Tasleem Naz Abro, Kasloom Abro
CLIMATE change affects everyone, regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, or nationality. It poses serious threats to human rights, global security, and economies worldwide. The Pakistan Intellectual Forum (PIF) conducted a survey across various regions, with a special focus on rural areas, to assess awareness of the climate crisis and the role of women in climate action. Alarmingly, 97 percent of respondents had little or no knowledge of climate change or women’s involvement in climate initiatives.
Pakistan is considered a climate change hotspot, facing rising temperatures, more intense floods and droughts, and extreme weather events. Like other countries, climate change impacts every region, affecting all living beings and every aspect of society, including health, the economy, and daily life. Women and girls, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, are disproportionately affected, bearing the heaviest burdens during environmental crises.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reports that women produce half of the world’s food, and in rural areas poor women produce 60-80 percent of staple crops. Yet women earn only 10 percent of the world’s income and own less than two percent of property. Women and female children spend more than 10 million ‘person-years’ carrying water from remote sources each year. In some areas of Pakistan, water supply requires 4-6 hours of work each day. In Sindh, millions of work hours are lost each year to the need to fetch drinking water.
As climate conditions change, Climate change will force women to spend more time on domestic and care responsibilities, reducing the time they have for income-generating activities and diversifying their livelihoods. Girls will be left with even less time available to attend school. In times of crisis, if the nutritional needs of men and boys are viewed as more important, women and girls always become the last to eat when their families to run short of food. Disasters also limit women and girls’ access to resources and information, increase their vulnerability, and intensify their domestic and care-giving roles.
Women and girls are essential to agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and food security, and they play a vital role in implementing climate adaptation measures. Yet, they remain underrepresented in decision-making at national, provincial, district, and union council levels, and issues of rural women and gender equality are often overlooked by governments. Addressing this requires a multi-pronged approach to remove structural barriers and integrate gender perspectives into policy. Strengthening women’s roles in natural resource management, climate-smart agriculture, and urban environmental projects—while providing access to education, resources, and decision-making—is crucial for effective climate action in Pakistan.
A significant obstacle is the lack of data, particularly gender-disaggregated data, which impedes informed policy-making and the measurement of impacts. Other significant challenges include deep-rooted biased social norms that limit women’s participation in decision-making, institutional and financial barriers such as a lack of dedicated budgets, and gender inequality more broadly, which is often exacerbated by crises. Without this specific expertise, it’s difficult to ensure that solutions address the different needs, risks, and opportunities faced by women and men, ultimately hindering the achievement of long-lasting gender and climate justice.
—Tasleen Naz Abro is a volunteer adult literacy educator and climate action activist whereas Kalsoom Abro is a columnist, climate & environment educator.
