KUCHING: An international forum on women has appealed to Malaysian women to participate in an online survey at www.ifrw.org.uk pertaining to the living standards of women in rural areas.

Data collected from the survey, conducted by International Forum on Rural Women @ Associated Country Women of The World (ACWW), would then be used to chart out the direction and policies pertaining to women living in rural areas throughout the world. The same data will be used by UN Sustainable Development Goals, said ACWW president Ruth Shanks.

Shanks and her colleague Heather Brennan were in the state for a six-day from Nov 13 to 18. This was the duo's first visit to Sarawak and they expressed delight in the programmes lined up for them by the Sarawak Federation of Women's Institute (PPWS), which has been an associate member of the ACWW since 1963.