Resilient Rural Women

International Women’s Day has just passed (8th March) and it has been wonderful to see women acknowledging other women across social media platforms. Women have been in the news for breaking down barriers and forging ahead to create equity and equality for all women. This blog entry focuses on rural women and the challenges they face but most importantly, their resilience.

Rural women across Gippsland are diverse and include women who farm, women living off grid, women in small regional communities, women in remote places, women with families, women without families, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women, women with disabilities, women with Multicultural backgrounds, women who identify as LGBTQIA+, women who work outside the home and those who work in the home. Some women own their own home, some rent, some share with others. Some rural women are homeless. The common denominator for this diverse group is the challenge that come with distance and isolation.

Rural women make up around a quarter of the world’s population and throughout history have been deprived through remoteness, inequality, lack of services, economic hardship, and numerous challenges. One third of all Australians live in regional communities. One third of all Australian women live in regional communities. (Gov. sources) Today rural women have more of a voice than their historic counterparts but still face many of the same hurdles.

Women living in regional and rural areas often have more exposure to natural disasters such as flood, drought and bushfire and frequently bear the stress of disaster recovery. The National Women’s Rural Coalition in their paper titled ‘The Impact on Women in Disaster Affected Areas in Australia’ state that women often shoulder a disproportionate burden of the effects of natural disasters. As the primary family carer and as community carers, women play key unpaid roles in community rebuilding.

Rural and regional living can encompass or be quite separate from farming. Farming women have added challenges including long working hours and seasonal pressures for farmers, their families and agricultural workers, the additional demands of off-farm work, the ageing population of farming men and women and the impacts of extreme climatic events.

Isolation (and long distances) from health and medical services is a major challenge and one that is being addressed through telehealth services. However, this comes with its own set of challenges including many regional, rural, and semi-rural areas having limited to no telecommunication services preventing access to health and mental health services and increasing the risk of isolation. A study in 2013 identified that women in rural areas are more likely than urban women to experience depression across the lifespan.

While challenges in rural life remain constant, women living in rural and remote areas are known for their resilience. Resilience is the ability to ‘bounce back’. Being able to bounce back or move on despite being ‘bruised and battered’ was seen as an important characteristic in a resilient person. This doesn’t simply mean forgetting or disregarding adverse situations or periods of grief, it simply means being able to maintain positivity and persistence in times of high stress. (Rural Australia: Characteristics of Resilient People)

Characteristics of resilient women include being adaptable to change such as weather-related events, Covid-19 restrictions and multiple hardships and seeking help from others for themselves and for family members. It is often the most difficult thing to do but asking those around us for help is integral in building resilience. Often, we feel that not having all the answers ourselves is a type of failure, however this is simply not the case. People who live and work in rural communities have to deal with a specific set of hardships which can and do take their toll over time. “The most resilient among us know how to reach out for help.” (Rural Australia: Characteristics of Resilient People)

Resilience is something that women have in spades but can also be built and re-built. Many of the stressors faced by rural women can make them feel as though their reserves of resilience have been diminished but empowering women with access to resources, supports, connections and knowledge can grow resilience and re-build those much-needed reserves.

And some final well-known quotes –
“Women are like tea bags. We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water!”
—Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat, activist, and former First Lady of the United States

“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.”
—Isabel Allende, author

“Resilience is based on compassion for ourselves as well as compassion for others.”
—Sharon Salzberg, author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practices

Sources
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/rural-issues-coping-with-stress
https://www.ruralhealth.org.au/media-release/neighbourhood-cohesion-linked-resilience-rural-women#:~:text=Neighbourhood%20cohesion%20linked%20to%20resilience%20of%20rural%20women,mental%20health%20than%20their%20sisters%20in%20the%20cities.
https://www.nrwc.com.au/round-tables/15-marburgroundtablegenderdisasterreport20150401/file
https://www.australianunity.com.au/about-us/partnerships/resilience/rural-resilience
https://www.inhersight.com/blog/insight-commentary/quotes-about-resilience