The sustainability of the role of Jordanian rural women requires protecting cultivated and agricultural land from the continued licensing of urban development and urban sprawl on it.

The International Day of Rural Women falls on the fifteenth of October each year. It is an occasion proclaimed by the United Nations to highlight the pivotal role played by women in rural areas and their contributions to achieving food security, reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development, and preserving natural resources. This year's occasion is of particular importance, as the celebration of the International Day of Rural Women comes within the framework of the International Year of Women Farmers and their role in agricultural and food systems, and not only for women working for wages in the agricultural sector for others.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) affirms that the concept of "woman farmer" is not limited to women who own agricultural land but includes women working across the various links of agricultural and food systems, including farmers, smallholders, seasonal workers, livestock breeders, beekeepers, producers, processors, marketers, and entrepreneurs in rural areas.

Rural women represent an essential part of the food production system, whether through direct work in agriculture and livestock raising, or through work related to the processing, manufacturing, and marketing of agricultural and food products, in addition to their roles in family care and managing household resources.

Rural women in the Jordanian context (from beneficiaries to partners)

Protecting agricultural land is not only an environmental and agricultural issue, but also an economic, social, and population issue linked to the future of rural communities and their ability to provide job and income opportunities, especially for women. Preserving productive agricultural land, enhancing rural women's access to resources, financing, markets, and technology, and involving them in decision-making all represent essential elements for shifting from viewing rural women as beneficiaries of development programs to considering them active partners in production, development, achieving food security, and the sustainability of rural communities. Jordanian rural women face a set of challenges that may limit their ability to fully benefit from economic and development opportunities, the most prominent of which are:

· Licensed urban sprawl on cultivated and agricultural land because of the Greater Amman Municipality and municipalities continuing to license construction on fertile land around cities, which has raised its prices, leading to its sales and the loss of its agricultural production.

· Limited access to land ownership and control over productive resources.

·  Limited access to technology, services, and agricultural extension.

·  Weak capacity for direct access to markets and marketing channels.

· High burdens of unpaid domestic work and family care.

So, what is needed to protect the family-based rural economy?

Moving from the concept of "beneficiary woman" to "partner woman" requires policies and programs focused on increasing her ability to own resources, access financing, markets, and technology, establish, manage, and build enterprises, and participate in making decisions that affect the future of the agricultural sector and rural communities. Empowering rural women does not only mean providing support to them but requires removing the barriers that limit their ability to produce, grow, and make decisions. This can be achieved through the following measures:

(1) Protecting cultivated and agricultural land from urban sprawl resulting from the continued licensing of various forms of construction on it.

It is important to focus on legislation and policies related to land use and to address the unbalanced population distribution that has harmed the family-based rural economy. There is a need for a law that classifies land, determines its use designation, and prevents its change, and to strengthen policies and practices that preserve productive agricultural land and reduce its loss due to urban expansion, in line with the objectives of the Economic Modernization Vision, enhancing food security, and achieving environmental sustainability.

(2) Awareness-raising and media spotlighting through social media platforms.

Launching awareness and digital campaigns through media and social media platforms under dedicated titles to showcase success stories of rural women who managed to develop productive projects and continue working in their local environments.

(3) Economic empowerment and marketing.

By organizing markets for women farmers and permanent and seasonal bazaars, allowing rural women to display and sell their products directly to consumers, reducing reliance on intermediaries, and enhancing the economic return from their products.

(4) Digital training.

Holding free workshops to train rural women in e-marketing skills, the use of social media, and how to use smartphones and digital platforms to create digital stores for their products.

(5) Institutional and cooperative organization through the establishment of women's cooperatives.

Encouraging rural women to join or establish agricultural cooperatives, which facilitates their access to financing, purchasing raw materials at lower prices, and reaching larger markets.