How ACWW amplifies the voices of Rural Women

When ACWW was founded in 1929, the only goal of the organisation was to promote the voices of Rural Women.  We would love to be able to bring every member of ACWW to the United Nations to represent themselves, or indeed know that our members could safely raise concerns with their own governments - but this sadly isn't reality.  We therefore do all we can to gather information from our members, and ensure that their voices are heard at national and international levels.

Globally, the challenges facing Rural Women are often similar. Access to education, safe local transport, healthcare, or social protection systems like pensions, are a concern for every Rural Woman around the world. We are committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and believe that greater representation of Rural Women is critical to their success. We will continue to use our Constultative Status with the United Nations to amplify the voices of our members and platform them whenever possible.

We recognise that the impacts of our projects are only sustainable when they exist in an enabling environment, with progressive legislation within local and national governing bodies.   

ACWW approaches this process from two directions:   

1. Empowering women to take their place in decision-making in their communities. This can be achieved by promoting awareness of the rights of women, providing access to a network of supportive women, and sharing knowledge.   

2. Engaging with UN processes that hold governments to account when they fail Rural Women. This can be achieved through our consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, where we have access to key deliberative opportunities. We use our network and contacts through multiple governments, organisations, and mechanisms at the UN to lobby for the rights of rural women globally.