تحلیل انتقادی سیاست های توسعه روستایی ایران از منظر شمول اجتماعی و عدالت جنسیتی (مقاله علمی وزارت علوم)
درجه علمی: نشریه علمی (وزارت علوم)
آرشیو
چکیده
این پژوهش با هدف تحلیل انتقادی سیاست های توسعه روستایی ایران از منظر شمول اجتماعی و عدالت جنسیتی با رویکرد ترکیبی (کمّی-کیفی) انجام شد. روش های کمّی شامل تحلیل داده های آماری رسمی (1385-1403) و روش های کیفی شامل تحلیل محتوای اسناد سیاستی و مصاحبه های نیمه ساختارمند بود. داده ها از اسناد سیاستی (برنامه های پنج ساله توسعه، سند جامع توسعه امور زنان و خانواده، سند سیاست های کلی خانواده، سند شاخص های عدالت جنسیتی)، داده های آماری مرکز آمار ایران و وزارت جهاد کشاورزی و 45 مصاحبه عمیق با 20 زن روستایی، 15 کارشناس و پژوهشگر و 10 مدیر اجرایی در استان های گلستان، فارس، اصفهان، تهران و لرستان گردآوری شد. یافته ها نشان دهنده نابرابری های جنسیتی در دسترسی به منابع مالی، تولیدی و دانش، طرد نهادی، هنجارهای فرهنگی محدودکننده و ضعف سیاست گذاری در راستای شمول جنسیتی است. فقدان داده های تفکیک شده جنسیتی و رویکرد مردمحور در سیاست ها، اثربخشی را کاهش داده است. پیشنهاد می شود برای ارتقای شمول اجتماعی و عدالت جنسیتی، اصلاح قوانین مالکیت، تقویت تشکل های زنان به آموزش های حساس به جنسیت و بهره گیری از دانش بومی توجه شود. این پژوهش چارچوبی برای سیاست گذاری فراگیر ارائه می کند تا توسعه پایدار روستایی در ایران محقق شود.A Critical Analysis of Iran's Rural Development Policies from the Perspective of Social Inclusion and Gender Equity
Introduction
Rural development is a fundamental pillar of sustainable development in Iran, playing a vital role in poverty alleviation, enhancing food security, and improving rural livelihoods. Women, who represent a significant portion of the agricultural workforce, engage in approximately 11.4% of agricultural activities (Eco Iran, 2023). However, both global and national evidence reveal persistent gender inequalities in access to resources, decision-making opportunities, and institutional support systems, which collectively hinder women’s effective participation in rural development. These inequalities stem from structural, cultural, and institutional barriers that undermine social inclusion and gender justice—essential elements of sustainable development. Although Iran’s rural development policies, particularly those outlined in the national Five-Year Development Plans (2006–2024), have increasingly acknowledged gender-related issues, a substantial gap remains between policy intentions and actual outcomes. This disparity is largely due to the predominance of the Women in Development (WID) approach, which integrates women into existing frameworks without addressing the underlying power structures. This study critically examined Iran’s rural development policies through the lens of social inclusion and gender justice, employing a mixed-methods approach to identify gaps, barriers, and pathways toward more inclusive and equitable rural development.
Materials & Methods
This research employed a convergent mixed-methods design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative analyses to provide a comprehensive understanding of gender dynamics and inclusion in Iran’s rural development policies. Quantitative data were gathered from official national statistics (2006–2024) published by the Statistical Center of Iran and the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, focusing on gender-disaggregated indicators, such as economic participation rates, access to agricultural credit, and education levels. Qualitative data were obtained through content analysis of policy documents, including the Fourth to Seventh National Development Plans, the Comprehensive Plan for Women and Family Affairs (2005), the General Family Policy Document (2016), and the Gender Justice Indicators Framework (2017). Additionally, 45 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 3 stakeholder groups: 20 rural women, 15 experts and researchers, and 10 policy or executive managers across 5 provinces (Golestan, Fars, Isfahan, Tehran, and Lorestan) selected to represent a diverse geographic and developmental spectrum of Iran. Purposeful sampling with maximum variation ensured a broad range of perspectives. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis (following Braun & Clarke, 2006) and qualitative content analysis, resulting in 412 initial codes, 32 subcategories, and 7 main categories (e.g., gender inequality in resource access, institutional exclusion, cultural barriers, policy challenges, and data deficiencies). Quantitative data were utilized to trace trends in gender justice indicators. Data triangulation across interviews, documents, and statistics enhanced the validity of the findings. Ethical considerations included obtaining informed consent, ensuring anonymity, and avoiding sensitive questions to prevent harm to participants. Inter-coder reliability analysis yielded a Cohen’s kappa of 0.87, indicating a strong level of agreement.
