Gender, Water And Climate Change

One of the global development goals agreed on universally is gender equality. Climate change is an issue of paramount global importance and clean water and sanitation is a human rights issue in many parts of the world. Gender, water and climate change are issues that are inextricably tied together. They are number 5, 6 and 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

 Women are affected by climate change differently from men. And climate change is primarily felt through water. Most of climate change effects are water related.

One of the ways that climate change affects women in the lens of water is in agriculture. A good percentage of the world’s agriculture is small holder, subsistence in nature and done in a rural setup. Majority of farmers in rural areas especially in Africa are women while most of agriculture is rain-fed. It relies on rainfall and precipitation patterns are increasingly being affected by climate change.

Droughts, inadequate rainfall and heatwaves cause water scarcity and impede water access. They lessen water security. Women farmers are therefore affected when rains are not enough and suffer loss of harvests. Often, these farms are their source of nutrition and so will experience food insecurity and unmet nutritional needs for them and their families.

Also, farms offer a means of generating income and support livelihoods. Farm produce, fish harvest and trading of livestock give women a chance to earn an income which they can use for their economic development or to better their family’s lot.

Therefore, climate change – caused water scarcity can push women into poverty.

In times of water scarcity, women have a hard time accessing water for irrigation from communal sources e.g. drawing from rivers or dams. This is mainly because of culture in patriarchal societies which give men authority over resources and only allow women’s water needs to be met on male prerogative.

Not only so, but accessing groundwater (wells/ boreholes) and constructing irrigation infrastructure to be used during dry seasons might not be so easy. This is because of lack of financial capacity for women, lack of knowledge and information of where to access such equipment and lack of trained expertise to install and manage it.

Other facilities such as dams/ pans or underground storage tanks depend on land ownership.

Some societies don’t allow women to own or manage land, or limit the extent to which they can. Not only so, accessing legal and regulatory requirements such as title deeds for land or permits for drilling boreholes may be hard for women because of lack of requisite information, discriminatory cultural attitudes which can inform legal barriers.

In the health sector, water disasters caused by climate change can affect women’s health and in different ways from men.

During droughts, water levels in rivers and wells goes down and this forces women to look for other sources. Because women are primarily tasked with fetching water for household needs, they walk long distances to get it. This is actually physically draining and can cause health problems carrying water on their back or head.

African women fetching water. Iwaria/Aimee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It also predisposes them to the risk of sexual or physical assault especially when unaccompanied or when it’s just girls (minors).

In times of conflict, women are in precarious situations because male soldiers control water sources and to get water there can be sexual coercion or assault in order to access the commodity.

Alternatively women are forced to avail more money to buy water from water sellers.

During floods and heavy rains, water and vector borne diseases are a major problem because women are the chief caregivers for families. Conditions such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and malaria are widely spread when floodwaters mix with waste or when freshwater mixes with sewage. Mosquitoes are vectors of different diseases such as dengue fever and malaria and climate change has increased the geographical range of the insects. Sleeping sickness is another such climate influenced condition.

Bilharzia and being bitten by animals that inhabit water is another problem during floods. Typhoons, cyclones and heavy rains result to flooding which can cause such.

Mudslides are a result of heavily waterlogged soil losing firmness and structure during consistently heavy downpours. They destroy people’s homes and farms, primarily affecting women and the poorest. This effect is compounded by financial inability to recover quickly from such events.

Lack of clean drinking water and for sanitation purposes affects women more because their families health is affected especially that of dependent children.

As chief caregivers, it is their role to look after ill family members.

In times of drought, when there is not enough water, animals and crops wither away and die affecting a major source of nutrition for families. Pregnant and lactating women are an especially vulnerable group because they have specific dietary requirements needed to nourish their young ones and the life growing in their womb.

Lack of good nutrition as a result of failed rains result to children with low birth weight and others suffering from malnutrition. It is of course a mother’s job to seek medical interventions for these conditions as it is primarily their responsibility over their children.

In times of climate disasters such as floods, gender roles and cultural socializations demand that women stay behind to look after family property or to ensure everybody is out of the home first, especially children. They are to secure family property like chicken and livestock.

They are basically in charge of the home’s safety and making sure everything is safe. However because of this, they put themselves in harm’s way and might drown or suffer injuries in flooded homes and compounds.

Some cultural socializations don’t permit women to be taught crucial lifesaving skills such as using canoes, motorcycles or bicycles, swimming, climbing trees or handling rocky terrain. These “physical skills” are taught to boys rather than girls. These skills can come in handy to ensure personal safety in times of danger.

Also, women might not have equal and adequate access to information (radios, television, newspapers, books, internet) especially climate information and disaster warnings. If properly availed and well understood, it can help in early preparations and safely put them out of harm’s way. This ties in with cultural attitudes that don’t promote female education and literacy as much as male.

