Women have always played noteworthy roles in the socioeconomic development of both their immediate environments and in their nations at large. Specifically, the supposedly micro contributions of women dwelling in rural areas significantly enhance nations' macro socioeconomic growth, regardless of the multifarious challenges they face. Therefore, this paper focused on the rural women of Bomadi Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State, Nigeria. Anchored on the Feminism and Motivation theories, the study investigated the activities of rural women, with the aims of finding out the sectors where they are mostly engaged and the major barriers that prevent them from realising their full potential in the process of socioeconomic development, and the level of government intervention in enhancing the women`s efforts. The study adopted the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method. Data for the study was derived from a total of 30 respondents from the ten political wards spread across Bomadi LGA. One rural community was purposively selected from each of the ten wards. Three women were selected from each of these communities. Findings indicated that rural women are involved in different types of socioeconomic activities in varied degrees and extent. The results also showed that the constraints the rural women face include social, illiteracy, poverty, gender inequality, and marginalisation, amongst others. The study likewise revealed that both the State and local government authorities are not doing much to support the women in their aspirations. Based on these findings, the study recommended that the government should give soft loans, with a long payback period to these women to carry out their petty trade and businesses.
Research Article | Open Access | Download Full Text
Volume 2 | Issue 3 | Year 2024 | Article Id: LLL-V2I3P101 DOI: https://doi.org/10.59232/LLL-V2I3P101
Rural Women and Socioeconomic Development in a Gender-Conscious Society: The Challenges and Prospects
Jammy Seigha Guanah
| Received | Revised | Accepted | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07 Jul 2024 | 12 Aug 2024 | 30 Sep 2024 | 30 Sep 2024 |
Citation
Jammy Seigha Guanah. “Rural Women and Socioeconomic Development in a Gender-Conscious Society: The Challenges and Prospects.” DS Journal of Language, Linguistics and Literature, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 1-9, 2024.
Abstract
Keywords
Development, Gender, Prospects, Rural, Socioeconomic, Women.
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