Introduction

In developing countries, women constitute a significant portion of rural populations and undertake various roles and responsibilities. However, they are often overlooked as a weaker segment of society, and more than half of them suffer from poverty, limited income opportunities, lack of healthcare, education, and other essential services. To enhance the role of rural women in the development of rural communities, their empowerment is essential. Women's empowerment refers to a process through which women gain high self-esteem, demonstrate confidence in speech and action, and develop the ability to face challenges and hardships. Empowered women are capable of analyzing and understanding various issues and utilize their capabilities to achieve their goals. By increasing and enhancing their skills across different domains, women can attain their desired objectives. When women become capable of performing tasks independently, gender-based discrimination is reduced, thereby creating the conditions necessary for empowerment. In the process of empowering women, agency and the structure of opportunities and resources play a pivotal role. Individual and collective assets and capabilities shape women’s agency. Agency is facilitated through access to capital. Capital refers to the resources that enable actors to benefit from social, economic, and political opportunities and become productive. These resources include both tangible and intangible assets such as education, wealth, employment, social relationships, and access to opportunities. These resources act as catalysts for women's empowerment. However, it is the conditions under which women access these resources that ultimately determine the extent of empowerment. Resources are distributed through the structure of opportunities, which includes both formal and informal contexts in which women operate—such as laws, regulations, institutions, and cultural frameworks. This distribution is often inequitable, and due to prevailing socio-political conditions, only limited resources are made available to women—or in some cases, they are denied access altogether. Therefore, there is a growing need for empowerment in rural communities, which requires a transformation in the conditions under which women can acquire resources. Empowerment is contingent upon such changes, and the interplay of various factors jointly creates different levels of empowerment.

2. Methodology

This research is applied in terms of its objective and descriptive-analytical in terms of its method. The statistical population of the study consists of women aged 18 to over 65 years from three counties in the southern region of Isfahan Province, including Semirom, Shahreza, and Dehaghan. Out of the total rural population of this region (66,858 people), 31,785 were women. To determine a statistically reasonable sample size from this total population—specifically rural women in the southern region of Isfahan—Cochran's formula was used in conjunction with quota sampling (based on the number of women in each rural district). Data collection was conducted using a questionnaire distributed among 380 rural women. The face and content validity of the questionnaire were confirmed by subject matter experts and academic faculty members. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.77.

Data analysis was performed using SPSS software and included both descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Friedman test, multivariate regression analysis, factor analysis, and path analysis).

3. Results

The most significant barriers affecting the empowerment of rural women, in order of impact, include: Social barriers (e.g., lack of belief in women's abilities and capabilities to perform tasks), Security-health-educational barriers (e.g., lack of access to healthcare facilities, low levels of education among women, and absence of laws supporting women in society), Economic barriers (e.g., high interest rates on loans), Psychological-political-social barriers (e.g., lack of a sense of safety outside the home, limited access to educational opportunities), Financial barriers (e.g., insufficient income to start a business, limited access to land), Family-related barriers (e.g., low self-esteem and threats to personal dignity and honor), Ideological-educational barriers (e.g., lack of access to training classes and vocational skill development courses), Motivational barriers (lack of personal drive or incentive).

The results of the path analysis revealed that, with the exception of political barriers, all independent variables also have indirect effects on the empowerment of rural women. Among all factors, socio-cultural barriers exert the greatest overall impact on women's empowerment, with a total effect coefficient of 0.591, while political barriers have the least impact, with a total effect coefficient of 0.164. Additionally, economic barriers (total effect = 0.503), infrastructural barriers (total effect = 0.443), and psychological barriers (total effect = 0.377) rank second through fourth in terms of their influence on the empowerment of rural women.

4. Discussion

The results of data analysis indicate that the most significant barriers to rural women’s empowerment are as follows:

In the economic dimension, the lack of oversight in the allocation and usage of credit facilities and loans, with an average influence of 6.55%; In the psychological dimension, the lack of motivation to carry out tasks and follow through with activities, with an average of 3.65%; In the political dimension, the absence of a sense of security in public spaces (e.g., streets), with an average of 2.29%; In the social dimension, the low level of education hindering participation in various village activities, with an average of 7.10%; In the infrastructural dimension, the lack of access to healthcare facilities, with an average of 2.05%. Therefore, identifying these barriers and proposing strategies to eliminate them can significantly contribute to empowering rural women.

5. Conclusion

Given the limited knowledge of women in the fields of advertising and marketing, organizing training courses and workshops in marketing and e-commerce can significantly enhance their knowledge, attract customers, and increase the sales of their products. Training female instructors and extension workers is essential for addressing familial and cultural biases that hinder women's participation in educational programs, particularly in regions where traditional beliefs are prevalent. This approach will lead to improved educational opportunities for women and the development of their skills. Furthermore, fostering risk-taking attitudes and establishing women’s associations are recommended strategies to promote employment in the agricultural and handicraft sectors, especially considering women's limited access to banking and credit facilities.