Official Highlights Role of Iran's Rural Women in Boosting Livelihoods

Hossein Shirzad, who is also the chief executive officer of the Central Organization for Rural Cooperatives of Iran (CORC), said rural women cooperatives has revived the Tobaf, a local textile industry and created sustainable entrepreneurship.

Dating back more than 3 centuries, Tobaf is one of the most traditional textile handicrafts originating from of eastern Iran, however, it recently rendered obsolete.

Yarns are made from natural material including silk, cotton or wool, processed by flour, dyed with natural coloring agents such as pomegranate, walnut and onion extract.  Then rural women weaved them by manual knitting looms to produce delicate and synthetic-free fabrics that could be used as towels, shirts, etc.

Shirzad further said that the rural women in Iran have also ensured the sustainability of rural households and farming communities, rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing.

He made the remarks on the occasion of International Day of Rural Women, which is annually marked on October 15.

Shirzad noted that the women, however, have been the target of gender discrimination through history.

The impacts of climate change, including on access to productive and natural resources, amplify existing gender inequalities in rural areas. Climate change affects women’s and men’s assets and well-being differently in terms of agricultural production, food security, health, water and energy resources, climate-induced migration and conflict, and climate-related natural disasters.

The Iranian official said that CORC by supporting rural women cooperatives have always been trying to highlight the significant contributions they have made to agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land and natural resource management, and building climate resilience.