ADS Social Development Agency
AFS Allocation Forfaitaire de Solidarité
ANDI Agence Nationale de Développement d’Investissement
ANEM National Employment Agency
ANGEM National Agency for Micro-credit management ANSEJ National Agency for the support of youth employment
BM World Bank
CARC Communal Rural Animation Cell
CNAC National Fund for Unemployment Insurance
CNES National Economic and Social Council
CPE Pre-employment Agreement
CPS Outreach Solidarity Cell
DA Algerian Dinar
DAIS Program for Socially Inclusive Activities
DGF Directorate General of Forests
DSA Directorate of Agricultural Services
EHF Men-Women Equality
ESIL Local Initiative Salaried Employments
FDRMVTC Fund for Rural Development and Improvement of Lands by Concession
FGAR Loans to SMEs Guarantee Fund
FGMMC Mutual Guarantee for Micro-Credits Fund FMVTC Improvement of Lands by Concession Fund
FNDIA National Fund for the Development of Agricultural Investment
GGI Gender Gap Index
Ha Hectare
HCDS High Commissioner for Steppe Development
IAIG Indemnity for Activity with General Concern
IDH Human Development Index
MADR Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
MDCFCF Deputy Ministry in charge of Family and Women’s Status
MICS National Multi-Indicator survey
MSNFCF Ministry of National Solidarity, Family and Women’s Status MSPRH Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform
OIT International Labor Organization
OMD Millennium Development Goals
ONS National Office for Statistics
PANPIF National Action Plan for the Promotion and Integration of Women
PIB Gross Domestic Product
PID Program for Graduate Integration
PME Small and Medium Enterprise
PMI Small and Medium Industry
PNA National Action Plan for Children
PNR Zero-Rated Loan
UNDP United Nations Development Program
PPA Purchase Power Parity
PPDRI Outreach Project for Integrated Rural Development
PRCHAT Human Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Program
RGA General Agriculture Census
SAU Utilized Agricultural Area
SNAFAM National Family Strategy
SNPIF National Strategy for the Promotion and Integration of Women
TOE Tonne of oil equivalent
TPE Very Small Enterprises
TUPHIMO Public works with Labor Intensity Program
UGTA General Union of Algerian Employees
UMA Arab Maghreb Union
USD US Dollar
ACRONYMS for EGYPT
AFDB African Development Bank
WB World Bank
CAPMAS Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics EFSA Egyptian Financial Surveillance Authority
EGP Egyptian Pound/ livre égyptienne ERSAP/
PREAS Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Program / Programme de Réforme Economique et d’Ajustement Structurel
SDF Social Development Fund
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IMF International Monetary Fund
GGG Global Gender Gap
HDI Human Development Index
IWD Integration of Women in Development MFI Micro-Finance Institution
MENA Middle East and North Africa / Moyen Orient et Afrique du Nord NWRO Network of Women’s Rights Organizations
ILO International Labor Organization
MDG Millennium Development Goals
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
UN United Nations Organization
ONUDI United Nations Organization for Industrial development
GDP Gross Domestic Product
SME Small and Medium Entreprise
UNDP United Nations Development Program PPP Purchase Power Parity
GNP Gross National Product
SDAD Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy USAID United States Agency for International Development
USD US Dollar
WNRDP West Noubaria Rural Development Project
Admittedly, the effective empowerment of rural women implies comprehensive strate-gies to overcome the persistent obstacles they face, including the difficult and unequal access to resources. This leads to confining rural women to modest and lower yielding activities, limiting their production capacity and impacting negatively on them, as well as on their families and their communities.
The lack of gender-specific analysis, of awareness about socio-economic issues and of political will only replicate the systemic obstacles and hamper women’s empower-ment and their involveempower-ment as fully fledged economic actors.
This situation calls to review the policies and laws in force, so as to ensure that all women, including those living and working in rural areas have an equal access to productive resources, basic services, employment oppor-tunities, and labour-saving technologies. It also highlights the need for North-African countries to review the laws that restrict women's legal capacities.
In order to support the efforts of its member states in this process, the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa - through its North Africa Regional Office - has prepared this study with the aim of i) identifying the difficulties and discrimina-tions that women face regarding their access to and control of funding resources, and ii) highlighting best practices in this area. This work is based on case-studies of four countries, namely Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia; and tries to analyze the prospects for a better adjustment of strategies to enhance rural women’s access to funding in order to promote their rights and role as development players. This study also raises the issue of how to develop rural areas and maintain grassroots women and educated rural girls in their home environment, or attract them to that environment, particularly by improving its economic attractiveness.
Access to funding and qualitative support, along with the creation of alternatives and opportunities in new sectors, and the promo-tion of gender statistics to better inform rural development strategies and integrate the gender approach systematically, represent some of the approaches this study recommends for consideration.