Why we should empower women to create global change for the better
What empowering third world women can do about climate change
Around the world, climate change is already affecting us. Whole nations are going under water, terrible storms are killing people, and still more die from extreme heat waves all escalated by climate change. The people hurt the most by climate change are often also the people least able to cope with the changes—the poor, those living in undeveloped countries, and for the most part, women.
In 2017, UN specifically addressed the role women played in climate change, and came up with an unusual solution—gender equality.
Universally around the world, climate change hits women the hardest. Women are the ones who are usually sent to fetch water in arid climates where the nearest well may be miles and miles away. As more men leave communities in search of better prospects, it falls to the women left behind to struggle on as best as they can, often taking on tasks they are familiar with, such as farming.
Help women farmers learn to grow more efficiently
When you don't have access to modern knowledge of how things grow, the usual solution is simply to find new land to grow on. In most countries, this is done by clear cutting forests. By teaching women how to boost their yields and be more efficient on the available land, productivity can be increased as much as 20-30%.
In terms of Co2 removed from the atmosphere, its a significant amount, about 2 billion tons by 2050.
Giving women more choice
In countries where sex education is not common place, and prevention is even less common, the result is often more children than two parents can possibly hope to take care of. Putting contraception in the hands of more women can help insure not only that they have fewer children, but that those children have a better quality of life.
Even the most loving mother would find it a strain to take care of 11 children, and by choice would prefer to have fewer. Giving them that choice can help give them a chance to make it out of poverty, as well as being easier on the planet.
Educating women
In areas hard hit by the effects of climate change, women are called upon to do more work than ever in order to survive. Unfortunately for many, this means putting work around the home before education, and even getting married as children in order to ease the burden their family is experiencing.
Child marriage is usually associated with abuse, and many times power struggles over gender can prevent them from getting out of poverty. Many men refuse to let their wives continue their education, even at the expense of not benefiting from that very same education.
Changing these things will not be easy, but there are many organizations working toward empowering women around the world. The Malala Fund, Prajwala, and Women for Women are all great organizations working hard to turn the tide against gender equality.
If you want to help, you can do so by donating to charities that help. Together, we can make a big difference.
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