1. Rural women and the Council of Europe
1. In tabling a motion for a resolution on the real
situation of rural women in Europe in the Parliamentary Assembly
(
Doc. 11773),
I was guided by my personal experience and commitment as President
of Afammer (Association of Rural Families and Women), a Spanish
non-governmental organisation which, since 1982, represents women
in the development of rural areas and defends their rights.
2. With this report, it is not the first time that the Assembly
has devoted its attention to the situation of rural women. In 1997,
at the initiative of the then Committee on Agriculture and Rural
Development, the Assembly adopted
Recommendation 1321 (1997) on the
improvement of the situation of women in rural society. Unfortunately,
in replying to this text, the Committee of Ministers decided not
to include any specific activity on rural women in its work programme,
arguing that this would duplicate the work undertaken by the European Communities,
the European Parliament and the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO).
3. I regret to say that, in my opinion, this decision lacked
vision: the mid-1990s were key years for the process of political
and economic transition in a number of European countries which
joined the Council of Europe in that period or immediately after.
Rural women were particularly exposed to the negative consequences
of this process. Formerly, they had the same access to privatisation
of land and other properties as men, but, de facto, they were excluded.
Their situation deteriorated as a result of the budgetary restrictions which
led to the dramatic reduction of services – such as transport, schools,
child-care facilities and hospitals – in the countryside. In many
cases, they were the victims of a return to traditional cultural
and religious values which confined them to the house and the care
of children, depriving them of a public role in society and of the opportunity
to obtain economic empowerment.
4. In a nutshell: rural women were the main victims of the lack
of consideration of gender equality in the economic transition process
of the 1990s and of its subsequent varied impact on women and men. Unfortunately,
at the time, the Council of Europe failed to identify rural women
as a groupparticularly at
risk from social and economic exclusion, discrimination and human
rights violations and put in place adequate projects to remedy this
state of affairs.
5. In those same years, the most deadly conflict in Europe since
the Second World War ravaged the countries of the former Yugoslavia.
Rural areas suffered the most. The war was fought village by village
and provoked generalised poverty, destruction and food shortages.
People abandoned their land and farms to find refuge in the mountains,
other areas of their country or abroad. Rural women were victims
of sexual violence in the context of the conflict, many found themselves
widows, others fell victim to trafficking. In general, women’s standing
in society and concerns for gender equality took a step backwards,
due to a prevailing war mentality which primed the supremacy of
men both in private and public life.
6. Since the mid-1990s things have evolved. Indeed, the European
Union played a major role in moving the situation forward in its
new member states. Not only did the newcomers have to adapt to the
European Union acquis on equality
between women and men in the context of employment, but also, in
those same years, the European Union introduced a new approach to
gender equality, extending gender mainstreaming to new areas of
policy, including agriculture. In this context, the European Union
started to reflect on the different impact that structural funds
had on women and men and introduced initiatives specifically targeting
women.
7. Despite this progress, the situation of rural women in European
Union countries still varies considerably, not only from state to
state but also from one region to another. If we look at the situation
of rural women in the Council of Europe area – where the European
Union has neither exerted the same influence nor allocated the same
amount of resources – these disparities are even more striking.
In any case, it is a fact that, due to specific objective conditions
prevailing in rural areas and the persistence of a traditional mentality,
women in rural areas are confronted with major challenges in the
achievement of gender equality and the enjoyment of their rights.
8. At this particular point in time, the joint effect of the
process of globalisation and the financial economic crisis risks
further exacerbating existing gender inequalities and deteriorating
the situation of women living in rural areas, unless Council of
Europe member states anticipate and act.
9. In the present report, I will describe the situation in some
selected Council of Europe member states in order to give an idea
of the complex outlook of rural women in Europe. I shall examine
their situation in the context of equality between women and men
and women’s economic empowerment, as a result of the mandate of
the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, for which
I am rapporteur. I am pleased that the Committee on the Environment,
Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs will be able to complement
my analysis with its expertise, giving an opinion.
10. As a final point in my introduction, I should like to mention
that this report is largely based
on
a
hearing
on “The real situation of rural women”, which was organised by the
Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men on 26 March 2010,
and
on information drawn from the reports and concluding observations
resulting from the reporting mechanism established by the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), in particular its Article 14. I have also paid great attention
to the work undertaken by the European Union under the Spanish Presidency,
which considered the improvement of the situation of rural women
as one of its priorities.
2. Rural women: an essential but invisible
driving force worldwide
11. Women are a driving force for the maintenance, conservation
and development of rural areas, both in cultural and economic terms.
Not only do they contribute to the preservation of a rich and diversified
cultural heritage and the transmission of traditions but they also
represent a considerable proportion of the workforce in agriculture
and contribute to the development of the rural sector in the face
of constant depopulation.
12. Unfortunately, women in rural areas are also an invisible
force. Their presence and role are not accurately reflected in statistics
and many of those who are involved in agricultural work do not receive
a separate income from their husbands or other male members of the
household. As helping spouses of farmers and other self-employed
men, they are not entitled to social security in their own right
and often they do not hold property rights on land or farms.
13. It is estimated that, in Europe, approximately 14.6 million
people work in agriculture. 41% of them are women, 78% of whom work
helping spouses while the others are owners or co-owners. In general,
in Europe, the majority of women who work in agriculture are the
spouses of the owner, which leads to the invisibility of their employment
status.
