Rural women deserve their fair share in decision-making on climate change policies due to their higher vulnerability to it as compared to their male counterparts.
Speakers stressed this at a conference on “Women as Change Agents for Coping with Climate Change” held here at the International Labour Organization (ILO) Auditorium on Thursday. The event was organised by the National Commission on Status of women (NCSW) in collaboration with Ministry of Environment and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Speakers said that women in rural areas, apart from providing nutrition and care to their families, are also involved in farming practices, which leaves them more vulnerable to climate change.
Chairperson NCSW Anis Haroon said rural women’s concerns need to be integrated in Pakistan’s climate change policies to make them comprehensive.
It is also equally important to ensure that the impact of climate change on livelihoods and women is systematically assessed through qualitative and quantitative studies, she said.
BushraTabasum, a community worker, stressed the need to utilise kitchen waste water in agriculture and gardening.
A researcher from Faisalabad, Gulshan Naseem, said she produced fossil diesel from the seeds of the Sukh Chyan plant. She said this can help decrease price of diesel fuel in the country.
“Industrialisation, deforestation, overpopulation and increasing use of fossil fuels are aggravating Pakistan’s extreme weather conditions,” said Ministry of Environment’s Additional Secretary Kamran Ali Qureshi. .
The Environment Ministry’s Director General Javed Ali Khan shared a draft of climate change policy
with the NCSW for consultation.
The draft catered to the issues being faced by rural women due to climate change in Pakistan.
Representatives of national and international organisations working on environment and women’s issues were also present on the occasion.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2011.
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