Climate Change’s greatest victims are women and girls

As a climate activist, I believe in the power of women to rally for the causes that affect them the most. My family comes from a village in northern Pakistan where people rely on mountain streams, called Katthay in the Hindko language, for their water.

Changing rainfall patterns rendered our Katthay dry, forcing women and girls to drop out of school, to travel miles for mere liters of fresh water on foot every day. I have since seen climate change as an aggravator of existing social challenges. People who have done the least to cause it, suffer the most from its impacts, and with the least capacity to deal with its consequences.

Resentment at this climate injustice propelled me towards climate activism. Today, I teach girls from local Madrassas (informal Islamic schools in Pakistan) about climate change to help them become significant agents in rallying for climate action. As a climate journalist, I bring to Pakistan’s grassroots the women-centric climate discourse that has long been missing from its public consciousness. I have also represented Pakistan at multiple international climate conferences, and in my dialogues with government officials and global climate experts, I highlight the importance of meaningful inclusion of women in climate policymaking. By dedicating my energy and efforts to highlighting the need for a gendered approach to climate solutions, I hope to become a voice in a much larger symphony of women calling for immediate climate action.

Delay in this climate action, lack of accountability for climate criminals, and the gradual conversion of annual climate conferences into networking opportunities for fossil fuels lobbyists and major carbon emitters, all contribute to climate anxiety and pessimism. However, past evidence of strong leadership and activism from women serves as a reminder of the future they can build, with apt investments into their education and capacity building to do so.

“I pray that I never have to spend dark nights in cold, muddy waters again,” says Sajida.

In her words her hope outweighs her hopelessness. This hope can manifest into reality with women-focused climate education at the grassroots of Pakistan, a gendered approach to climate solutions, and women-centric climate policy making.