1 of 10
BBCPersian.com reader Mohammad Nickahd sent these images of women hard at work on a co-operative farm in the village of Darreh Shahr in Ilam province, western Iran.

2 of 10
Like many rural areas, the region suffers from poverty, unemployment, and drought...

3 of 10
... but new irrigation projects diverted water from a nearby river and enabled 80 farming co-operatives to be set up.

4 of 10
The UN estimates that women make up around 9% of the membership in such co-operatives, but many more are involved unofficially in the planting, weeding and harvesting of crops.

5 of 10
The women often have to work in searing hot temperatures, making sure foodstuffs such as wheat, barley, sugar beet and sugar cane are well tended.

6 of 10
Women in the village also perform most of the menial tasks, such as collecting and storing foraged food for their livestock...

7 of 10
... which will prove a precious source of income or food should drought hit the region.

8 of 10
While their mothers are hard at work in the fields, it is left to the grandmothers to watch the younger children...

9 of 10
... and to provide food and shelter.

10 of 10
And at the end of a hard day, the women still find the time for weaving, which also provides a valuable source of income for many families.