14. As the Secretary-General of the United Nations quotes in his
report on the improvement of the situation of women in rural areas,
“Women constitute up to 70% of the agricultural labour force but
most do not own or control any land. Rural women own less than 10%
of the property in the developed world, and 2% in the developing
world. It is estimated that women in Africa receive less than 10%
of all credit going to small farmers and only 1% of the total credit
going to the agricultural sector”.
15. The link between women, agriculture and development explains
why United Nations entities, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO),
as
well as global economic and financial institutions, including the World
Bank, have paid special attention to women’s critical role in developing
countries.
16. In the past years, a clear understanding has emerged in the
international community that neglecting gender issues in the context
of development is not only contrary to human rights, but is also
a missed opportunity to raise agricultural productivity and income.
Especially in low income countries in which agriculture accounts
for an average 32% of the GDP, women make up a substantial majority
of the workforce and produce most of the food which is consumed
locally.
17. The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, in 1995,
represented a landmark event for the recognition of the contribution
of women to development and the identification of the main areas
of concern as regards the situation of rural women worldwide. The
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action greatly influenced the
way in which governments and international organisations approached
gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the following years.
18. In the aftermath of Beijing, the United Nations General Assembly
adopted a number of resolutions concerning the issue of rural women,
in which it emphasised their extreme vulnerability as a result of
the global economic downturn and the importance of sound gender-sensitive
agricultural policies and strategies.
19. The most comprehensive and detailed text adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly on this issue is Resolution 62/136 on the
improvement of the situation of rural women which,
inter alia:
- requests that the relevant United Nations bodies and organisations,
in particular those dealing with development issues, address and
support the empowerment of rural women and their specific needs
in their programmes and strategies;
- invites the Commission on the Status of Women to continue
to pay due attention to the situation of rural women as a priority
area;
- declares 15 October as the International Day of Rural
Women, with a view to giving greater visibility to the question;
- asks states to take a number of measures to empower rural
women and ensure that attention is given to their priorities, needs
and contributions in the following areas:
- promoting the participation of rural women in decision
making;
- strengthening the economic empowerment of rural women;
- providing health-care services;
- eliminating violence against women in rural areas;
- meeting the needs of women in vulnerable situations (rural
women with disabilities, indigenous women and older women);
- asks the Secretary-General to submit a report reviewing
the activities undertaken by United Nations member states and entities.
20. Two years since the adoption of United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 62/136, in its first report drawn up at the General Assembly’s
request, the United Nations Secretary-General could but warn against
the risk that the inequalities and discrimination faced by rural
women might increase as a result of the confluence of the financial
and economic crisis, the threat of climate change, and the fuel
and food crises: “In times of crises, women also take on additional
responsibilities to provide non-market substitutes for market goods
that their families are no longer able to afford. Owing to climate
vulnerability, agricultural production is expected to fall in both
tropical and in most temperate regions, with a direct negative effect
on agriculture where women represent a large part of the workforce.
Sharp increases in food and fuel prices over the past few years
have eroded the purchasing power of poor households, especially
female headed households, which are the poorest of all. The food
and fuel crises have raised serious concerns about food insecurity
and malnutrition in many countries, which threaten the well-being
and health of poor rural women and their families”.
3. A general portrait of rural women in Europe
21. Rural areas in Europe are strikingly varied in terms
of social and economic structure, geography and culture. Likewise,
rural women are not a homogeneous group; they have different roles
and occupations, on farms and in family businesses, in employment
outside the agricultural sector, in the household and the community.
Their needs and interests differ too, particularly according to
their age, level of education, the size and composition of their
family and the age of their children.
22. The first obstacle in drawing up a portrait of rural women
in Europe is the lack of gender-focused statistics. Data are collected
for other purposes and then put together to highlight gender differences
in rural areas, in particular in the agricultural sector. As a consequence,
the available information is neither well targeted nor completely
comparable.
23. A precious source of information for the European Union is
Eurostat, which compiles statistics on agricultural structures,
therefore making it possible to compare data on the labour force
in agriculture broken down by gender. Based on this information,
some general features can be identified
in
the European Union:
- women represent
28.7% of farm-holders and this figure is on the rise;
- on average, farms run by women are 40% smaller than those
run by male farmers;
- the percentage of female sole-holders is higher in the
new European Union member states than in the old member states.
24. Even if there is no uniform collection of comparable data
or statistics applying to the entire Council of Europe area, from
the information available it can be inferred that:
- a sizeable proportion of women
employed in agriculture are helping spouses, that
is to say they assist or participate in the farm business without
being a business partner in the formal sense;
- the unemployment rate in rural areas is much higher than
in urban areas and affects women more than men;
- a sizeable proportion of women working on farms are hired
on a temporary basis;
- many women working on farms also have another occasional
or part-time job, often in a sector different from agriculture;
- a sizeable proportion of women are employed in seasonal
work, sometimes in the shadow economy, a growing number of them
are migrants.
4. The situation in selected countries
25. In this section, and fully acknowledging that the
information is incomplete, I would like to describe the situation
in a number of selected countries in order to give an idea of the
complexity of the challenges faced by rural women in different Council
of Europe member states.
