₦airaland Forum

Effects of Climate Change on Women in Africa: Commemorating the International Women's Day[center][/center]

The world today is witnessing an era of man-made climate crisis; this will continue to make humanitarian crisis and gender inequality to become worse. Climate change is a global challenge; climate report in 2017 says that 18.8 million people are displaced because of climate related disasters and it burdens life on earth but not equally. This global challenge is a not just an environmental issue but also a social and inter generational injustice.
Women bears the brunt of climate change because they are the majority of the world’s poor population, the rate of inequality, discrimination and marginalization experienced by this women are amplified by the climate catastrophe.

According to Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim – an expert in how indigenous people particularly women adapt to climate change.- at the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit this year. Speaking on the Shrinking of the Lake Chad and the Impact a warm planet is having on communities across Africa.

She told the forum:
“It’s the Issue of Survival, It’s not the issue of economy or power, and it’s the issue of life of hundred million people that depend on it.”
“We need solutions, we don’t have time, it’s now the time for action and immediate action for those people who are getting impacted who didn’t create this climate change”.

Lake Chad is located in the Sahel region in the vast semi arid part of the Sahara desert, this area is a particularly drought sensitive zone. Data from NASA Earth Observatory and other sources have shown the extent at which this great lake has dramatically declined in size in the last half century.
More than 30 million people across this region where the lake is located has been affected as it supports Irrigation of farm lands, fishing and economic activity both in Chad and its neighbours Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.

This implies that for a shrinking lake the men in these communities will have to move out in search for green pastures to big cities or across the desert to Europe when the lake can no longer sustain them and their families. This has lead to an increase both in Internal and external migrations, violence and terrorism and other social instabilities.

Women and Children in turn are over laden-ed with the burden to fill this vacuum left by the men and are force to maintain food security and other resources need to live. At extreme cases some women are involved in strenuous jobs that affect their health; they force their children into early marriage and child labour, prostitution, child trafficking and behaviours that are not morally accepted.

Climate change and environmental degradation represents a great threat to achieving the SDGs goals. They have great impact on health, food security and finances.

Traditionally, women in Africa have a role to play in agriculture, nutrition and other important roles, as they are fit to find solutions that will prevent further damage and adapt to the climate change.
The first step towards tackling this challenge is Education, for women to be involved in the fight against climate change; they have to be armed with the right tools that will enable them reach the highest level in decision making so they can adapt to this challenge.
Equipping women with leadership, entrepreneurship and life skills to a green economy through education will have a sufficient impact. Studies have shown that well equipped women are effective in their communities and protection of the environment as they will pursue more sustainable future for their communities.

Therefore, women are in the front lines of climate action, by increasing education they can be less vulnerable during climate disasters as educated women can access and share skills and knowledge need to mitigate the effects of resource constraints and climate change related crisis.

[center]“Educate a woman, you change the world”
“The best way to save the environment is educating women”
“The beautiful thing about educating a woman is that no one can take it away from her”[/center]

https://blog.thegreenpromise.org/2020/03/effects-of-climate-change-on-women.html?m=1