(First Session) Parliaments deliver for rural…

Rural women and girls face systemic barriers to realizing their rights. In many States, laws, national and local policies, budgets and development strategies ignore or insufficiently address the rights and needs of rural women and girls. Rural women and girls lack a voice in leadership and decision-making. On nearly every global gender and development indicator for which data is available, rural women fare worse than rural men and urban women and men, including those related to health and education. They have less access to justice, infrastructure, services and opportunities than do women and girls in urban settings. They are particularly affected by the impacts of climate change that can exacerbate gender inequalities in rural communities. These challenges amount to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, injustices and violence.