Worried about climate change? Exploring it's hidden impact on women

Presently major cities in India are suffocating with air quality that has been worsening every day with many areas in the national capital Delhi touching the hazardous category Aamchi Mumbai has been struggling too with some reports quoting experts as saying that the air in the city is as bad as smoking 1000 cigarettes within a short period Despite the AQI in Mumbai being moderate overall light haze has seemingly settled over the cityUnited Nations has dubbed climate change as one of the most defining issues of time The impact that climate change has on our ecosystems weather patterns and overall environmental stability demands urgent attention and collection actionThe urgency needed to address the issue cannot be overstated With every passing year the consequences of the inaction of the leaders become more apparent The scenarios unfolding are realities that demand immediate attention from allItrsquos not unknown that consequences of climate change extend far beyond environmental concerns and pose a significant threat to human wellbeing particularly to womenClimate change exacerbates existing gender inequalities and disproportionately affects women in various waysSpeaking to middaycom Sumaira Abdulali the founder of the nongovernmental organisation Awaaz Foundation affirmed that climate change disproportionately affects women ldquoWomen are often seen as primary caregivers for both young and the elders in the family and a woman doesnrsquot only bear the brunt of climate change for herself she also faces consequences for her familyrdquo she notedShe further elaborated on the point that the responsibility of the home is on womens shoulders and added that they on a personal level too are more vulnerable in case a natural calamity hits Citing the United Nations she said that women have fewer opportunities to save themselvesIn case theres a flood reports of the UN have said that women have fewer opportunities to save themselves For example they are less likely to be taught how to swim or they are less likely to be able to survive in that circumstance The last thing is that they are less likely to be able to move away from that place than men They can move to different places they can take jobs they can do all those things but typically the women get left behind and they have to deal with the consequences not only for themselves but for their families she reasonedAbdulali who is known for her fight against noise pollution in Mumbai added that itrsquos a wellestablished fact that climate change affects women more and she added that they are also less likely to be involved in the decisionmaking which leads to the climate changeClimate change is a global issue Itrsquos worsened because of local policies Abdulali addedSeema Bhasakran who is associated with Transform Rural India as a leader in Gender department and Ashwini Kulkarni the founder trustee and director of Pragati Abhiyan have both echoed similar sentiments when quizzed about how climate change limits womens access to resourcesBecause of the rapid climatic changes womens access to natural resources is dwindling Seema Bhaskaran mentionedAvailability of water for drinking or livestock is still dependent on women getting it So now the issue is that who bears the brunt of going all the way and getting everything Kulkarni questionedShe added that although they were given gas cylinders in an attempt to make them switch from burning firewood many cannot afford to continue using itSpeaking further she stated that this year Maharashtra experienced very erratic rainfall which has also affected food supply Kulkarni added that a woman is entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the familys nutritional needs intactWho has to put together all this and ensure that everybody gets something on their plate Even when they get some food through systems like ration when they try to buy and eat something the question about the nutritious value of the food arises Kulkarni notedClimactic changes affect womens healthSeema Bhaskaran highlighted India is progressing towards becoming the fifth largest economy globally however National Family Health Survey reports show a worrying trend concerning womens health Malnourishment and anaemia are two of the most worrying features Rather than decreasing the percentage of malnourishment across all states has gone up Anaemia too including that of during pregnancy comes to 5060 per centShe further stated that women donrsquot have access to good fuel wood the smoke emitted from it gets absorbed in womens lungs as they sit in a corner and cook meals A lot of drudgery is caused because of lack of access to even basic natural resources Bhaskaran saidKulkarnis organisation has been working in over 400 villages across 13 districts in Maharashtra Sharing her observations she said Many people that we work with often talk about how the weather has become unpredictable While they speak about the issue they dont connect it with climate change however itrsquos palpable that this is the result of climactic changes she addressedThe three noted that climate change leaves women far more vulnerable since they do not have a seat on the table while policies are formulated to combat such a critical issue Due absence of representation and consideration of their opinions in the decisionmaking process further exposes them to being affected by climate changeHow can womens involvement impact the movementWhen asked if there are ways in which the issue could be addressed Sumaira said that the approach towards this should be the same as womens issues are approached Itrsquos time environmental issues become a mainstream subject The womens organisations and groups which are already working on different aspects of womens rights should take a very important role in this because they must mainstream it into their programs it cant be a oneoff program because of environmental issuesThere are so many movements to try and make sure that women come into the field of tech which has been typically maledominated Similarly I think for climate change we need an actual movement towards making women aware that itrsquos their issueAshwini stated that every time they visit a place they ensure that the meeting is attended by the women in the village We hardly have made decisions in womens absence We press for womens participation she said adding that womens participation in policymaking is present only on paperAshwini endorsed that the existing policies implementation formed by government agencies should be released Furthermore she endorsed the inclusion of women in awareness camps and training camps We dont have to wait to revive womens participation in decisionmaking And we are seeing that when women are present in meetings only then is the decision made she addedBefore signing off Sumaira made an interesting observation on the involvement of women in the climate action movement There are many women who are currently not part of the workforce These women can be enrolled in becoming voices for the climate This is not something that requires a full ninetofive job you can do it alongside other things youre doing These women should also be reached out to so that they become productive members contributing to looking after themselves and other women from the effects of climate change Itrsquos very important to include homemakers