"Gender equality is not only one of the basic human rights, but also an essential foundation for achieving peace, prosperity and sustainable development."
Climate change is a very multifaceted problem. That is why it is important to note that it has a massive influence on the vulnerable parts of the population, including the living conditions of women. Moreover, it reinforces existing social inequalities. According to the UN, up to 80% of people, who were forced to change their place of residence due to climate change are women.
In many countries, including many regions of Central Asia, women are still dependent on men. They are less mobile and as a consequence, they are limited in access to information and in particular to information on adaptation measures.
The responsibility for household still rests on the shoulders of women in developing countries. Many types of household chores are considered as traditionally "women's". In addition, often men from poor areas have to move for work to a big city and women are assigned additional responsibilities for caring the house. And the ongoing climate change, leading to drought and natural disasters, further worsen the conditions of their work.
According to Balzhan Zhumagazina - specialist of the CAREC program, made at the Central Asian Climate Change Conference, which is organized by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) in January this year, "the percentage of households with central supply of tap water: from 4 -5% in Kyrgyzstan and up to 25-59% in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. "
Moreover, due to the fact that most of the time women from disadvantaged areas spend their time preparing food, they are affected by respiratory diseases. The reason for this is poor quality fuel, which they use. In addition, their reproductive function is also at risk.
Due to the massive cutting down of trees, women have to travel long distances for firewood mining, often in hazardous conditions. "To collect and bring a bundle of firewood, I leave the village for a distance of 10 to 30 km. (...) Around the village of Rukhch there is no shrub left, "complains the resident of the village of Rukhch, Tajikitansan - Shikorieva Sohib.
Such work conditions do not leave women time for education and self-development. As a result, their potential to fight the climate change remains untapped. Serious influence in this situation is also because of the traditional nature of the social structure of society, where there is still a stereotype about the "subordinate" status of women.
However, at the Central Asian Conference on Climate Change, Balzhan Zhumagazina presented the following positive effects from involving women in the fight against the effects of climate change:
• Increase the productivity of farms, headed by women by 20-30%;
• Increasing of agricultural productivity in developing countries by 2.5-4%;
• To help reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17%.
In other words, involving women in the decision-making process on climate change should become one of the priority areas for development. Firstly, this will greatly improve efficiency of our efforts to fight climate change in general. Secondly, each of us should have the opportunity to make a contribution to improve the conditions of our lives.
"Women can and must become the main driving force in initiating adaptation measures, especially in rural areas characterized by a high level of male labor migration", - Zhanna Babagalieva, Specialist of the program "Climate Change and Sustainable Energy" of CAREC.
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Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB)
