Archdeacon of Rochdale, Cherry Vann visits rural india to examine link between gender and poverty

Archdeacon of Rochdale, Cherry Vann

On the eve of the Church of England’s final vote on women bishops, seven leading women clergy, including the Archdeacon of Rochdale, Cherry Vann, have spent a week living in rural India learning about the relationship between gender and poverty.

The seven women leaders shared the daily lives of families, whose income is less than £4 per day, cooking, cleaning, caring for children and even delivering a new-born calf.

The trip was to examine how deeply entrenched attitudes regarding the roles of women and men lead to women losing out.

Global statistics on the plight of women are hard to ignore. Although comprising half of the world’s population, women make up the majority of those living in absolute poverty.

In South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 80 per cent of women work in vulnerable employment, while worldwide, time spent by women on unpaid care work can be more than ten times that of men. In addition, 35 per cent of women around the world will experience sexual violence or violence perpetrated by a partner.

Archdeacon Cherry Vann said: "This was a wonderfully rich immersion experience where we had the opportunity to live alongside village communities and see at first hand the ways in which traditional gender roles prevent women from contributing to the development of their communities . We met with some impressive women who were being empowered through collective action and community projects to bring about change."