Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to all of humanity and it has emerged as the biggest health challenge of the 21st century. In these perilous times, to effectively neutralize the effects of climate change many actions are being initiated from academic responses to business efforts from local to international levels.
I have taught a course on Gender and Public Policy at Fatima Jinnah Women’s University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. One particular aspect of this course was to familiarize and instill in the students the role of women in climate change policies. A few aspects in this context are narrated in this article. Women’s role in climate change policies has duly been recognized across the world and deliberated in various leading academic forums such as conferences, journal articles, and other international bodies working for climate change. However, there is a scarcity of literature on the subject, especially in developing countries context where women are hit hardest by climate change.
Read more: Climate change: Impacts on socio economic and agriculture sector of Pakistan
Understanding the matter better
The purpose of this article is to highlight and share the role of women in climate change policies so that policy-makers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on managing climate change could possibly engage women in forecasting and managing climate change impact and policy debate. Moreover, the purpose is to make the course more pragmatic and not just an academic course merely to meet the academic requirements.
Pakistan has a population of over 224 million, with almost 50 % share of women, and mostly the population is settled in rural areas; these areas are highly prone to climate change. Every segment of society particularly women are being severely affected by the negative consequences of climate change.
The scientific literature on climate change has identified that women face higher risks and greater burdens due to climate change; these risks further exasperate in situations of poverty. In rural areas of Pakistan, women are engaged in the agriculture sector which is considered the most vulnerable sector to climate change. 50-80 percent of food producers are women while 70 percent of the livestock is managed by women in rural areas. United Nation figures indicate that 80 percent of people displaced by climate change are women. It is therefore, women are at the forefront and they are the first to be affected by the brunt of climate change.
To effectively encounter the adverse effects of climate change, it is imperative to empower and prepare women so that they can effectively manage the impacts of climate change. Moreover, women’s participation may necessarily be ensured in decision-making processes and to engage women in climate planning, policy-making, and policy implementation.
In the Western part of the world, the role of women has been recognized. In the Paris Agreement 2015 wherein the importance of involving women in the development and implementation of national climate policies is highly emphasized. However, in Pakistan, the role of women in climate change governance is not yet fully utilized and there are many loopholes that are needed to be addressed on a priority basis so as to ensure the involvement of women in this important debate of the current time.
Read more: Climate change increases human trafficking risks: UN
Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries due to climate change and recently Global Climate Risk Index has ranked the country in the list of top five countries that are experienced severe impacts of climate change. The country faces many environmental challenges linked with climate change such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, air pollution, lack of access to safe drinking water, and many more.
Climate change has a greater impact on all segments of society especially those who are highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods and have low adaptive capacities to respond to natural hazards, such as droughts, landslides, floods, and hurricanes. Pakistan is continuously experiencing the negative impacts of climate change such as heatwaves, flooding, unstable rainfall patterns, and rise in temperature coupled with the loss of biodiversity and deforestation which made everyone including women vulnerable to climate change. Like any other country, Pakistani women being a major stakeholder can play a significant role in response to climate change, especially in the context of adaptation actions.
Pakistan’s main strategy to deal with climate change is adaptation measures which are locally driven governance initiatives where women can play an instrumental role. They are key to fixing climate change due to their local knowledge and their familiarity while handling and managing household practices in a sustainable way. It is therefore, women are an important player in climate governance. Hence, women must educate about climate and their meaningful engagement in the policy process and decision-making must be ensured to deal with climate change in an appropriate way.
Read more: How climate change affects urban planning
Experts rightly emphasized the need for research and data gathering at local scales, on the effects of climate change on gender, to inform and make policy-makers realize and respond to the looming threat of climate change for vulnerable women. Previous disaster events in Pakistan had shown that women had been the most affected segment of society. For instance, in the floods of 2010, about 713,000 females between 15 and 49 years of age and 133,000 pregnant women suffered. The scientific data and statistical observations will not only prove the on-ground realities of the strong linkage between women and climate change but will also help women’s emancipation and their effective contributions toward managing climate change. It is therefore important to recognize the role of women in climate change policies and action plans.
There is a need to launch an impactful drive for recognition of the role of women to confront climate change. Multiple civil society organizations, especially in urban areas such as LIFT Pakistan, are playing their role to highlight the importance of women to counter climate change through arranging various seminars and workshops on the subject in Islamabad. The LIFT so far has conducted 10 seminars to train more than 100 women in Islamabad to make them understand the phenomenon of climate change, its impacts, and their role to face this issue. This initiative appears a successful experience in engaging women to prepare women to mitigate climate change. However, there must be a replication of such steps at a massive scale especially in rural areas so that the mobilization of women for effective climate governance can be utilized.
There is a need to arrange consultative workshops across the country mainly at district and tehsil levels to engage women in order to make them understand their role in handling climate change through policy measures. Local institutions and district administration along with local and international NGOs such as United National Development Program can play a positive role in arranging such workshops and seminars. Moreover, the Higher Education Commission should encourage academic research and may dedicate special funds for women scholars or the projects which are being done on women and climate change research.
It is the responsibility of the media to highlight this important issue at a massive scale so that more people can be engaged in understanding climate change and realizing the role of women in tackling climate change. However, public awareness about climate change is quite low in Pakistan as compared to other countries in South Asia. It is therefore, the media role is instrumental for women because they can be educated about the challenge and their role to deal with it. It is suggested that the local media whether print, electronic or FM radios may be used to highlight the issue of climate change in general and the role of women in addressing this issue in particular.
The way forward
Pakistan Television network is extended in rural areas so it may schedule a weekly evening program on gender and climate change where experts especially women experts can be invited to discuss the issue. Moreover, local FM radios are key for the dissemination of any kind of information at a local scale in local languages. FM ratios are tuned almost in every house in rural areas. It is therefore strongly suggested to devise a mechanism where regular programs on daily basis on FM ratios should be aired about women and their role to address climate change. The war against climate change cannot be fought without involving each and every one, especially the meaningful participation of women.
There is a need to launch academic programs and courses on climate change in relation to gender. Having more women climate scientists and experts may allow for an increased emphasis on understanding and providing solutions for some of the most far-reaching implications of climate change. We must continue to highlight the links between women and climate change and efforts to address the impacts of climate change from the perspective of women.
Pakistan must move forward to curb climate change adopting the vision of its founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah who had a strong believer in women’s participation in every sphere of life. “No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.” ― Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Islamia College Lahore-28 October 1942). Let’s ensure women’s active involvement and due representation in climate policies and climate governance for sustainable development for future generations.
The writer is working as Assistant Professor, at the Department of Public Administration, Fatima Jinnah Women’s University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He can be reached at mumtaz86@hotmail.com.
The views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.