Climate change is something you and I have been listening to, talking, and thinking about. It exists, it is real. It will affect every living organism in this world to some extent. None of us is immune to the incessant rains, landslides, forest fires, increasing temperatures in the summers, water scarcity or untimely seasons. Natural disasters have been increasing in number in the last few years across the world.
When a natural disaster strikes, the ones impacted most are the vulnerable and marginalized groups of society. The poor are left to fend for themselves with little to no help. Women, who constitute the majority population of the financially deprived, are affected worse.
The UN states that 70% of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty worldwide are women. They predominate food production across the globe by 50 to 80 percent, however, they own less than 10% of the land they work on. Now you may ask, how is this relevant to climate change?
Climate change affects everyone but affects women more. Inequalities of any kind are magnified when times are tough. The vulnerable have much more to lose when hit with tiring times. The role women are expected and conditioned to play in society puts them in a much more vulnerable state than men. Women in all spheres of life face gender-based inequalities; combining that with a lack of opportunity, illiteracy, lack of voice and lack of financial independence only makes it all the more difficult to face adversities.
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that gender inequalities are further exaggerated by climate-related hazards. They result in a higher workload for women, higher psychological and emotional stress, and a higher mortality rate as compared to men. This inequality tends to hamper a woman’s opportunity and capacity to be an advocate for climate action.
Let’s take a closer look and try to identify what these inequalities are during climate change.
Increase in household chores & social duties
When a natural disaster like a flood occurs, women are the ones seen to be taking care of the ill, drying up all the wet surfaces, ensuring there is food for their dear ones to eat, and so much more. Women are already expected to take a higher workload on the home front, but when such disasters strike, the dependency on them increases multi-fold.
In rural parts of India and other developing countries, the first ones to be affected when the family faces a financial crisis is a girl child. Not only do they have to drop out of school to cater to their brother’s education, but they are also automatically exploited as manual labour.
Insufficient supply of safe and accessible water poses more challenges for women and girls since they’re expected to be the ones fetching water. Young girls, adolescent girls, women, pregnant women, or mothers with young children — no matter what the age group, it’s the women who are responsible. When climate change brings in more droughts than usual, they’re subjected to spend more time and walk long distances to fetch a pail of water. United Nations state that in some parts of Asia and Africa, women must walk an average of 6 kilometres per day to collect water. When family members fall sick because of the poor quality of water being consumed, women spend a substantial amount of time tending to them. Spending long hours catering to such responsibilities contribute to the loss of opportunities in terms of employment, education, or sleep.
Resource unavailability
Climate change highly impacts the availability of resources. Environmental stressors cause a ruckus in the economy, and they especially put a dent in the poor. Violence against women and girls is highly prevalent in our societies and these stressors contribute to increased domestic and sexual violence toward them. The risk of domestic violence against women increases every time a natural disaster occurs, and families face damage to their livelihood or incomes. This, however, has nothing to do with the poor. Social and psychological pressure arising from loss of income contributes to domestic violence against women irrespective of their financial stature. Human trafficking, child marriages and labour exploitation increase when incomes are affected during natural disasters.
Displacement woes
When families are displaced during a natural disaster, women are affected in more than one way. United Nations reports that one out of every five women refugees experience sexual assault. Girls and women when displaced, are often unable to continue their education or pursue employment opportunities. UNHCR reports suggest that refugee girls are half as likely to be in school as refugee boys.
Displacement poses a great threat to women’s health as well. Relief efforts provided in the camps almost always tend to overlook the need for female health and hygiene products. Pregnant women are less likely to receive the required pre-and post-natal care which can negatively impact their health as well as that of the baby. Access to healthy food, safe water, and clean and stress-free living conditions play a major role in the well-being of pregnant women.
Droughts and heat waves that subject women to travel to get water lead to health problems like dehydration & heat strokes. The financial burden brought on by changing environmental conditions makes it harder for women to seek the required medical treatment.
How do we fix this?
The realization that climate change affects genders differently needs to be more widespread than it currently is. Not only must this message be out in the open and discussed thoroughly, but women also need to be a part of such discussions. From time immemorial, men have been the primary decision-makers in all facets of society. However, environmental activists like Greta Thunberg, Vandana Shiva, Erin Brockovich and world leaders like Gro Harlem Brundtland and Mia Mottley show us that women’s presence in decision-making positions helps reduce the disproportion of gender-based climate actions.
A UN study shows that an increase in women’s representation in national parliaments leads to the adoption of more stringent climate change policies and they result in lower emissions. Women have expertise and knowledge that can be used to mitigate climate change and adapt relevant strategies. Women’s responsibilities in households and the roles they play in their communities will only help convert these strategies to workable solutions. Increasing the access women have to agricultural resources can increase food production and security, which in turn reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Farm yields are expected to rise by 20–30% and this can reduce the deforestation of lands.
When women participate more in decision-making, it only helps our fight against climate change by great proportions. It is the need of the hour to call for women climate change agents. After all, climate change does not affect all genders the same and having representatives from all genders needs to be the norm.
