In my previous posts, I have focused on impacts on gender inequality relating to water, which has been perpetrated or caused by other humans. However the climate also plays a large part in this equation and in this blog, I would like to look at how climate may impact gender, water and development, and more importantly, if so, how can these climate-led implications be mitigated by humans in order to facilitate for future development. It can be said that the climate acts as a catalyst to already existing impacts on women and girls, meaning it is simply exacerbating their vulnerabilities.
I spoke about the governance of water and gender, and how the voice of women is largely marginalised when it comes to politics and the making of legislation in Africa. This same line of thinking can be used to explain why men and women are affected differently by climate change. If women's voices are suppressed and under-valued in the making of legislation, then they will be less present and effective in responding to climate crises to better suit their needs.
The Sahel region perfectly exemplifies how the climate can directly impact gender equality. Temperatures in this area are increasing at 1.5 times faster than the global average meaning freshwater sources are being depleted at a rate that greatly exceeds demand. As explained in previous blogs, gendered stereotypes and expectations as well as gender gaps in education, have resulted in women largely dominating the agricultural sector (80%), containing a large proportion of subsistence farmers, who are being directly impacted by the depletion of resources as a result of climate change, as a lack of natural irrigation hinders crop growth (65% of Africa's population rely on subsistence farming).
Therefore it can be seen that there is a disproportionate impact on women, which worsens their existing issues.
Differences in levels of education between men and women as well as differences in income are both reasons why men have a far greater propensity to migrate, which means that if needed, they have the option to move to an area that may be less impacted by the climate. This makes men more resilient to climate change whereas women are not and can face systematic violence, which escalates during times of instability. Clearly, the invisibility and marginalisation of women in decision-making is what needs to change, as older generations of women are the people who understand the local climate best and can pass down experiences and information to help younger generations, yet their voice in the making of environment and climate legislation is non-existent, and as long as that is the case, women will remain vulnerable and not resilient to climate change.
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