Reprogram the Countryside. Migrations of Women to Rural Areas in Spain

Women have always been present in the countryside despite being an invisible population group. Several evidences show that women are entering the agricultural field in a full way, with equal rights and duties as their male counterparts. Based on this situation, the objectives of this work are, to know the personal trajectories of women who migrate to the countryside to carry out agricultural activities and, to analyze their role and impact as agents of development and modernization. A qualitative methodology is used, through in-depth interviews with 27 young-adult women who have been incorporated into rural areas of Castilla and Leon, Spain. The results show that rural women use associations and social networks, both to train themselves and to develop their own gender struggle. It shows the need for their role as active agents of social transformation to be incorporated into the political agenda. The conclusions indicate that it is not possible to deal with rural development without counting on the presence of rural women.