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CULTURE adds diversity and colour to life but sometimes it is also used to perpetuate customs and traditions that have outlived the times in which they originated. Societal values are part of the social fabric and can only contribute to social well-being if they are in sync with the needs of the time in which they are practised.
For some strange reason, women are always made to bear the brunt of culture and serve as the repository of man’s honour. Born to disadvantage in poor homes and not given full freedom in wealthy families, the life of a woman remains misunderstood and misinterpreted. She is not empowered to make her own life choices but is expected to navigate her role with extreme dexterity through myriad complex relationship networks, from daughter to sister and wife to mother seamlessly.
Her conscience is conditioned from birth to feel guilt and shame, and live in fear of punishment from God and man. This makes her a prisoner of her thoughts, born psychologically entrapped to please and serve, and emotionally persuaded always be ready to submit and accept. Aspiring outside the socially permissible parameters is seen as corrupting Western influence.
In developing countries, women face more discrimination in the name of societal norms. This phenomenon is more pronounced in rural communities where the opportunity for the girl child’s education and access to resources is limited and early marriages are common. Emotional abuse, sexual harassment and infringement of dignity are dark secrets, the mention of which is considered sinful and against cultural norms.
We need to look at women as part of the solution.
But times are changing and approaches are also undergoing a silent transformation. The urban woman today is more aware and assertive but this cohort is restricted to the economically empowered and psychologically emancipated.
The new era that we are entering is fraught with uncertainties. Many old myths will need to be discarded if we want to cope with multitiered threats including climate change and pandemics. Looking at women as victims or with a subservient role in society no longer makes sense in a world where you need all hands on deck. The coming decade will challenge us at many levels where treating women as victims will become untenable.
Despite gender constraints women have always shown their mettle when given the opportunity. Women are resilient and proactive. Rural women have consistently demonstrated their ability to use traditional knowledge and ecological awareness to adapt to a change in the environment. The main barrier to their full participation is not the vulnerability of their gender but society and culture that choose to present women as weak and helpless.
It is ironic that while the climate conversation has gained global recognition it has yet to find traction in developing countries. Women by and large are missing from the climate debate. This is mostly due to patriarchal control in societal hierarchy that sees men as power brokers. Women are marginalised and threatened using subtle messaging to prevent them from aspiring beyond conventional roles. So, it is not surprising how this element of fear and violent backlash holds back even educated women from using public spaces to voice their true aspirations. Religion also retains a strong hold and its self-serving interpretation is used by a male-dominated society to influence culture and politics to subordinate women.
However, looking at it from a spatial lens, and taking into account the wide-ranging consequences of climate change, working through male silo approaches will no longer remain a long-term option. Growing gender disparities will result in economic losses, and exclusion will result in social destabilisation, making gender integration critical.
As the climate regime changes, it will need a system reset to tackle associated issues, making it increasingly important to include women in climate conversations to address socioeconomic vulnerabilities as a cross-cutting theme in policy actions. Opening up spaces for gender inclusion is not easy in conservative societies but women are stepping up and seizing opportunities to break barriers and inch their way up.
In the new global order, all agencies and institutions will need to employ a mix of top-down and bottom-up approaches to fight climate and pandemics. A niche for women will have to be created giving them their rightful share and access to resources and opportunity. Financial inclusion and meaningful role in decision-making will not only be critical for a gender-balanced climate future but imperative for social harmonisation and political stability.
The time for treating women as victims is over. We now need to look at them as part of the solution, and empower them to become partners in decision-making, agents of advocacy, and independent actors instead of perpetuating a dependency syndrome that has outlived its time.
The writer is chief executive of Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change.
Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2022
