CEDAW/C/GC/34 84. Rural women’s access to electricity and other forms of energy is often limited. The responsibility for biomass collection and use for energy production, and the associated health and safety risks, falls primarily on women and girls. They are traditionally responsible for meeting household energy requirements and, as the principal consumers of energy at the household level, are also likely to be more directly affected by cost increases or resource scarcity. While a specific reference to electricity is made in article 14, paragraph 2 (h), it is important to recognize that rural women may also have other energy needs, for example for cooking, heating, cooling and transportation. 85. States parties should ensure that rural women have access to essential services and public goods, including: (a) Sufficient, safe, acceptable and physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses and irrigation; (b) Adequate sanitation and hygiene, enabling women and girls to manage their menstrual hygiene and have access to sanitary pads; (c) Sustainable and renewable sources of energy, extending on-grid services to rural areas and developing solar energy and other sustainable energy sources with low-cost technology. 3. Transportation 86. Transport and road access pose significant challenges for rural women and have an impact on their enjoyment of various rights, including access to education, livelihood opportunities and health care. Geographical distance, inhospitable terrain, a lack of infrastructure and access to public transportation can all limit day-to-day mobility. Even when transportation alternatives are available in rural areas, the associated costs of travel or risks of sexual harassment and violence can serve as strong disincentives for rural women to use them. Consequently, they often spend long hours travelling by foot, creating other problems for them in terms of increased time poverty and risks to health and safety. 87. States parties should analyse the sex-differentiated demands for transport services in rural areas, ensure that transportation sector policies and programmes reflect the mobility needs of rural women and provide them with safe, affordable and accessible means of transport. I. Rural women in developed countries 88. Rural women in developed and developing countries often face similar challenges in terms of poverty and exclusion and may have similar needs in terms of accessible services, social protection and economic empowerment. As in many developing countries, rural economies in developed countries tend to favour men, and rural development policies in developed countries may also at times pay scant attention to women’s needs and rights. Rural women in developed countries (and in developing countries) continue to need targeted policies and programmes that promote and guarantee the enjoyment of their rights. Many of the recommendations made in the preceding sections will be relevant to the situation of rural women living in developed countries. Nonetheless, there are unique issues that merit special attention. 16-03601 23/25