4.1. Bosnia and Herzegovina
26. The end of the 1992-95 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina
marked the beginning of a double transition: the transition from
war to peace and an economic and political transition. Today, the
country’s gross domestic product is only half its pre-war level
and social sector spending has dropped dramatically. According to
Lenyara Khayasedinova, co-ordinator of the Gender Mainstreaming
Programme for Central and Eastern Europe and Newly Independent States
at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), after
the war, “when family benefits and public social services were decreased,
women’s social standing in society plunged. There was a return to
more traditional attitudes towards gender, and women who once held
prestigious positions in public life are now often expected to stay
home engaged in domestic duties”.
27. Nevertheless, according to the IFAD, one quarter of the households
in Bosnia and Herzegovina are headed by women, as a result of the
war or of men having to go abroad in search for work. Only 35% of
those employed in the country are women, who face discrimination
and receive lower wages than men. In addition to having to reconcile
work and family duties, women lack access to land, training, credit
and equipment.
28. The situation of women is particularly difficult in rural
areas where the legacy of the war has left deep scars and the mentality
of the population is not gender sensitive. Although women and men
are formally equal according to the law, de facto traditional customs
of inequality persist in the areas of education for girls, right to
property and inheritance.
29. There does not appear to be a problem with social cover (retirement
pensions and disability insurance) for agricultural workers and
members of their families who are involved in agriculture as their
primary occupation. But only a small number of rural households
are covered by health insurance.
30. Rural women have limited access to information on their rights
and to health services, including counselling and family planning,
due to the inexistence of appropriate structures in rural areas,
insufficient funds to set them up, or the distance involved in obtaining
such services.
31. Despite this difficult situation, the report by the United
Nations Secretary-General on “Improvement of the situation of women
in rural areas” takes stock of a number of steps in the right direction.
These include the fact that a number of rural women’s organisations
were involved in the drafting of the national action plan on gender
equality; the effort made by the government to integrate the gender
perspective into rural development policies; the inclusion of women
entrepreneurs in agricultural and trade fairs and the strengthening
of mobile services in the field of reproductive health and family
planning.
32. On 15 October of this year, on the occasion of the International
Day of Rural Women, women’s associations from the Republic of Srpska,
in co-operation with the Gender Centre of the Government of Republic
of Srpska, launched the campaign “Equality for Rural Women”, which
aimed at emphasising the problems faced by rural women, increasing
their visibility and improving their status. Campaign activities conducted
over one week included a number of round-table discussions, debates
and seminars, cultural events, as well as street actions and promotions
during which rural products and promotional materials were distributed
to the public.
4.2. Finland
33. Finland has several characteristics which make it
an interesting case study for this report: it is one of the best
countries in terms of gender equality, is relatively rich, has a
large agricultural sector and a very low population density per
square kilometre, especially in rural areas.
34. In this country, for years there has been an awareness of
the importance of incorporating the gender dimension in agricultural
policies and specific bodies and action plans have been set up to
this end on a periodic basis. In 2003, a working group on women
set up under the national action plan (called the Rural Policy Programme)
drew up an Action Plan for Rural Women. Finland’s Rural Development
Strategy for 2007-2013 includes a number of measures aimed at improving
the situation of rural women, amongst other groups.
35. The number of women landowners and entrepreneurs is relatively
high, even if statistics are not accurate as regards co-ownership:
when spouses are co-owners, statistics take account only of one
of them – usually the man.
Training aimed at enhancing
women’s entrepreneurial skills are organised or promoted by governmental
agencies, such as the Women’s Enterprise Agency. It is not more
difficult for women than for men to find employment in the countryside.
36. A consolidated system of distance-learning and, more recently,
substantial investments in the field of communication and information
technology have made it possible to raise the education level of
rural women, even in remote areas. In addition, the Nordic model
of adult education organised by local rural institutes has proved
very successful.
4.3. Italy
37. Italy has one of the lowest employment rates for
women (42%) as compared to the European Union average (55.6%). As
a result of the progressive deregulation of the labour market and
the willingness to tackle the high unemployment rate, in the 1990s,
a number of policies and legislative measures were introduced designed
to support entrepreneurship. Examples of these are the simplification
of procedures to set up a business, the reduction of relevant costs,
easier access to credit, the improvement of the social security
cover for self-employed workers, etc.
38. In addition, some specific measures addressed exclusively
young people and women, such as Law 215/92 on Positive Actions for
Female Entrepreneurship, which is a legal basis for the granting
of subsidies for the setting up or development of entrepreneurial
initiatives by women and aims at removing the socio-economic constraints
which limit or prevent women’s access to the labour market and enterprise,
such as lack of adequate training or information.
39. According to the National Institute of Statistics (Istat),
from 1999 to 2003 there was a slight increase in the number of farms
run by women (from 26.3 to 27.3%), and even if this percentage is
still low if compared to men, it is still rising.
40. In Italy, rural population ageing is one of the main constraints
affecting rural development. Indeed, in agriculture there is a high
percentage of women in the age group 35-54 (59.4%), a small percentage
of 15-34 year-old-women (22.9%), while women over 50 total 33.9%.
This is not in line with the age breakdown of women working in the
industrial and service sectors, where there is a higher percentage
of young women from 15 to 34 (39.2%) and a lower percentage of women
over 50 (17.8%).
