Climate crisis is not only about violence. It’s also about vulnerabilities like adverse health effects that continue to plague women across the country. The effects of climate change on women’s gynaecological health are severe. They inadvertently end up taking a lot of family burden even in the most critical times and put family and its safety over themselves as a priority in the most dreadful circumstances. Whether in droughts, cyclones, floods or heatwaves, they are in the most disadvantageous positions and their mortality rates are also much higher than men. A study of excess deaths during a 2010 heat wave in Ahmedabad found significantly more women than men had died. This is corroborated by studies that challenge assumptions that men are affected more by heat waves since they do more work outdoors.

Gender disparity and climate change

However, whether indoors or outdoors, climate change does not affect everyone equally. As per a United Nations study, women face higher perils and greater burdens due to their responsibilities and cultural norms in society. They share unpaid labour at home apart from working outside the home. It is estimated that India alone has 42 million home-based workers, mostly women who juggle household chores as well as manage kids at home. A January 2022 report linked climate change to a decline in productivity among home-based workers across South Asia. (‘How Indian women bear the brunt of deadly heatwaves---indoors and outdoors’, Scroll.in, Disha Shetty, June 27, 2022. URL: https://scroll.in/article/1026970/how-indian-women-bear-the-brunt-of-deadly-heatwaves-indoors-and-outdoors). For instance, Aliya Shakir Shaikh of Shivaji Nagar in Mumbai used to earn 5 rupees each making 50 pieces of cloth. At present her productivity has drastically reduced. Cramped in unhealthy environments where she can hardly breathe with one of the worst summers in India this year, Shaikh is facing loss of energy and feels fatigued.

Heat waves and pregnant women

The impact of heat waves is severe on pregnant and menopausal women. They are subject to allergies and infections. Heat stress leads to irregular menstruation cycles and causes stillbirth in pregnant women.  Rise in temperatures cause nausea, fatigue and vomiting. Heat-induced complications in pregnant women increase the dangers of poor pregnancy outcomes like the low birth weight of babies, premature deliveries, hypertension and congenital defects. According to Dr. Vikas Kaushal of Bal Raksha Bharat, an NGO that advocates for women’s health, giving birth in the period following climate-led disasters heightens the risks of complications like preeclampsia. Dr. Kaushal said, “Women are more likely to be affected by vector-borne diseases, as climate change influences the distribution and abundance of vectors. Pregnant women, in fact, are three times more likely to develop severe malaria than even non-pregnant women.” (‘Did you know heatwaves can affect periods and impact your pregnancy? Here’s why?’, Sneha Mahale, June 20, 2023. URL: https://tweakindia.com/wellness/health/impact-of-heatwaves-on-womens-health/#:~:text=It%20can%20take%20a%20toll,become%20longer%20and%20more%20frequent)

Menstrual health woes

Besides these aggravating problems, women suffer yeast infections and UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) in hot summers. Heavy bleeding and early periods are the consequences of irregular dietary habits in women. With the rise of temperatures and less work outside, the family income hits low which affects women most as they are the ones who consume less. Their nutritional value suffers as women deprive themselves of healthy diets. Also, the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations body set up to assess climate science said that factors such as gender, ethnicity and poverty combine to worsen the impact of climate change. (‘How Indian women bear the brunt of deadly heatwaves---indoors and outdoors’, Scroll.in, Disha Shetty, June 27, 2022. URL: https://scroll.in/article/1026970/how-indian-women-bear-the-brunt-of-deadly-heatwaves-indoors-and-outdoors)

 Floods and cyclones also magnify infections in women. Sanitary napkins are sparse during these times. Filthy toilets accentuate problems too. After Super Cyclone Amphan in 2020, many women were displaced in West Bengal and took shelter in refugee camps where their health was the least priority. Suchitra Jana, 28, of Sundarbans, narrates her ordeal. She developed a vaginal infection. She said, “The infection lasted for 6-7 months. I had a severe burning sensation and a strong odour which was very uncomfortable to bear.” (‘India: How is climate change impacting menstrual health?’ Midhat Fatima, DW, May 29, 2023. URL: https://www.dw.com/en/india-how-is-climate-change-impacting-menstrual-health/a-65761484)

Escalation in unpaid labour

 Power dynamics come into play when there is vulnerability. And in the case of women, climate crises increase the burden of work which is colossal. The International Labour Organization estimates that 57 per cent of the world’s 260 million home-based workers are women and many are taking up the burden of their families, unlike men. The women face an almost impossible choice---caregiving responsibilities or working outside the home for money. Poornima Nair, director of health and disability at Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based non-profit that provides support to the urban poor and works in Shivaji Nagar, Mumbai said, “The moment there is an illness in the family, the burden is definitely on the women.” (‘How Indian women bear the brunt of deadly heatwaves---indoors and outdoors’, Disha Shetty, Scroll.in, June 27, 2022. URL: https://scroll.in/article/1026970/how-indian-women-bear-the-brunt-of-deadly-heatwaves-indoors-and-outdoors)

The term “double burden” as coined by Arlie Rothchild refers to the workload of persons (usually women) who work at paid jobs while also having responsibilities for a significant portion of unpaid care work. (Source: https://www.servicegrowth.com/world-of-work/double-burden/).

 While paid work is typically acquired on skill, unpaid work continues to be delegated on the basis of gender regardless of skill or interest. A 2014 OECD study, Unpaid Care Work: The Missing Link in the Analysis of Gender Gaps in Labour Outcomes underlines the continuing gender disparities in taking responsibility for all the necessary tasks in a household or in a community. Women often work below their skill level or lower their standards to reconcile care responsibilities with paid work.

Salvaging the situation

Climate change needs to be dealt with meticulously. Mitigating climate disasters require adaptation strategies in which women should be included in decision-making as invaluable agents of change. To break the vicious cycle of vulnerability, the only pre-requisite to climate change discourse is the involvement of women---from the grassroots level to boardrooms. Not only in India but across the globe women are under-represented in climate change adaptation plans and strategies. The long-standing inequalities against women especially very limited access to assets such as lands, agricultural production, and other resources and entitlements. We need to “dig down and pull up the deep roots of the discourses that frame gender and climate policies.” (MacGregor, 2010:236).

In India, several initiatives have been taken to boost climate resilience. For instance, one non-governmental organization in Ahmedabad named Mahila Housing Trust spreads awareness by imparting climate knowledge in local languages. A women-led NGO, Swaniti Initiative, is working across India to combat the climate crisis. Even if the role of women is overlooked or unacknowledged, they should continue to break barriers by fighting the challenges. Only then all gender-blind and biased, often spurious claims of men that they have greater roles and responsibilities in combating ill effects of the climate crisis will be replaced by women who are fighters of climate action, incandescent in their love, ardor and purpose to be changemakers.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Jangipur College, Kalyani University, West Bengal. Views are personal. She can be reached at koyelbasu1979@gmail.com.)