My grandaunt, grandmother and I at one of the oldest temples in India! (they don’t have the concept of smiling for pictures down yet)

When talking about groups of people and how they can be differently affected by climate change, gender immediately comes to mind. Gender politics is becoming an increasingly discussed subject but I have yet to hear much from an environmental perspective. Through conversations with my grandmother and grandaunts, I realised that women can be affected more adversely than their male counterparts by certain aspects of climate change in India.

 

The first thing that strikes me is that men disproportionately cause climate change and yet, women are affected by it equally or even more than men. Of the 7 largest fossil fuel and mining companies in India, all of them are owned by men and have a majority, if not all, male board of directors. Makes you think that maybe, men are making more wrong calls for things that affect the whole population, perhaps because they are more likely to be in places of power.

 

When it comes to the effects of environmental catastrophes, such as floods and cyclones, women are more likely to be victims as well. Women in developing countries tend to be more malnourished and hence depend on men to help them reach safety in emergency situations. Even the articles of clothing they wear, such as saris, can hinder movement and reduce their ability to evacuate quickly (Chowdhury et al., 1993). While I was talking to my grandmother, she also shared that she was not allowed to learn essential life saving skills like swimming or driving when she was young as it was deemed ‘inappropriate’, can you imagine? But these social expectations imposed on women can make them more vulnerable to environmental issues in countries like India.

 

It’s really interesting to see how all these issues are tied together. The economy, gender, environment, these issues don’t exist as separate entities but rather as products the human race has created so it makes sense that they are all linked. When it comes to gender and the environment, it’s important to see that tackling just one issue is insufficient in trying to solve the problem. We need to see how different ideas and practices can be problematic and address them together. Something to be hopeful about is that people are getting more educated in India, the literacy rate of women rose from 59.3% in 2011 to 65.8% in 2018. This means that more women will have access to opportunities that can help their social progress. Although there is much change that needs to happen, we can, and should, be optimistic about the future!

~ Yalini

(Cover Photo: Photo by Kelly Lacy from Pexels)

References:

Chowdhury, A. M., Bhuyia, A. U., Choudhury, A. Y., & Sen, R. (1993). The Bangladesh Cyclone of 1991: Why So Many People Died. Disasters, 17(4), 291-304. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7717.1993.tb00503.x