Co-operatives, women and their respective roles in development—The case of Lebanon

Abstract

The whole concept of integrated rural development includes growth in agricultural production and the creation of marketing institutions and services, more employment opportunities in both farming and non-farming activities in rural areas, fairer distribution of income in favour of the masses of the rural poor and investment in health, education, nutrition, family planning, home economics and the environment in order to improve people's living conditions. Co-operatives can be regarded as the important vehicles of transformation and advancement in the rural economy. The participation of properly trained manpower is a vital consideration in the development process. Women constitute about half of the total population of a country so their status and role need to be emphasised in the development process. According to 1970 estimates, 49% of the total population of Lebanon was female. Of the total number of women, 40% lived in rural areas. No development objectives can, therefore, be properly met without the effective participation of rural women in development activities. In the past, women's participation in co-operatives and community development programmes has been constrained by many factors such as a false perception on the part of women of their role in society, family and political conflicts and lack of government interest in women's issues and programmes. The participation of rural women in national building activities should be enhanced through the co-operative approach—for example, women should be given incentives to form co-operatives of their own, women's programmes should be developed to train the rural women in home economics, health, nutrition and child care. The effective participation of women in such activities will help improve the quality of life in rural communities.