The changing roles and status of rural women

Abstract

This chapter examines the increasing role diversity of rural women and focuses on their role behavior, functions, and responsibilities with respect to four major societal institutions: the family, the economy, the educational system, and the political structure. It discusses some of the ideological and structural conditions that can restrict rural women from full and fair access to all of the various life sectors and deals with suggested directions to help improve the status and lifestyle of rural women in the future. The importance of marriage and family roles to rural people is also reflected in the more traditional sex-role ideology maintained by rural residents. The total number of children borne by a woman is often used as an indicator of the degree to which women participate in the maternal role, and, traditionally, rural women have had more children than their urban counterparts.