41. In general, the level of education of women working in the
agricultural sector is lower than the national average. According
to Istat data for 2001, only 1.7% have a university degree, 16.6%
have a secondary school diploma, 36.5% finished compulsory schooling,
while 5.6% did not complete compulsory schooling.
42. Rural women work longer hours than other female workers; 27.5%
work part-time. The majority of farms run by women are efficient,
innovative and oriented towards diversification, such as the direct
marketing of farm products and agro-tourism.
43. In 1997, the Italian Government set up a National Observatory
for Female Enterprise and Labour in Agriculture (ONILFA), headed
by the Minister of Agriculture and comprised of representatives
of a number of other ministries concerned. It aims to assess the
actual employment possibilities of women in the rural sector and
formulate the necessary strategy to enhance such opportunities.
4.4. Poland
44. Since 1989, Poland, together with other countries
in the region, has undergone radical socio-economic transformations
which have had an impact on the characteristics of rural areas.
Unfortunately, despite the importance of the agricultural sector
for Poland’s economy, issues connected with life in rural areas
remain one of the research fields that have been the most neglected;
rural women are seldom the focus of studies by researchers in agriculture
or gender studies specialists.
45. At the moment, the Polish rural economy is based on small
farms producing food mainly for their own use. Rural enterprise
is also dominated by small family businesses and their earnings
are significantly limited by low demand for goods and services,
caused by rural unemployment and poverty. This situation is aggravated
by the fact that a large number of farms are run by elderly and
isolated people, whose main source of financial resources is social
welfare aid and who have neither the resources nor the sense of
initiative to change their way of farming methods or develop an
innovative approach.
46. The rural population represents 38.6% of the overall population
of Poland, with women accounting for 50.2% in rural areas. Rural
settlement is fragmented, consisting of 53 000 localities, 15% of
which are inhabited by less than 100 residents, 66% are inhabited
by a population ranging from 100 to 500 residents, 13% by a population
ranging from 500 to 1 000 inhabitants and only 6% by a population
exceeding 1 000.
47. In the years 2000-2005, the percentage of working age population
grew from 56.8% to 60.7% in rural areas (in urban areas this percentage
amounted to 66.1%). According to forecasts, by 2015 this percentage will
increase to 63.7% in rural areas and decrease to 63.2% in urban
areas. This increase in rural areas is due, on the one hand, to
the fact that rural families have more children and, on the other
hand, to the fact that for fifteen years there has been a process
of “return to the countryside”. An increasing proportion of urban
Poles – mainly entrepreneurs, affluent and with a good level of
education – settle in rural areas in the proximity of cities. At
the same time, the outflow of rural people to urban areas in search
for jobs has halted and there is a marked return to rural areas.
48. Ageing has become a serious problem for Poland, especially
in rural areas, where the percentage of inhabitants in the economically
post-productive age is higher than in towns. As regards the age
structure of inhabitants in rural areas, men outnumber women in
the age category below 54, whereas in the age category above 54
women outnumber men.
49. The employment status of rural women has not been measured,
but research and surveys show that a higher percentage of rural
women than men and urban women are unemployed. Amongst the main
difficulties in finding employment are: the shortage of job opportunities
in the place of residence, geographical inconvenience, poor local
transport, the poor quality of roads and the lack of social infrastructure
(nurseries, care homes or social services).
50. The Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS) insures 4.5
million farmers and is equally accessible for women and men. Social
security benefits and rules are the same for both sexes, with the
exception of a lower retirement age for women. In addition, rural
women can benefit from birth allowances (three basic pensions) and
maternity allowances (equivalent to eight weeks sick pay). These
benefits may be claimed by women insured for at least one year.
51. Even if Poland has been a member of the European Union since
2004, surveys show that rural women do not feel confident in taking
advantage of European Union structural funds, mainly due to lack
of knowledge of the administrative procedures. They are also reluctant
to change the farming model for more innovative forms that have
proven successful in other European Union member states, such as
agro-tourism; similarly, not many rural women would consider working
from home (teleworking).
52. There are, however, positive signs of change: women who contribute
to the family income are more frequently treated as equal partners
in decision-making and women’s authority in the family is rising.
4.5. Russian Federation
53. In the Russian Federation there are 20 million women
out of a total rural population of 38 million people; 9 million
of these women are of working age. Women holding leadership positions
as farmers, entrepreneurs or in large and medium-sized enterprises
total 19%. The number of rural women with higher vocational education
is 1.6 times higher than for rural men; however, proportionally,
women’s unemployment rate is higher.
54. The main social problems afflicting rural areas are poverty
and low standards of living. The average income is €235 per month,
which represents 47% of the wage in urban areas. Unemployment is
nearly twice as high as in cities.
55. During the period 2000-2008, essential services such as nursery
schools, schools, hospitals and local public transport have been
reduced by 18%, 24%, 22% and 20% respectively. At the same time,
34% of rural villages do not have hard surface roads.
56. According to NGOs, in spite of the fact that the Russian Federation
has undertaken a lot of measures aimed at the eradication of discrimination
against women, de facto discrimination against women living in rural areas
continues to take place, in different forms.
