Can the effects of seasons have gendered connotations? Before my readers start complaining that this is yet another rant by an angry Indian feminist, let me tell you, yes, it is. It indeed is yet another “rant” because it is the 21st century, and still, most of us don’t understand the basics of shared workload, let alone gender equality.
The Burning Heatwaves
The heat waves across the country and unbearable humidity in some parts have made summers unbearable. We can already feel the effects of climate change up close, and let’s face it; climate change is now a lived reality.
And we have also been constantly hearing that all of us have been equally affected, but we fail to recognise that the effects of these heatwaves are disproportionate. The women of the house are bearing the maximum brunt of the pain and struggle that the summer season has brought with itself.
How Climate Change Disproportionately Affects Women
While we are craving for ACs and complaining about the constantly rising temperatures, most of us have forgotten that our primary caregivers, mainly our mothers and grandmothers, are in the kitchen almost 12 to 14 hours a day cooking, cleaning and serving food to us without a single complaint.
And yet, one mistake in the cooking and we don’t leave any stone unturned to criticise. Or maybe if we don’t find a filled water bottle in the fridge, we turn the house upside down, shouting and screaming why there isn’t any cold water.
We can make all the memes in the world about us complaining to leave our air-conditioned rooms when our mothers ask us to fill the bottles, but in reality, most of us don’t even move an inch to help them unless it’s in our interests.
Most of us are experts in gender equality when it comes to imparting knowledge to others but are not even accountable to ourselves for our actions.
The amount of unpaid work done by women is at least two and a half times more than men, from cooking and cleaning to fetching water and firewood and caring for children and the elderly. As a result, they have less time to work for pay or work longer hours mixing paid and unpaid labour.
Unpaid employment by women subsidises the cost of child care, which keeps families afloat, helps economies and often compensates for lack of social services. Despite this, it is rarely referred to as “work”.
Unpaid care and domestic work are worth between 10% and 39% of GDP, respectively, and can contribute more to the economy than manufacturing, commerce or transportation.
Further, climate change is worsening it for women as they are the first to be deprived of equitable access to water and face occupational hazards both indoors and outdoors. While the effects might still not be so noticeable in the urban areas, the effects of climate change on unpaid labour are drastic in the rural areas.
Moreover, according to the IPCC report, climate-related risks worsen gender inequalities, increasing the workload for women, thereby ignoring their well-being and necessities like an adequate amount of rest.
In rural areas, women have to walk for longer distances and work for longer hours to collect water in the face of increasing water shortage and drought-related risks.
The Indirect Implications
While most of these effects are direct, climate change has certain indirect implications on women.
Have you all heard about the Water Wives? In the remote village of Denmangal in Maharashtra, men have at least two to three wives only for the sole purpose of collecting water for drinking and cooking. The village doesn’t have taps, and the nearest source of water is two wells at the foot of a hill.
To ensure that the household has a continuous supply of water, men in this village tend to marry multiple women claiming that droughts are the sole reason for engaging in this kind of arrangement.
Now, I am sure that I don’t need to explain at great length the implications of such illegal and archaic solutions to the women of the village.
Individual action is important, leading to collective efforts to mitigate the burgeoning impacts of climate change on women. Women are not merely survivors and are showing remarkable resilience to stand up against any discrimination they face, be it at home or the workplace.
But we also need to remember that men have an essential role to play by doing their part in sharing the workload, creating safer spaces for women to voice their concerns and ensuring that they don’t compromise on their health and well being, especially now more than ever.