Discussion of Results & Conclusion
The findings revealed significant gender inequalities and institutional exclusion of rural women within Iran’s rural development framework, undermining both social inclusion and gender justice.
Gender Inequality in Access to Resources : Rural women faced substantial barriers in accessing financial, productive (land and water), and knowledge resources due to institutional limitations, such as the lack of formal collateral and legal dependence on men. For example, a woman from Golestan was denied an agricultural loan because her farmland was legally registered in her husband’s name. In 2020, only 14% of agricultural extension agents were women, limiting access to gender-sensitive training. These findings align with the Gender and Development (GAD) framework, which emphasizes addressing structural inequalities—contrary to the Women in Development (WID) approach prevalent in Iran, which views women as passive recipients. Comparative evidence from India’s self-help women’s groups demonstrates how microfinance can enhance empowerment though cultural and institutional differences may pose challenges to its sustainability in Iran.
Institutional and Structural Exclusion: The institutional neglect of women’s unpaid domestic and informal agricultural work excluded them from social protection systems, such as insurance. Discriminatory inheritance and land ownership laws further restricted access to essential assets, while women’s minimal representation in decision-making bodies (3.2% in rural councils as of 2017) marginalized their voices. These forms of exclusion resonated with the framework of social exclusion (Koutsouris et al., 2020) and underscored the need for gender-transformative approaches to shift existing power dynamics.
Cultural and Social Barriers: Prevailing gender norms and stereotypes confined women to low-income activities, such as food processing and poultry raising, while men dominated higher-value sectors with 85% male participation in marketing. Women worked an average of 16 hours per day compared to 10 hours for men, owing to their dual responsibilities in domestic and agricultural tasks. These findings are consistent with feminist theories (Mohanty, 2003). Global experiences, such as gender training initiatives in Ethiopia, demonstrate the potential for changing norms through engagement with local leaders; however, localized strategies will be essential to overcome resistance in Iran.
Policy Challenges: Iran’s rural development policies continued to be largely influenced by the Women in Development (WID) approach, which lacked gender sensitivity, coherence, and coordination. Approximately 82% of experts identified a significant gap between policy design and implementation. The neglect of women’s indigenous knowledge had further alienated policies from local realities. Comparisons with global frameworks, such as Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), highlighted both legal and practical shortcomings.
Weakness of Gender Data and Evidence: The absence of gender-disaggregated data—particularly concerning land ownership and market participation—obscured women’s contributions to the rural economy. Existing studies were often non-participatory and methodologically constrained. Global initiatives, such as those by CGIAR (2020), emphasized the importance of gender data; however, high costs and institutional barriers presented challenges for effective implementation in Iran.
This study illustrated how structural inequalities, institutional exclusion, cultural norms, and policy gaps collectively hindered rural women’s participation and sustainable rural development in Iran. It advocated for the adoption of gender-transformative policy approaches, improvement of gender-disaggregated data systems, and enhancement of women’s participation in decision-making processes. The study’s limitations included its provincial focus and restricted access to certain policy documents, indicating the need for broader national and comparative analyses. Theoretically, this research contributes to the literature by emphasizing gender-transformative frameworks, while practically, it offers a policy-oriented framework for inclusive rural development. Future studies should incorporate comparative, longitudinal, and participatory research to capture the lived experiences of rural women and support evidence-based, gender-sensitive policy design.
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