The Invisible Impact: Climate Change And Women

April 2022 saw floods cause untold devastation in KwaZulu-Natal. Over 430 people lost their lives, many are still missing and, before any real repair could be done, further floods hit the area again.

These floods caused drownings, landslides, destruction of homes and businesses and subsequent power and water outages. This natural disaster highlighted the socioeconomic and climate change vulnerabilities of our country and, in particular, of our women.

As the tough work begins and people start rebuilding their lives, it is important to reflect on how this emergency humanitarian crisis discriminates against and impacts women the most.

Women are much more vulnerable when it comes to humanitarian or environmental disasters. In terms of poverty and the burden of care, climate change impacts the poor the most, of which women make up a larger proportion than men.

South Africa’s Living Conditions Survey reveals that 52.2 per cent of women fall below the upper-bound poverty line (UBPL) or national poverty line, compared to 46.1 per cent of men. Furthermore,
74.8 per cent of women-led households fall below this line, whereas only 59.3 per cent of men-led households do. (The South African government measures the UBPL as an income of R1 183 per month).

With certain geographic areas being more vulnerable due to location and climate change, women seem to bear the brunt of not being able to relocate easily. Child and extended family care responsibilities often mean that they are the last to be moved.

Inequalities such as poor housing, land ownership and financing increase women’s vulnerability. Furthermore, the increase in water-borne diseases caused by flooding becomes a women’s burden, with the added responsibility of having to care for ill family members.

Climate change impacts food security, potable water supply and energy for heating and cooking – severely impacting women who are more dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods.

Due to women’s socioeconomic status, they are often excluded from environmental management discourse, limiting their decision-making power.

Worse yet, in situations of displacement, women’s vulnerability to sexual gender-based violence increases, including rape, trafficking and early or forced marriages.

This situation is mirrored in many countries globally, with the United Nations, 10 years ago, stating that climate change, as one of the greatest global challenges of the 21^st century, impacts gender differently.

An article written in 2012 by Balgis Osman-Elasha, principal investigator with the Climate Change Unit in Sudan, stated that: “Women are increasingly being seen as more vulnerable than men to the impacts of climate change, mainly because they represent the majority of the world’s poor and are proportionally more dependent on threatened natural resources.”

These gender inequality gaps relating to access to resources, such as housing, land and credit, need to be addressed, including information and technology, which is crucial in disaster management and mitigation.

We must rebuild women’s resilience 

As a country and a continent, we need to strengthen women’s organisations to build resilience to focus on mitigation and disaster management and control.

Founded in 2006 as Hivos South Africa, Hlanganisa facilitates grants and funding to provide opportunities to uplift many South Africans who continue to experience discrimination and poor access to their socioeconomic rights. Improving the lives of society’s most vulnerable and building capacity are some of the pillars of this South African civil society organisation, with climate and gender justice, resilience and women’s leadership as its core focus.

Real change is needed when it comes to facilitating the political participation of women in climate change discourse. This speaks to acknowledging that women are repositories of indigenous knowledge systems that can help preserve the environment, augment food security, improve adaptations around water harvesting, storage, food preservation and agricultural practices, and strengthen local food supply chains.

The changes needed on the ground include the collection and utilisation of sex-disaggregated data and improved disaster preparedness on the part of local governments. Socioenvironmental issues impact women differentially; now is the time to be intentional in mitigating the looming crises.