The World Day of the Poor was observed on October 15 to emphasize a life of simplicity and sharing one's excess resources through charity and selfless service.
Another observance was held on October 15, International Day of Rural Women, with the theme "Building rural women’s resilience in the wake of COVID-19" by the UN agencies.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has now affected more than half the world’s women farmers with restrictions on movement, the closure of shops and markets, and disruption to their
supply chains. Combined with challenges including increased unpaid care and domestic work and rising rates of gender-based violence, rural women are bearing some of the heaviest burdens of the pandemic," stated the UN Chief in his message.
"Women and girls are disadvantaged in this pandemic, a problem aggravated in rural areas. Rural women, with a crucial role in agriculture, food security and nutrition, already face struggles in their daily lives. Now, since COVID-19 and their unique health needs in remote areas, they are less likely to have access to quality health services, essential medicines, and vaccines. Restrictive social norms and gender stereotypes can also limit rural women’s ability to access health services. Furthermore, a lot of rural women suffer from isolation, as well as the spread of misinformation, and a lack of access to critical technologies to improve their work and personal life," stated the UN website
The UN urged the world community to alleviate the care burden and better redistribute it between women and men, and between families and public/commercial services, especially in the most marginalized remote villages and go for gender-responsive investments in rural areas in the critical times.
"The pandemic has also heightened the vulnerability of rural women’s rights to land and resources. Discriminatory gender norms and practices impede women’s exercise of land and property rights in most countries and COVID-19 widows risk disinheritance. Women’s land tenure security is also threatened as unemployed migrants return to rural communities, increasing pressure on land and resources and exacerbating gender gaps in agriculture and food security," it added.
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