Not spared by nature even

Not spared by nature even

Women bear the brunt most of climate change

With global warming on the rise and species and their habitats on the decline, climate change is perhaps one of the greatest threats the planet faces today. Climate change is perceived as the presence of more diseases, more rainfall, change in climatic conditions and loss of agricultural output. But amid all the brouhaha about its deleterious effects on planet earth, a fact that has failed to find resonance is that global warming isn't gender-blind — women are especially vulnerable to its effects. Changes in the climate usually impact sectors that are traditionally associated with women, such as paddy cultivation, cotton and tea plantations, and fishing. This means increased hardship for women. Due to the impact of climate change, migration increases. Forced migration weakens people's familial support and hurts women most. In extreme circumstances, women are even pushed into the flesh trade after natural disasters wipe out their traditional livelihood options, as a study on the impact of climate change in Assam, conducted by the Centre for Environment, Social and Policy Research and the Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change, has found.

Assam's devastating floods have had a major socio-economic impact. Acute necessity forced people to uproot themselves from their original homes and workplaces to seek livelihood elsewhere. People who were earlier dependent on agriculture were compelled to take up other avenues of employment, often migrating to other parts of the country in search of better opportunities. But this is a mere fraction of what the women of the house had to encounter. Left to take care of the family, many homemakers were forced to step out of the home, leaving the children and the elderly behind, to seek employment as domestic help or daily wage labour. Employment, many a time, came at a great cost, as the study reveals. There have been several instances when anti-social elements tried to lure away vulnerable young women with promises of good jobs, but instead pushed them into the flesh trade. Again, many girls had to drop out of schools and colleges, because communication and transportation remained disrupted due to the floods. According to the UK-based Women's Environmental Network, more than 10,000 women die each year across the world from weather-related disasters such as tropical storms and droughts, as compared to about 4,500 men. Women also comprise 20 of the 26 million people estimated to have been displaced by climate change. But all perhaps may not be lost yet. There are encouraging calls to place the empowerment of women and girls at the heart of debate and action on climate change. Given that women's knowledge and participation has been critical to the survival of entire communities in disaster situations, there is a need to recognise the absolute necessity of protecting women from the fallouts of climate change.