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South Asian Women's Alliance (SAWAL) for Climate
Change.
Finally debates are taking place globally on gendered
impacts of climate change, women's roles in mitigation and
adaptation to climate change. Women in many rural areas
are the worst victims of the changing climate, being less
equipped with tools and information to adapt to the
changing situation.
A woman in the northern Himalayas of Nepal (Mustang) works
for 17 hours a day, in comparison to 10 hours a day by her
male counterpart. Most of her time is spent on collection
of fuel energy, for which she now goes to higher altitude
due to fuel wood scarcity. Similarly, a woman in the
central region of Bhutan now works in the field, in
addition to her daily work at home: cooking, cleaning,
maintaining food stock, washing dishes, milking the cow,
collecting water, making textile handicraft, and nurturing
her children.
Similarly, in cases of disasters, women are the ones who
are hit harder. In Bangladesh, the 1991 Cyclone had three
times higher female mortality. In Pakistan and Afghanistan
earthquake, more women died than men. In the Asian Tsunami
of 2005, Five times more women died than men. The reasons:
unequal access to information, mobility, awareness, lack
of preparedness and lack of access to tools and
technologies.
Women are more vulnerable to natural hazards, but NOT
helpless. Their roles, skills and capacities have to be
identified and mobilized for adaptation purposes. Now,
globally women are organizing themselves and coming
together to speak about their experiences and roles in the
adaptation to Climate Change. This representation is
however, tilted mainly towards the global north. Women
from South Asia are still absent from these debates and
discussions. It is thus important to have their voices
heard as an alliance of women from South Asia, identifying
their vulnerabilities and capacities.
South Asian Women's Alliance (SAWAL) for Climate Change is
an Alliance of South Asian women, working in and committed
to environmental cause. This alliance connects people's
capacities and strengthens them further, by working on
capacity development and research on climate change and
energy issues, ultimately to support Environmental policy
development in South Asian countries.
SAWAL for Climate Change is a project of the Trans
Himalayan Environment & Livelihood Program (T-HELP) South
Asia. We invite your participation in this alliance.
Please send us your CV and a brief letter of Interest (1-2
paragraphs at the most) why you are interested to join
SAWAL for Climate Change.
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