural women’s quality of life and prevent regression in their pursuit of empowerment. Nonetheless, rural women’s lives have undergone significant changes recently.
Merely watching the expressions on the faces of the women in the neighbourhood is insufficient to understand this transformation.
Human rights, including women’s rights, require recognition and enforcement. If we genuinely uphold human rights, we must dismantle the divide between rural and urban areas and ensure women’s empowerment.