57. First of all, there is no up-to-date, comprehensive specific
legal framework to address their situation, the most recent piece
of legislation being the Resolution of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR
11/1/1990 N 298/3-1 on “urgent measures for the improvement of the
position of women, families, motherhood and childhood advocacy in
rural areas”, from 1990. Similarly, there is no specific social
welfare programme addressing the specific conditions of women living
in rural areas.
58. Secondly, rural women have no knowledge of their legal rights
and, at the same time, the local and state authorities “close their
eyes” to the application of the law in a variety of issues strongly
affecting them, such as sexual violence, domestic violence, enforcement
of labour rights and non-discrimination law (so-called “passive
discrimination”).
59. Even if the negative consequences of the reforms in the agrarian
sector undertaken in the 1990s have affected all the agrarian population,
women are in the most disadvantaged situation. Reforms of the agricultural enterprises
and their privatisation occurred without any participation of women,
due to the poor representation of women in local authorities and
to the fact that most women did not have the means and skills to
set up their own farms.
60. In addition, like urban women, rural women have been strongly
affected by the decreasing number of public health, educational
and trade institutions in the countryside, where they were often
employed by the state.
61. The accessibility of health services is a major problem. In
rural areas, the reduction of governmental expenditure on public
health services has led to the closing of specialised institutions
and hospitals. The majority of medical services are not free of
charge. First aid emergency services are rare.
62. Concerns have been raised about the problem of lack of confidentiality
on HIV, drug addiction and hepatitis diagnoses by employees of medical
institutions in rural areas. The diagnoses affecting mothers is
also disclosed to schools, as this information is indicated in children’s
medical history cards, which can lead to discrimination not only
against the mother but also against the child.
63. Amongst rural women there is a high percentage of anaemia,
owing to the decrease in the quality of food and the ecological
conditions of the areas. The incidence of occupational illness remains
high among women, the most common problems being those affecting
the bone structure and respiratory organs.
64. In spite of high unemployment and poverty, rural families
tend to have a lot of children. This can be considered as a successful
result of the government’s policy aimed at fighting against demographic
decline. A broad range of measures has been introduced to enhance
the quality and availability of medical assistance and social benefits
for mothers and their children and to support, also with financial
incentives and tax reductions, young and large families, in particular
those with more than three children.
4.6. Spain
65. In Spain, 24% of the population live in rural areas,
including 5 million women. The average Spanish woman living in a
rural area is married, over 50 years of age, has 2.3 children and
devotes eight hours per day to domestic tasks and five to activities
outside the house.
66. Less than 9% of farms are run by women. In the majority of
cases, these exploitations are small (less than one hectare) which
is below subsistence level. Only 3% of exploitations of more than
50 hectares are run by women. The level of responsibility that these
women have in running their agricultural business does not correspond
to their real decision-making power, because husbands or male family
members have the upper hand as a patriarchal mentality continues
to reign.
67. A growing number of women farmers are engaged in innovative
entrepreneurial activities, such as rural tourism, production of
organic food, transformation and trade of agricultural products,
traditional handcrafts, etc. Some 32% of the women who hold the
property rights of their farm or land are over 65 years of age,
7.4% are under 35 and only 1.4 under 25. The ageing of the population
is particularly evident in Galicia (36%) and the Basque country
(46%).
68. Eighty-two per cent of women living in the countryside are
helping spouses or family members. Their status is not clearly defined
in the legislation. They do not earn a wage and only 59% of them
are covered by social insurance. In recent years, there has been
a sharp increase in the number of migrant female workers in the
agricultural-food industry who are employed as temporary farmhands.
69. On 31 December 2006, there were 463 628 women amongst the
beneficiaries of the Agrarian Social Security System (
Régimen Especial Agrario de la Seguridad Social,
REASS), 81% of whom were employees and the rest self-employed.
The number of women receiving payments from another social security
system for the self-employed (the RETA,
Registro
de Inscritos en el Regimen Especial de Trabajadores Autonomos)
has increased for women by 51% in the period 1999-2006.
70. In 2007, the government approved a plan to promote gender
equality in rural areas and Law 45/2007 on sustainable rural development
which established the principle of transversality in rural development
policies by encouraging the active participation of women in positions
of responsibility, and positive action. It also called for raising
the profile of women’s work and their participation as owners or
co-owners of farms, retaining women or the incorporation of women
in agriculture, female employment and diversification of activities,
training, reconciling work and family life, and access to new technologies.
71. An interesting example of good practice is the sponsoring
by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) of activities
aimed at promoting the development of women’s entrepreneurial capacity
as well as their leadership. In 2010, the Ministry granted the First
Award of Excellence for Innovation for Rural Women.
72. Remarkable progress in the legal situation of rural women
was made in 2009, with the entry into force of the Royal Decree
on Shared Ownership which, in addition to setting out rights and
obligations stemming from shared ownership in agriculture, introduces
a number of incentives in areas such as social security payments, facilitated
access to financial assistance, special benefits for employing young
people, etc.
4.7. Turkey
73. The agricultural sector is the traditional source
of employment for Turkish women. They are at a disadvantage in the
industrial and services sectors owing to their lower education level,
less well-targeted vocational qualifications or family and cultural
constraints. 73% of working women are engaged in agricultural activities,
compared to 40% of men.
