The UK Government’s 1997 White Paper on International Development states that a
commitment to equality between men and women ‘is an integral and essential part of our
approach to development’, that it is ‘…based on principles of human rights and social justice’,
and that poverty cannot be eliminated ‘…until men and women have equal access to the
resources and services necessary to achieve their individual potential and fulfil their
obligations to the household, community, and more broadly, society’. The Global Platform for
Action at the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing agreed that a more strategic
approach is required to promote full equality between all men and women, as opposed to the
former efforts of focusing on women’s practical needs through a reduction of the burden
placed on them by poverty and their multiple roles in society.
This paper is intended to draw on the experiences of various organisations, including the
Department for International Development, World Bank and International Forum for Rural
Transport Development (IFRTD). Its purpose is to discuss gender and transport issues and
identify some interventions which can be adopted to alleviate the transport burden of rural
women.