Image Source: Burcu Köleli for UN Women (2022).
This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’.
The idea of celebrating an effort towards gender equality with the concept of sustainable environment reaches back to since when all the women are considered to be the backbone of the essential services at home.
But, now it is being brought up as an issue to be addressed. Because even if the time has changed; women may have started performing jobs other than household chores moreover doing way better than men in literally every field. Still, all the women are subjected to the responsibility bearer of essentials to their family members.
Therefore, when the climatic conditions deplete, the essentials get affected at the quality and the quantity which eventually affects the most vulnerable clan out there, which is women.
The year 2022 is pivotal for achieving gender equality in the context of climate change, and environmental and disaster risk reduction, which are some of the greatest global challenges of the twenty-first century. Without gender equality today, a sustainable future, and an equal future, remains beyond our reach. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/events/2022/02/international-womens-day-2022
United Nations has come with the theme to make us address some of these issues. As in:
– What are the issues of climate change and sustainability?
– How women are vulnerable and marginalized with the deep climate change?
– General traits of women and girls of being effective, powerful, leaders, and change-makers?
– How women have been involved in sustainable initiatives, so far?
– What do we need to do?
How to promote women’s rights?
Why gender equality for IWD 2022?
Women and girls are effective and powerful leaders and change-makers for climate adaptation and mitigation. They are involved in sustainability initiatives around the world, and their participation and leadership result in more effective climate action.
The effects of climate change affected us all. However, it does not affect us all equally. Why?
Every woman has her situations, struggles, troubles, and stories. A common factor that sits in every women’s life is the expectation of society, family, and even the acquaintance to be the strongest backing of their family. Either she is earning or not, either she is healthy or not, either she has time or not she is expected moreover held responsible to bring harmony, balance, and fulfillment to her family.
This is the reason why women of all ages are most vulnerable to climate change.
It doesn’t matter whether a woman belongs to a rural area or urban background when it comes to their family, to becomes impliedly compulsory to put their family before themselves to leave no stone unturned in serving them, to invest themselves in their wellbeing.
Eventually, when every woman in the family starts putting other members above themselves in all ambits if their life you would see all those women holding last positions in the hierarchy in all aspects of their life whether it is health, wealth, or happiness.
How women contribute to gender inequality?
The false mindset which is being embedded in every woman’s mindset since her birth is to serve their loved ones which leave her finding it hard to put herself above anyone in her own life, it makes her forget to take care of herself moreover she starts thinking of it as a wrong notion of prioritizing herself over anyone, who belongs to her.
When a woman begins excessively serving, the men in her life men become excessively emotionally dependent upon them.
Thoughts, ideas, philosophies, and notions are never right or wrong. But, there perception holds the tendency to categorize the ideology as right or wrong.
Likewise taking care of your loved ones is not wrong, but;
-not prioritizing yourself is,
-spreading yourself too thin is,
-not taking care of oneself is,
-demeaning your very existence is,
-putting off your well-being is.
Gender inequality
When a broad category is further categorized among its different types, they all have a distinction, their purposes, and requirement of existence. And, same is with a human being being a broader category, get divided into different shapes and sizes, like genders. All have their purpose and requirement to meet in the world.
Despite respecting the natural distinction the society has always lived in a misconception by highlighting the gaps between the genders than embracing the distinctions among them.
It could have been better if the focus would have been on the qualities with which each gender flourishes. Rather than demeaning each other for not being able to perform what they are said to be meant for.
What do we need to do?
Have ever thought if we could be the generation to work through the remedy of environmental disasters, we humans are responsible for creating. Because:
-we are much aware of the issue,
-realizing the effect, and
-acknowledging it to be your responsibility to look for the breakthrough.
Like everyone when you sense a responsibility towards any social cause more than we feel hunger to know the cause of the problem, we tend to find what can we do as an individual for the issue and most often do one thing particularly – ” google”.
But, is it sufficient?
TheUnited Nations is making the alignment of IWD 2022 with the priority theme of the upcoming – 66th commission on the status of women (CSW 66)
CSW is instrumental in:
– promoting women’s rights
– documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world and
– Shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
What can we do as individuals to have a positive impact on our changing climate?
3 steps for an individual’s initiative:
-Educate; both ourselves and others on the reality of the situation we must engage with science and look into the evidence of changes taking place.
-Organize; because when we unite under one goal we significantly increase our chances of achieving it.
-Lead by an example, we all here the capacity to make a change which a positive impact on the environment around us.
Continuing to examine the opportunities, as well as the constraints, to empower women and girls to have a voice and be equal players in decision making related to climate change and sustainability is essential for sustainable development and gender equality.
Without gender equality, today, a sustainable future, and an equal future remain beyond our reach, tomorrow.
Literally You 