The climate crisis is already here and does not impact everyone equally. Women and girls experience disproportionately high health risks, especially in situations of poverty, and due to existing roles, responsibilities and cultural norms. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), women and children are 14 times more likely than men to die in a disaster. The Supreme Court of India has just ruled that people have a right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change, and the right to a clean environment is already recognised as a fundamental right within the ambit of the right to life.
Agriculture is the most important livelihood source for women in India, particularly in rural India. Climate-driven crop yield reductions increase food insecurity, adversely impacting poor households that already suffer higher nutritional deficiencies. Within small and marginal landholding households, while men face social stigma due to unpaid loans (leading to migration, emotional distress, and sometimes even suicide), women experience higher domestic work burdens, worse health, and greater intimate partner violence. In fact, when compared to districts without droughts in the past 10 years, National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 and 5 data showed that women living in drought-prone districts were more underweight, experienced more intimate partner violence and had a higher prevalence of girl marriages. For women, the increasing food and nutritional insecurity, work burdens and income uncertainties lead not only to poor physical health, but also impact their mental health and emotional well-being.
EDITORIAL | A distinct right: On climate change and species protection
