Changing the lives of rural women and girls for the better

Across the global South, most rural women and girls are disadvantaged compared to men and boys. Most receive less formal education, have fewer opportunities to work outside the household, and when they do, they are often paid less and treated worse than men. Most rural women live with norms that define them primarily as wives and mothers, confined to the domestic sphere, where men do less than their fair share of household chores. Changes to the lives of rural women and girls take place at several levels: within processes of development and transformation at the national level; in rural areas and within agriculture; in households; and, finally, for women and girls as individuals. Changes to agriculture and rural areas over the longer run can be dramatic, as agriculture loses its relative importance when a country urbanises.

To see how such changes take place and what they imply for women and girls, this briefing examines three cases of long-term rural economic transformation since the 1960s: those of Egypt, Peru and Thailand. All three countries have seen economic growth, urbanisation, and a marked shift in their economic structure as agriculture has declined relative to industry and services.