The UN has highlighted that the climate crisis poses a significant threat to achieving gender equality as reproductive services crumble and gender-based violence rises, especially in countries most susceptible to global warming.
The UN has highlighted that the climate crisis poses a significant threat to achieving gender equality, especially in countries most susceptible to global warming. As COP28 commences in Dubai, the UNFPA, focusing on reproductive and maternal health, has unveiled data indicating that the 14 nations facing the highest risks from climate change also exhibit elevated risks for women and girls, including higher rates of maternal mortality, early marriage, gender-based violence, and displacement due to disasters.
Angela Baschieri, the technical lead on climate action at UNFPA, emphasized that while the climate crisis impacts everyone, certain subgroups are less equipped to adapt. She noted that it particularly intensifies challenges for the most impoverished populations, exacerbating pre-existing inequalities.
Baschieri highlighted the disproportionate impact of disasters like floods or cyclones on women, disrupting essential sexual and reproductive health services. She cited the example of South Sudan, which faces the world’s highest maternal mortality rate at 1,223 deaths per 100,000 live births and is among the countries most severely affected by global warming.
She emphasized the crucial importance of health systems resilient to climate shocks, ensuring the uninterrupted provision of sexual and reproductive healthcare for the well-being of women and girls. Regrettably, she noted that merely one-third of national climate action plans make mention of these essential healthcare components.
In addition to diminishing women’s access to medical services, disasters can intensify gender-based violence. Bridget Burns, the director of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (Wedo), pointed out that there has been a noticeable surge in gender-based violence during recent floods in Pakistan and droughts in Uganda.
Burns highlighted a common tendency to concentrate on the external aspects of disasters, such as emphasizing death rates. She emphasized the need to also consider the long-term impacts of instabilities on communities, noting that it is typically women who serve as shock absorbers during crises.
Mwanahamisi Singano, Wedo’s senior global policy lead, entered climate advocacy through her work supporting female farmers in Tanzania. She emphasized that it’s crucial to view women not merely as victims of climate change but to engage them based on their knowledge.
Singano pointed out that a significant portion of farm laborers in the global south are women, but they often lack ownership of the land they cultivate. Female subsistence farmers face challenges in obtaining the necessary support and resources to adapt to climate change. She highlighted the economic impracticality for them to borrow money and invest in irrigation systems on land owned by their husbands or fathers.
Further, Singano stressed that women should not be treated solely as case studies but recognized as sources of expertise. To address the issues effectively, women must have access to decision-making and negotiating processes, ensuring that the rights of farmers and women in communities are reflected in policy decisions.
Source: Guardian