74. Compared to other sectors, agriculture employs a higher proportion
of illiterate workers. In the period 1995-2006 the overall literacy
rate was 88.1%, with 96% for men and 80.1% for women.
In
2008, the literacy rate for women increased to 86.91%, according
to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Despite this improvement, on
average three quarters of illiterate men and almost all the illiterate
women in the labour force are engaged in agriculture. As the education
level increases, both women and men prefer to relocate in order
to work in other sectors of the economy.
75. Women are heavily involved in activities such as storage,
maintenance, sale and processing, but they have little control or
participation in the decision-making process at the farm level.
This is the case even when women assume, de facto, the responsibility
of running the farm as men migrate to cities in search of work.
76. Approximately 77% of women working in the agricultural sector
are unpaid workers in family enterprises. Despite their contribution
in agriculture, their important role is not well recognised. Women’s
work in traditional rural activities is often unpaid and is not
considered work but a “lifestyle”. In families with no land, most
of the seasonal workers are women. These two categories are not
covered by the social security system.
77. Most rural villages have a health centre or a health house
that provides basic and mother-child health care services. According
to the Turkish authorities themselves, however, this system is not
sufficient to respond to serious health problems, for instance in
the case of women with reproductive health complications (complications
in pregnancy, etc.).
78. Unsafe abortion is one of the major causes of death among
women of reproductive age in Turkey. Despite the liberal nature
of the abortion law, the number of legal abortions up to ten weeks
performed in the country has been sharply restricted by the requirement
that the procedure be carried out only by or under the supervision
of gynaecologists. This factor is especially critical in rural Turkey,
where medical specialists of any type are rare or non-existent.
Many rural health facilities that are without a trained specialist
are excluded from providing services. Consequently, a rural Turkish
woman seeking an abortion within the first ten weeks of pregnancy
may not be able to obtain one.
79. The situation of rural women varies considerably according
to the region they live in. The most comprehensive rural development
project so far addresses the poorest area in Turkey and is known
as GAP, Southeast Anatolia Development Project, and is still ongoing.
One of the most innovative initiatives set up under the GAP is the
establishment of multi-purpose community centres (ÇATOMs), which
are designed to facilitate the participation of women in the development
process and are run by women elected by participants themselves.
Amongst
the ÇATOMs’ main activities are:
- the
provision of short courses on literacy, computer skills, English
and home economics;
- programmes on hygiene, mother-child health and basic medical
services;
- capacity building in management and leadership;
- training on income-generating activities, including handicrafts,
sewing, hairdressing, etc.
80. In general, in recent years, the Turkish Government has made
a huge effort to improve the availability of health care for rural
women, including in remote areas, by setting up special structures
in which women can give birth and remain for a period after giving
birth, as well as helicopter services for emergency cases. Similarly,
special programmes and campaigns have been set up to improve literacy,
which is fundamental for women’s empowerment.
5. The role of the European Union
81. Thanks to its comprehensive legal framework and the
case law of the European Court of Justice on non-discrimination
on grounds of sex in the field of employment, the European Union
has played a major role in contributing to the improvement of the
situation of rural women in its member states, including the eastern European
countries which joined the European Union in the two last rounds
of accessions. These countries, in fact, were requested to adapt
to the acquis communautaire in
this area even before their formal membership.
82. In the 1990s, moreover, the European Union took a leap forward
in the field of gender equality, by committing itself to ensuring
gender mainstreaming in all European Union policies, including the
Structural Funds. On 2 December 1996, the Council of the European
Union adopted a resolution on mainstreaming equal opportunities
for men and women into the European Structural Funds.
In the resolution the
Council called upon European Union member states to take full advantage
of existing possibilities for programming in the context of various
forms of Structural Fund operations in order to promote equal opportunities,
and to examine the scope for refocusing programmes in the light
of the priorities to fight against unemployment and achieve equal
opportunities. In addition, amongst other measures, the Council
called upon the Commission to systematise the identification of
good practice and the dissemination of information and experience
relating to good practice, and to review the implementation of the
resolution every year in its annual report on the Structural Funds.
83. Since then, gender mainstreaming has been systematically taken
into account in the context of the Structural Funds, including in
the context of the Common Agricultural Policy, at all stages (it
is explicitly mentioned in the objectives of the funds, and should
feature in the preparation of programme proposals, in the management
of the programmes and in the monitoring and evaluation). It has
also been reiterated as a policy approach in a number of European
Union regulations, directives and communications.
84. In addition, over the last twenty years the European Union
has set up a number of financial programmes specifically aimed at
supporting the effective implementation of the principle of gender
equality. These include:
- NOW
(New Opportunities for Women), an initiative to support training,
employment creation and enterprise support projects, including for
rural women;
- Leader+ (in operation in the context of the Common Agricultural
Policy, from 2000 to 2006), an initiative aimed at supporting the
creation of jobs for young people and women in rural areas by providing incentives
for the development of new activities and sources of employment;
- PROGRESS (2007-2013), an employment and social solidarity
programme covering actions against discrimination, equality between
men and women, employment measures and the fight against social exclusion.
85. The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
put a great deal of commitment and energy into moving forward the
agenda of improving gender equality in rural areas, by promoting
a number of visibility events, formal and informal meetings.
