Women in the Rural Areas

Only 5 per cent of the human resources of the world are currently being used effectively, according to Mr. Paul Hoffman, Director of the United Nations Special Fund. Women in the rural areas—who form a sizable majority of all women—have tremendous potential impact on the develop ment of their countries. This can be measured in both eco nomic and human terms—in fact, the two cannot be separated. Rural women are intimately concerned with the world's urgent efforts: (1) to control population growth, (2) to feed the world's people, and (3) to improve the health and vigor of the next generation. In addition, they have a concrete contribu tion to make economically: (1) by their agricultural labor in the fields; (2) by improving distribution, standards of produc tion, preservation, and costs through co-operative efforts; (3) by producing goods in home industries; and (4) by trading. As their education increases, they are making sub stantial contributions to raising standards of living within their own nations and are already branching out, with interest, to take part in various kinds of international movements. The world faces problems of such magnitude that it cannot bypass the numbers, energy, and concerns of its huge rural popula tions. As steps are being taken to enable rural women to move into the world stream, they are clearly showing their competence and the range of their potential contribution.