Identify and prioritize strategies for the empowerment of women in rural migration Based on the SWOT matrix technique QSPM (Case Study: Mashhad County)

The natural result of the application of modernization approach in developing countries is the formation and development of large-scale migration from rural to urban areas. This has changed the sex structure of population in a number of rural settlements in the country. As the current situation maintains, it is clear that women will be the main beneficiaries of the development plans in rural areas in the future. The present paper thus aims to identify and prioritize the strategies used for women's empowerment in a specific group of villages, that is, the migrant rural settlements due to their specific conditions and priorities. The research method used in the study is descriptive-analytic, which is of applied and developmental research type. The data were collected using documentary and field approaches through the instrument of a questionnaire. The statistical population of the study includes the villages with a low sex ratio (less than 95 males per 100 females). In the present study, optimal strategies used for women's empowerment in the migrant rural settlements were first identified, and then the strategies were prioritized through Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM). The results show that the offensive strategies (maximum-maximum) are optimized in order to empower women in the migrant villages. In addition, the most important strategy for empowering women in the rural areas in question is the increased attention to women in the development plans of rural areas at the highest levels of decision-making with a score of 4.29.