The role of gender in climate activist movements

The importance of gender in current human-environment interactions may have been overlooked by many political ecologists in the past few years (Elmhirst 2011). However, it has certainly not passed unnoticed to NGOs, especially those generating new discourses on vulnerability to climate change. In 2008 Oxfam made a strong and important statement with their campaign “Sisters of the Planet”. Their message was that climate change affects many, but particularly it affects poor woman in the developing world.

I work on this campaign in 2009 as a “Sisters of the planet representative”. My job was mainly organizing events to screen the short film videos that were the core of the campaign. These ten or so minute videos picture the lives and stories of women around the world in their (personal) struggles with climate change.

Looking back at these videos again, I can see how some of the main messages they attempt to convey are also present in much of the literature of feminist political ecology. I realize you might not be familiar with these videos so I will only focus on two of them, providing you with an overview. I would suggest though that you access the links and have a look at them yourselves. After all it is mainly the vivid image of these women that conveys the full message.

This first story is that of Marina, in Kotido (Uganda). The main problem in this geographic area has been the severe drought, with lack of rain and consequent reduction of savannah trees. This has led to a situation where women have to walk further distances to collect fruits and firewood for cooking. They also have to dig on hard rock to find water as the rivers have dried out. As a consequence Martina is depicted as full of anxiety and of concerns for the future of her children.

Sultana (2011) depicts a very similar emotional conflict in women in Bangladesh with their struggle to negotiate access to water for livelihood. However the difference is that the struggle in Bangladesh is partly explained by the reality constructed by cast systems and social relations while in the case of Martine it is mainly presented as caused by natural phenomena. We do not know what the other conditions affecting vulnerable women in Uganda are. Consequently, the story narrated through images by Oxfam may reflect just one part of the story (that climate is to be blamed) while Sultana (2011) provides us with a much more profound story. Nonetheless, they both coalesce and agree that the primary cause of women’s vulnerability and suffering is the social role attributed to women as the providers of food, wood for fuel and water.

The second story is that of Sahena, in Gaibandha (North West India). This story introduces us to yet another theme of feminist political ecology: the role of women in grass root activism. Sahena is part of one of ten disaster committees located in her region and her aim is to increase preparedness to floods in her community. An interesting issue raised in this story is how women who are trying to become leaders in their community may struggle to do so due to a lack of initial support from both their own families and other women in their community. Here again, the profound reason behind this relational obstacle is the perceived role of women in society, that inherently subordinates them to daily livelihood routines –not to having important roles as leaders in their communities.

Several political ecologists texts acknowledge the increasing role of women in the community. Such is the case in the Proceso de Comunidades Negras (Process of Black Communities) in the Pacific Colombian, where women have played a fundamental role in claiming black territorial and autonomous rights from the Government. Equally, women’s role in forestry policy in Dominican Republic as described by Rochelau (1995), shows how women and their networks will have increasing importance in environmental issues.

Although there is a difference in depth and focus on the role given to woman in both feminist political ecology and NGO women campaigns such as the Oxfam “Sisters of the Planet”, there is however an underlying connection. In both arenas greater attention is being given to gendered environmental knowledge, gendered environmental rights and grass root activism. These were the three key themes introduced by Rochelau (1996) and re-emphasized by Elmhirst (2011) and we can see them reflected in the stories of Sahena and Martina.

I recommend you have a look at the rest of the Oxfam stories. You can find them at:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/climate_change/sisters/dvdform.html

Literature cited:

Elmhirst, Rebecca. 2011. Introducing new feminist political ecologies. Geoforum 42 (2):129-132.

Escobar, A. 1998. Whose knowledge, whose nature? Biodiversity, conservation, and the political ecology of social movements. Journal of Political Ecology 5 (1):53-82.

Rocheleau, D. 1995. Maps, Numbers, Text, and Context: Mixing Methods in Feminist Political Ecology. The Professional geographer 47 (4):458-466.

Sultana, Farhana. 2011. Suffering for water, suffering from water: Emotional geographies of resource access, control and conflict. Geoforum 42 (2):163-172.