It also succeeded
in pushing through a new directive on the application of the principle
of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity
in a self-employed capacity (Directive 2010/41/EU), which was finalised
only a few days after the end of the presidency.
86. This text repeals the previous Council Directive 86/613 of
11 December 1986 on the application of the principle of equal treatment
between men and women engaged in an activity, including agriculture,
in a self-employed capacity and on the protection of self-employed
women during pregnancy and motherhood,
as requested on several
occasions by the European Parliament.
87. Directive 2010/41 should be a landmark text, as for the first
time it affirms the right of self-employed women and assisting female
spouses of self-employed workers – who are the majority of women
working in rural areas – the right to maternity leave and maternity
benefits, as well as to autonomous social protection rights for
helping spouses of self-employed workers.
88. It should be noted, however, that also before Directive 2010/41,
a number of European Union member states, including Belgium, France
and Spain, recognised the status of those helping spouses in agriculture, granting
them the same rights as the owner in the field of social rights,
access to financial assistance, etc.
6. Main areas of concern and measures to address
them
89. In this chapter, I would like to summarise the main
challenges which confront rural women and mention some basic recommendations
on how to address them, which I develop in more detail in the draft
resolution.
6.1. Economic conditions
6.1.1. Independent income
90. As already mentioned, the great majority of women
are involved in agricultural work on the family farm; they do not
earn a wage which is separate from their husband or relatives. However,
since the income derived from the farm is often insufficient for
the needs of the family, in many European countries rural women
also have another job, usually in the nearby town. This lack of
monetary income often creates a situation of dependence.
6.1.1.1. Recommendations:
91. Council of Europe member states should establish
a registry of helping spouses and family members, they should include
the registration of co-ownership in legal and statistical documents
and they should provide or support the provision of vocational training
for women in rural areas.
6.1.2. Property and inheritance rights
92. Even if the legislation of Council of Europe member
states has been revised in order to eliminate gender inequalities
as regards property and inheritance rights, the persistence of patriarchal
customs and practices often affects the capacity of women to enjoy
these rights.
93. The most common obstacles are:
- at the moment of registration, the person considered as
the “head of household” – usually the husband – is indicated as
sole owner of the farm or land;
- when the male sole owner dies, the wife shares the estate
with the other heirs instead of having the right to sell it or mortgage
it as a co-owner;
- in the context of inheritance, the land or farm is handed
over to male heirs, who are considered better suited to continue
this activity. In some cases, women give up their share of the inheritance
in favour of male heirs, for the same reason.
94. In the context of the land reforms which took place in eastern
and central European countries in the 1990s, this vulnerability
of women to discrimination in the access to property rights has
not been sufficiently taken into account.
6.1.2.1. Recommendations:
95. Council of Europe member states should set up awareness-raising
campaigns as well as information services to inform rural women
about their rights. They should also avoid a discriminatory application
of the law by their officials, at all levels.
6.1.3. Securing credits and other funding
96. Obviously, rural women’s limited access to property
rights also affects their capacity to obtain bank loans. Some European
countries have led the way in introducing special schemes to help
women entrepreneurs set up new businesses. In Norway, for instance,
women are recipients of approximately 50% allocated by the state
for rural development.
97. A major obstacle, however, is rural women’s poor knowledge
of available funds and their lack of confidence in dealing with
the necessary bureaucratic procedures.
6.1.3.1. Recommendations:
98. Council ofEurope
member states shouldset up
specific funds to promote employment opportunities for rural women,
as well as their entrepreneurship. They should circulate information
and promote training on the procedures to benefit from these funds
in rural areas, as well as from allocations provided by the European Union
or other organisations.
6.2. Social conditions
6.2.1. Social security
99. While women who own or co-own an agricultural business
are entitled to social security as self-employed workers, the majority
of rural women – due to their position as “helping spouses” – are
not entitled to social security in their own right, but are considered
as adult dependants. In general, therefore, they cannot benefit from
social allowances, maternity leave and retirement pensions, unless
this is specifically foreseen in national legislation. This situation
should change in European Union member states, following the entry
into force of the above-mentioned Directive 2010/41.
6.2.1.1. Recommendations:
100. The European Union should closely monitor the implementation
of Directive 2010/41 by its member states. Non-European Union member
states should establish clear legal provisions on the situation
of helping spouses and should recognise the right to maternity leave
and maternity benefits, as well as to autonomous social protection
rights for spouses of self-employed workers.
6.2.2. Working conditions
101. Women working in agriculture may be exposed to the
same hazards and risks as male workers, but in addition they face
further risks, particularly to reproductive health, for example
from pesticides and biological agents.
102. A special issue of concern is that, usually, helping spouses
fall outside the scope of safety and health legislation. Some Council
of Europe member states, such as the United Kingdom, have decided
to treat such farm workers as employees for the purposes of safety
and health regulations and have covered the issue in sector guidance.
6.2.2.1. Recommendations:
103. Council of Europe member states should improve working
conditions of women and men in agriculture and ensure a gender-sensitive
approach to risk assessment and prevention of health hazards for
agricultural workers. Special attention should be given to the situation
of pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers.
