ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Women, from history, are known as active contributors towards the socio-economic development of any nation. From family units to the larger society, women are prominent in virtually all human activities that generate development. Rural women particularly constitute the bulk of the rural population however; they face lots of structural challenges which tend to limit their potentials in contributing meaningfully both to themselves and to rural development. Most of them are poor and voiceless because they lack access to education, finance, facilities and decision making. They may continue to be helpless unless their potentials are developed and harnessed through creative entrepreneurial skills and establishment of creative industries. This paper therefore x-rayed the need for the establishment of creative industries for the empowerment of rural women. It highlighted the plight of rural women, rural women empowerment and creative industries. It also discussed the challenges of women entrepreneurial efforts and suggested a way forward. Article visualizations