For my last blog post, I want to look at an issue which we can already see the impacts of across Africa, that is the gendered implications of climate change and its link to water. Africa is now one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change and variability (Boko et al, 2007). The 5th IPCC report estimates that surface temperatures have already increased by 0.5°C in the last century across most parts of Africa and that temperatures are likely to rise by another 2°C by the end of the century (Niang et al, 2014). Whilst there are uncertainties in climate change predictions and models, the IPCC has estimated with high confidence that water stress will increase in Africa as a result of climate change and driven by other factors such as land use change and water withdrawals (Niang et al, 2014). As it has been posed that the impacts of climate change will disproportionately be felt by women, I wanted to explore this in more detail (UNDP, 2012).
The Exacerbation of Existing Gender Inequalities
My previous posts have demonstrated some of the gender inequalities faced by women in relation to water; with climate change, these inequalities can be exacerbated over time. Climate change could heighten the loss of water resources, especially during dry seasons; this forces women to collect water from new sources that are further away and are often of an inferior quality (Denton, 2002). In turn, water collection times increase for women and girls, as well as their exposure to water-borne diseases (Denton, 2002). An exacerbation of water scarcity also threatens the use of adequate WASH facilities and menstrual health management; if water sources dry up, certain communities might not have enough water to empty their toilets and this can increase open defecation or 'flying toilets' (WaterAid, 2020). To add to this, women may see an increase in their domestic workload as water and food insecurities increase; whilst men can migrate to adapt to climate change, this is not often an option for women due to socio-cultural norms and in turn, women are left with greater responsibilities to take care of (FAO, 2018).
Adaptations to Climate Change
Although women are deemed to be more vulnerable to climate change, it is also important to consider how women have been resilient in their adaptation to climate change through livelihood diversification (Arora-Johnson, 2011; Webb, 2015). For example, a case study in Kenya shows how women are diversifying their income by gaining access to new markets to sell milk products; these products have given them an alternative to subsistent agricultural produce which would be impacted by climate change (Webb, 2015). Climate change is also facilitating a shift in gender roles and responsibilities in Kenya; due to increasing water insecurity, men have been forced to help women with collecting water, thus reducing the burden that women and girls would usually bear themselves (Webb, 2015). Furthermore, as a result of the migration of men (as mentioned above), some women have adapted to increasing food insecurities in their own way; women are known to possess and use indigenous knowledge to overcome this insecurity (Boko et al, 2007). For example, in southern Sudan, women preserve a selection of sorghum seeds which will ensure resistance to various conditions across all growing seasons (Boko et al, 2007).
To conclude, climate change brings potential for women's knowledge to be valued and utilised, as well as for gender roles to be broken down. Although there is certainly a risk of exacerbating existing inequalities, perhaps if climate adaptation and mitigation measures implement gender mainstreaming, then gendered implications of climate change can be minimised.
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