6.2.3. Lack of services, including health and childcare
facilities
104. Despite regional differences, throughout the Council
of Europe area, rural areas are afflicted by limited availability
of child-care facilities, hospitals and care facilities for the
elderly and the disabled, as well as services relating to sexual
and reproductive health and family planning. In some remote areas,
there is a marked difference in the number of live births per woman
in rural and urban areas, also because women in rural areas tend
to have more children; the same can be said for women’s mortality
rate during childbirth.
105. Lack of roads and efficient transportation increases the isolation
of rural women and girls, limits their possibilities to pursue an
education or have a job outside the home, and aggravates the burden
of reconciling farm work and family commitments.
6.2.3.1. Recommendations:
106. Council of Europe member states should provide rural
areas with sufficient and good-quality transport, care and medical
services, including in the field of reproductive health and family
planning. They should envisage the creation of mobile health units.
They should encourage the creation of internet connections, the provision
of training in computer skills and promote teleworking.
6.3. Association and co-operation
107. Although on the rise, the participation of women
in associations and clubs is still low, as is, in general, their
standing in rural societies. The Associated Country Women of the
World (ACWW) is a network of women’s associations operating in 70
countries and totalling 9 million individual members. The largest
member association is the German Landfrauenverband (the
Union of Country Women), which is also the largest women’s association
in Europe, comprising half a million members. Other major associations
exist in countries with a long history of unions and non-governmental
organisations, such as Italy, France, Spain and the Russian Federation.
108. At international level, co-operation and exchange of good
practice are limited, especially outside the area of the European
Union. An interesting example is the Regional Rural Development
Standing Working Group in South Eastern Europe (SWG),
an
international organisation, linking the governmental institutions responsible
for rural development in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and its
federate states (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska), Bulgaria,
Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Kosovo,
Slovenia
and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, with headquarters
in Skopje. Established in 2005, this agency promotes sustainable
agriculture and rural development in south-east Europe by enhancing
horizontal co-operation amongst the institutions of the participating
countries and territories. Its activities include the exchange of
statistical data, protection and promotion of cultural heritage,
promotion of environmental sustainability, etc., as well as the
promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women in rural areas.
6.3.1. Recommendations:
109. The Council of Europe member states should encourage
the setting up of rural women’s associations and involve them in
the elaboration of policies affecting them. They should promote
the exchange of information and good practice between such associations
at international level. They should set up regional mechanisms to
promote women’s economic empowerment.
6.4. Vulnerability to violence and trafficking
110. Due to a complex situation of isolation, poverty,
traditional mentality, poor knowledge and enforcement of the law,
rural women are particularly at risk of violence, including so-called
“honour crimes”
and domestic violence.
Unfortunately, their lack of economic independence makes women more
prepared to accept remaining in a violent relationship, as there
is no other way in which they could ensure a living for themselves and
their children. Violence against women, in particular within the
family, is a widespread crime but goes largely unreported. Women
are not encouraged to seek legal remedies against it; in fact, they
are submitted to strong social pressure to tolerate it as “a fact
of life”.
111. Similarly, the specific conditions of remote rural areas (such
as poverty, ignorance and lack of services) make young rural women
more vulnerable to trafficking, but at the same time make it virtually
impossible for them to reintegrate into society when they return,
voluntarily or forcibly. Social exclusion due to the stigma of prostitution,
lack of economic prospects and absence of social services and reintegration
programmes often condemns victims of trafficking to a lifetime of
prostitution.
6.4.1. Recommendations:
112. Council of Europe member states should introduce
legal frameworks of a high standard to tackle the phenomena of trafficking
in human beings and violence against women, in all its forms, as
serious human rights violations. They should ensure their strict
implementation and promote information campaigns to make rural women
more aware of their rights and of the dangers they run. They should
address the root causes of trafficking in human beings, namely poverty
and the lack of employment opportunities.
7. Conclusions
113. During the hearing on the issue of rural women which
the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men organised
in March 2010, I was particularly struck by the presentation of
Ms Merja Siltanen, Area President, Europe of the Associated Country
Women of the World (ACWW), in particular when she said that there
was only one way to guarantee equal opportunities for rural women:
legislation, legislation and … legislation.
114. Quite rightly, Ms Siltanen wished to be provocative, and she
found the right audience: as legislators, parliamentarians have
a primary duty and responsibility to take up the issue of rural
women in their parliament and initiate legislation in this area.
But not any kind of legislation will do. Legislation in this field
must be:
- specific – and address
the situation of rural women as a group which is particularly vulnerable
to socio-economic exclusion and violations of their rights;
- gender-mainstreamed, in the sense that it should consider
the different impact that measures have on women and men, and must
involve women directly in its elaboration, implementation and assessment.
115. I hope that this report will be a useful contribution, providing
examples of good practice on how to ensure that gender considerations
can be taken into account in the context of agricultural policy
and a source of inspiration for members of the Assembly and the
governments of Council of Europe member states.
116. But even once appropriate legislation is introduced, a major
and daunting challenge remains. That is to change the patriarchal
mentality which places women and men in stereotyped roles and confines
women, in particular in rural areas, to positions of subordination
and inferiority, both in private as well as in public life. Unfortunately,
the experience of a number of Council of Europe member states shows
that the impact of advanced legislation can be nullified by societal
customs and tradition.
117. I think that the greatest contribution that the Council of
Europe as an international organisation could make to the improvement
of the situation of rural women and their full empowerment is ensuring
that tradition never overrides the law.