We need to know that climate change is bringing more questions than answers. It is important for all of us to learn and know more about climate change and its impact. Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
Though all of us are being impacted due to climate change, the threat is more for women as seventy per cent of the 1.3 billion people living in conditions of poverty are women. In urban areas, 40 per cent of the poorest households are headed by women. Women predominate in the world's food production (50-80 per cent), but they own less than 10 per cent of the land. We should also know that 80 per cent of the displaced by climate related disasters and changes around the world are women and girls.
Climate change may lead to more gender-based violence, an increase in child marriages, and worsening sexual and reproductive health. Advancing gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. Women are increasingly being recognized as more vulnerable to climate change impacts than men, as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent on the natural resources which climate change threatens the most.
Well, we are discussing all these because this year’s focus of the International Women’s Day which is observed on 8th March is related to sustainable tomorrow. This International Women’s Day, let’s claim “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. The day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.
The first National Woman's Day was observed in the United States on 28 February. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions. 19 March, the last Sunday of February, 15 April, and 23 February are among the key dates for the International Women’s Day movement. Before the Russian Revolution, Russia had not yet adopted the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to mitigate the errors of the Julian calendar, which owes its name to the Roman emperor, who had chosen it 46 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Gregorian calendar is used today in the large majority of countries. In 1917, 23 February in Russia thus corresponded to 8 March in the other European countries.
António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations in his message said that “the pandemic has kept girls and women out of schools and workplaces, they face rising poverty and rising violence, they do the vast majority of the world’s unpaid but essential care work, they’re targets of violence and abuse, just because of their gender.
“In all countries, women are scandalously under-represented in the halls of power and the boardrooms of business and as this year’s theme reminds us, they bear the brunt of climate change and environmental degradation. Starting now, on International Women’s Day, it’s time to turn the clock forward for every woman and girl”, he said.
“We need more women environment ministers, business leaders and presidents and prime ministers. They can push countries to address the climate crisis, develop green jobs and build a more just and sustainable world. We cannot emerge from the pandemic with the clock spinning backwards on gender equality”, he further said.
Ms Audrey Azoulay , the Director-General of UNESCO in her message on the occasion said that “gender equality for tomorrow starts today. Right now, however, parity is still a work in progress. Even before the pandemic, it was estimated that it would take a century to close the gender gap. We need to turn this situation around. This year, on International Women’s Day, she applauded this new generation of young women – for their courage in speaking out, inspiring others and mobilizing their peers, for a more sustainable tomorrow.
This day is important as it reminds us of equality and participation of women in the social transformation process. Global data is alarming when it comes to climate change and we must take action to mitigate and combat climate change. Together we can make a difference and let us ensure gender equality for a sustainable tomorrow.
(With direct inputs from UN publication and feedback may be sent to bkranjan@gmail.com)
RANJAN K BARUAH,Guwahati, Assam