The Chipko movement in India was a forest conservation movement in India in the 1970s run by women to protect trees and forests slated for government supported logging. This movement began because women, primary farmers in the areas, relied heavily on the forests for subsistence, but government policy denied them access to manage the lands. Multiple disasters, such as increased flooding and erosion, occurred.
This movement is one of the first recognized in which the ideas of feminism and environmental justice intertwine.
Feminism is the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes and is represented by various institutions committed to activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.
Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Where do these two issues collide? In Ecofeminism.
What is Ecofeminism?
Ecofeminism, also known as Feminist Environmental Philosophy, at its root explores how various environmental issues disproportionately affect women. It examines the places where destruction of nature and oppression of women collide. People involved in the movement state that the liberation movement of women is intertwined with liberation of nature.
Nature is often referred to as feminine, i.e. “Mother Nature”, and is referred to as exploited. It is a feminist issue because an understanding of nature and environmental problems often helps one understand how and why women’s oppression is linked with the unjustified domination and exploitation of nature.
Ecofeminists argue that historically the domination and oppression of women is very similar to the way that men have dominated and oppressed the land. Because women have traditionally held homemaker roles with unpaid care in many cultures, or are struggling to reach equality with men in other cultures, they have lesser access to basic human rights and are more likely to live in extreme poverty.
As a significant leader of the ecofeminism movement states in her book, Ecofeminism, Vandana Shiva believes that women’s equality should not be furthered through the exploitation of nature, nor should environmental improvements be made at the expense of women.
Why is Ecofeminism Significant?
Once explored, the collision of women’s rights around the world and environmental justice is undeniable.
As 70 percent of the world’s poor are women, women are vulnerable to natural disasters and the brutal effects of climate change. Eighty percent of the people displaced due to climate change issues in 2015 were women, and displaced pregnant women are less likely to receive proper pre- and post- natal care, which leads to more health issues.
Additionally, women are the primary population of unpaid labor workers in the fashion industry. Eighty percent of garment workers are female. As Alexa has mentioned before in Five Things You Didn’t Know About Your Favorite T-Shirt and What You Wear is a Humanitarian Issue, conditions in which laborers work are brutal. Workers are often unpaid, and environmental issues such as pollution and material waste plague the work conditions.
Furthermore, women represent a high percentage of poor communities that are dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood, particularly in rural areas where the prominent responsibility to supply household water supply and energy for cooking and heating falls onto the women. They are mainly responsible for the more time-consuming and labour-intensive tasks in the household.
Earlier this week, Delia wrote about how women make up 43 percent of total farmers globally, but they do not own the land they work on. She points to countries such as America, Nigeria, and India whose women feel that they are not given proper recognition as decision-makers for their own land, but she claims they could succeed immensely more if they were given the resources to succeed.
Where environmental issues present themselves, women face significant, disproportionate effects. Feminism and environmental justice must be countered together, head on.
Where Do We Go from Here?
There are multiple resources available to educate yourself on issues of Ecofeminism. In addition to the book by Vandana Shiva mentioned earlier, other book recommendations consist of: Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on What It Is and Why It Matters by Karen J. Warren and Ecofeminism and the Sacred edited by Carol Adams. Also, check out Emma Fagan’s article explaining environmental justice more in depth!
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