Also discouraging women from pursuing sciences, mathematics and engineering in higher education hinders the ability of women to understand climate science. Perception that such courses are “male” may limit the number of women tutors available to teach their fellow women about climate change and associated disciplines.

The reverse is true – more educated women equals more awareness.

Also, women face security risks in shelters erected in times of climate-water disasters. In some societies, women are not expected to mix with men and so might be disadvantaged in finding shelters best suited to housing them. They might miss out or be in cramped crowded conditions because of this.

Also there is the risk of sexual assault in such areas because of many people. Sexual predation of displaced women in refugee camps is common. Gender discrimination results to un/conscious bias making responsible authorities to not prioritize the wellbeing of girls and women. In camps for displaced people, there needs to be a dedicated gender desk and officers to handle women’s affairs.

Feminine hygiene products and foodstuff distributed in a targeted manner in such areas can help curb cases of coercion.

Climate change is increasingly causing soil and groundwater salinity. This is because of repeated droughts which cause evaporation of soil surface and column moisture, and salt water intrusion in coastal areas. Insufficient recharge from fresh rain water (little rain) means soils remain saline making them unsuited for agriculture. Smallholder farmers, of whom most are women are the most affected.

This means they are not able to have variety of foodstuff in their diet because they can’t grow their preferred foods anymore, resulting to micro and macro deficiencies.

It also just increases the price of foodstuff, which they now have to buy.

Because of cultural biases, female-headed households i.e. single mums or widows might not get requisite information for early preparedness. They also may not get enough support e.g. from social welfare or when governments and relief organizations distribute resources to affected communities.

Since they are not allowed at decision making tables especially in patriarchal societies, male elders can easily overlook or ignore them.

Even in evacuation during climate and water disasters, women may not be given strong priority. Elsewhere they may not be able to migrate far away as easily as men can. Men are traditionally able to move at a moment’s notice but women will be preoccupied with family responsibilities and expected to stay home or in the camps.

In other ways, women might lack access to credit facilities e.g., loans and insurance that can cushion them in times of climate distress and help in recovery.

Now, women work closely with the environment and are able to nurture and take care of the surroundings. Their aim is not just to exploit and finish natural resources, but they take what is sustainable –leaving enough for tomorrow.

This quality makes them adept at environmental governance albeit without papers. They possess practical knowledge concerning responsible ways of handling the environment.

They are also skilled teachers, able to teach fellow women or pass the knowledge to their children. Educating the female gender on climate change and action will result to societies that are wholly informed and environmentally aware and responsible.

Women groups such as self-help groups are a chief way of localizing adaptation and mitigation at the grassroots where it matters.

In Kenya for example, the Greenbelt Movement employs the services of women groups to plant and nurture trees (afforestation/reforestation) to maturity in their local areas. Women are good environmental stewards. Forests are water sources and good for climate.

Including women in high level positions like at UN or government agencies can be beneficial in terms of climate and gender. There is a big discrepancy in this because gender representation in such places including delegations at international climate meetings is woefully short.

Women representation in politics and legislature is important because a lot of climate policy decisions are political in nature first, and involving women brings in the gender perspective.

Having female participants in environment departments of companies, local governments or even as ministers will go a long way to center gender issues in climate change and make action representative and effective by removing (un)conscious gender bias.

Climate change is a woman’s business because the environment is her chief business and she understands it to her core. She works with it after all.

Land control boards need female representation too because they determine land issues. Land use such as agriculture, forestry and land use changes contribute to climate change and are affected by it. Such influence the water cycle and affect water resources. Nature based solutions such as forests and peatlands can both mitigate and cushion against climate change.

Land policy such as planning, zoning and transfer is determined by such entities alongside local governments which is why women need to be involved.

Women should also sit in all boards governing water resources such as water resource authorities e.g. river basins, utilities and wastewater treatment plants (wwtps).

Women scientists also play a role in climate action. Given their ability to communicate effectively, they can be useful.

Encouraging girls to study STEM courses and humanities, as well as providing adult education for mature women will help counter climate change. It’s a part of the Paris agreement’s action for climate empowerment.

Women are better community organizers and able to bring consensus especially when climate initiatives are being discussed.

Having women, especially grassroots women, sit at decision making tables and according them the agency to make and carry out relevant climate change decisions is beneficial. Inclusivity is an important pillar of climate action.

They are carriers of indigenous and traditional knowledge which can be very useful in climate action.

Gender conscious (sex disaggregated) data will help craft strategies that can avoid further worsening gender inequality and prevent such errors as maladaptation.

For climate action to be successful and beneficial for communities, it should include fair gender participation and strong “water literacy.”