CEDAW/C/GC/34
I. Introduction
1.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
acknowledges the vital contributions of rural women and the urgent need to improve
the recognition and protection of their human rights. Through its previous
concluding observations and general recommendations, the Committee has
identified various ways in which rural women continue to face discrimination. In the
present general recommendation, the Committee clarifies States parties ’ obligations
to ensure the rights of rural women, with a focus on article 14 of the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which recognizes
the unique situation of rural women and highlights specific obligations of States
parties in recognizing, promoting and protecting their rights.
2.
Article 14 is the only provision in an international human rights treaty that
specifically pertains to rural women. However, all rights under the Convention
apply to rural women, and article 14 must be interpreted in the context of the
Convention as a whole. When reporting, States parties should address all articles
that have bearing on the enjoyment of rights by rural women and girls. Accordingly,
the present general recommendation explores the links betwee n article 14 and other
Convention provisions. As many of the Sustainable Development Goals address the
situation of rural women and provide an important opportunity to advance both
process and outcome indicators, the specific intent of the present general
recommendation is to provide guidance to States parties on the implementation of
their obligations with respect to rural women. While general recommendation
No. 34 focuses on rural women in developing countries, some of its components
also pertain to the situation of rural women in developed countries. It is recognized
that rural women, even in developed countries, suffer discrimination and challenges
in various areas, including economic empowerment, participation in political and
public life, access to services and the labour exploitation of rural migrant women
workers.
II. Background
3.
Currently, rural women represent a quarter of the world ’s population. They
play a crucial role in maintaining and improving rural livelihoods and strengthening
rural communities. In recent years, the Committee has developed a significant body
of jurisprudence on the rights of rural women and the challenges that they face, in
particular through concluding observations. Several United Nations conferences
have recognized the role of rural women in agriculture, rural development, food and
nutrition, and poverty reduction. 1 Hence, there is a need for further specific
attention to rural women, as recognized in the Sustainable Development Goals.
4.
The Committee recognizes that rural women continue to face systematic and
persistent barriers to the full enjoyment of their human rights and that, in many
cases, conditions have deteriorated. In many States, rural women ’s rights and needs
remain insufficiently addressed or ignored in laws, national and local policies,
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1
2/25
15 October has been designated the International Day of Rural Women. The priority theme of the
fifty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women was also the empowerment of
rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current
challenges.
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