An initiative, “Feminists for Climate” says it is aiming to enlighten Egyptians about the effects of climate change on women generally and Egyptian women specifically.
According to the founder of the initiative, Marihan Fouad, the issue of climate change and its effects increases the susceptibility and issues facing women, who are already the weakest and most disadvantaged groups. She said the goal of the initiative is to raise awareness of that.
“Choosing the idea of climate change to raise awareness about it and its impact on women has a personal dimension. I am from the delta region (north of Cairo), and most of the women here work first in agriculture, either on land owned by their families or even by working for others, which makes them bear climate change’s consequences the most,” she said.
According to her, studies show that the delta will be among the most affected regions in the future, adding that “its effect has already appeared on some crops recently.”
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Fouad said, “It is true that all humans will be affected, but not all in the same way, as it varies from one individual and one social type to another, so women are the group that bears most of its consequences.”
Responding, an official at the National Council for Women, Samira Rashwan, said that the state was aware that women are most affected by environmental issues and climate change, and the resulting emissions that cause natural disasters, and this has many reasons.
“They often cannot easily access all the resources that enhance their ability to confront climate change crises. Rather, there are many obstacles including the lack of technology and specialized education that enables women to easily understand the dimensions of the crisis, in addition to the fact that the empowerment of women has not yet reached what is hoped for and the high illiteracy rate is not only regional but also global,”he said.
According to Rashwan, the repercussions of climate change on the female population include an uptick in violence against women, a rise in early marriages, and a slowdown in the empowerment of women.
Story was adapted from Arab News.
