Investigating Rural Women's Participation in Agricultural Activities(case of Northern Astarabad villages of Gorgan)

Studies on women''s participation in various activities indicate that women can have a significant role in various agricultural activities and studies show their effective participation in the economy and production. This study aims to identify the extent of women''s participation in agricultural activities in the rural villages of Northern Astarabad in Gorgan. The study is a descriptive – analytical one and the data are collected based on library and field study and are statistically analyzed and described. From the general population، a sample of 206 rural women is selected by use of Cochran formula. This number is randomly distributed among villages in six districts of Northern Astarabad. For data analysis، the statistical SPSS program، t-test، and ANOVA are employed. The research validity was determined to be 75% and the validity and reliability of the questionnaires were verified by some professors. The findings show the participation of women in animal husbandry with an average of (3. 29) and in horticulture with a mean of (2. 52) and the average of (2. 37) in agriculture، which represents the maximum participation of rural women in animal husbandry activities. It should be noted that there is a relation between women''s age and their activities in agriculture and animal husbandry. In this study، only 0. 05 of the changes in women''s participation in various agricultural activities are affected by age.