Nature has no ‘Gendered’ bounds, but Humanity does

It has been more than a few decades that children’s textbooks have featured chapters about the alarming rate of Climate change and Global warming , and how children reading about the phenomena should immediately take action. As the children grow up, they realise that the slow burning poison of nature’s deterioration has been ‘breaking news’ since quite some time. And then the general progression leads them to carry on with their lives, while occasionally being concerned about the latest climate crisis because it all comes down to human nature and ignorance at best. While it can be believed that the current decade has seen more focus on climate action by countries, owing to the alarming figures and natural disasters that seem to be warning us everyday, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Similarly, the cause for women empowerment and the fight for their identity across centuries has seen a drastic shift with the availability of ready information through avenues like social media. While at one end of the spectrum , the position of women has changed enough to facilitate their freedom through speech, work , representation etc, but much of that is on a surface level till date. Women in every corner of the world still face some issues that are unique to their gender and most of them unfortunately choose to suffer silently.?

But mostly, both of the above topics seem largely at different ends of the spectrum or mostly unrelated right? Well, it so happens that time has come that we start looking at issues with an interconnected approach , rather than defining them with strict molds which are purely anthropogenic, for ease of classifying and understanding.

Recently, various researchers have come across facts that clearly state a very important connection between the above stated topics, that is, Women and our environment. According to the UN, around 80% of the people displaced by Climate Change are women or girls who face risks of poverty, violence and unintended pregnancies. The recently concluded COP28 of UNFCCC, did raise topics and discussions over Health and prioritised close partnership with women and girls to ensure that World Health is dealt with in a balanced way. Yet we still have a lot left to formally acknowledge.

While Climate Change affects the whole of the population, it severely affects women more. This is due to their already established impoverished placements on the social hierarchical structure. While it may sound unreal, small things such as women having a collectively larger role in our “care economy” and also a larger role at giving birth and taking care of household responsibilities, does affect our women in a large way , only making them more vulnerable to climate change and its repercussions.?

For example, a couple residing in a rural setting, having agriculture as their occupation in India, may face desperate conditions when their crop yields are slow. The woman individually, on the other hand, who is supposed to take care of the family on her own, along with her infant child who is her sole responsibility and along with her own safety being disregarded in the area she lives, clearly faces more of the burden, only due to the fact that some of her roles are traditionally set, right from her birth as a girl child. This however, is only a microcosm of the unlimited possible scenarios, where women due to their gendered position have to bear the wrath of Climate change , to an extended degree.?

Women being unequally affected by physical uncleanliness and sanitation around an area is something that we very clearly acknowledge in our day to day lives, which is another major concern whenever a climate crisis affects any population. Menstruating women have specific needs, while air pollution and heat exposure are related to various problems unique to them, like: Preterm births, low birth weight, poorer maternal health, complications during pregnancy such as gestational diabetes etc. It also affects menopausal systems and increases prenatal maternal stress. Problems have also escalated till heavy metals being found in breast milk which in turn have been associated with abnormal immune function in newborns and allergy, neurodevelopmental delay and neurosychiatric disorders in later life. All of this proves a point, that women’s existence should not be taken for granted anymore.

According to UN data,women make up almost half of the agricultural labour force in developing countries and yield 20-30% more with the same resources provided to men in the same setup. Considering data like this, it is imperative that women are finally provided with the resources and help that is needed to make them as much a part of the social dialogue as other genders have been. Women are also, mostly the first responders and caregivers in community responses after climate disasters and also the source of comfort and upliftment owing to their responsibilities at the household level. This, clearly double-edged sword, may be put to good use, if women are acknowledged as actively as they are often overlooked.

For the part of mitigation, it is noticeable that following global guidelines like the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal number 5: Gender Equality) by the UN and also the Gender Action Plan by the UNFCCC, many countries including India, have actively worked towards the empowerment of women as a part of an interconnected larger goal for the society and the world. Our goal as individuals is to understand that no form of discrimination should be encouraged in a world where fighting together is our only chance of survival. And most importantly, we need to remember that it is not only for the sake of survival that we are being called into action, but for the sake of the rightful natural balance and respect that every living being deserves.

It is finally time that we associate women as one of the most important organic parts of the human ecosystem rather than adhering to innuendos about them being a shadow or a part of the Man. If we let women steer the ships alone or alongside, when the storms are closing in, there would be no room for disappointment, because we finally would be one as a community. And that would be a first for our world in the fight against inequality and climate change.

Ishita Mondal