Written by: Maureen M. Zulu
Article should be referenced as: Zulu, M. M. (2022). 2022 International Women’s Day Theme Information Brief – GWYD-003, Lusaka 10101, Zambia.
Website: www.marchassociates.org
Background
The theme for the International Women’s Day (IWD) for 2022 is ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’. The theme recognises the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation and response, to build a more sustainable future for all.
Advancing gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. This is against the background that across societies, the impacts of climate change affect women, men, youth and the differently abled in different ways. In rural and peri urban areas women are often responsible for gathering and producing food, collecting water and sourcing fuel for heating and cooking. With climate change, these tasks are becoming more difficult. Various studies have shown that women and men have different abilities to adapt to climate change, variability and weather-related shocks, with women in most cases being affected more than men from climate related shocks and stresses[1]. This has been attributed to women’s limited access to timely weather forecast information, limited available options for crop and livestock diversification, lack of independent sources of income, limited access to credit for better investment and low decision-making power to apply adaptation measures[2]. Another contributing factor is the dependence of women and other vulnerable groups on natural resources such as forestry and water for their livelihood[3]. For Zambia specifically, studies have attributed this to inadequate Policy implementation framework, limited coordination between ministries, their statutory bodies and other government agencies[4], inadequate monitoring and evaluation framework and inadequate resources[5]. Consequently, there is a difference in adaptive capacities and vulnerabilities to climate change of women and men in the different sectors[6].
Actualization of the 2022 International Women’s Day Theme
In view of the foregoing, March Associates is of the considered view that the 2022 IWD theme for Zambia implies the following:
- Of key importance to the realization of this year’s IWD theme even beyond 8th March 2022, is the need for all citizens from different social backgrounds and income strata to have equal opportunities to participate in the economy and reap benefits of their participation[7]. Fundamentally, inclusion entails access without bias to markets, resources, and opportunities[8]. Fostering inclusion through active participation in the economy involves increasing access to opportunity by greater numbers of workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers in ways that generate additional economic growth. Successful inclusion unlocks the potential of more and more individuals and communities and empowers them to improve their circumstances and status. This active process differs from other responses to inequality that focus solely on reshaping outcomes, such as supplementing income levels or altering the distribution of wealth[9]. On the basis of the above, March Associates is of the considered view that government must put in place measures that ensure that all sections of society, especially women, that have been marginalized in participating in the economy are brought on board. This will ensure the marginalized sections of society can contribute effectively to the development of the country, particularly in combatting climate change.
- Putting in place measures that will ensure that households use sustainable sources of energy including hydroelectricity, solar and wind energy, as opposed to the use of charcoal and/or firewood. Use of these sources of energy, especially for cooking, will not only contribute to reducing the occurrence of adverse effects of climate change, but also allow household members, especially women and girls more time to engage in other productive activities. For instance, instead of spending so much time on collecting firewood and cooking on the same, they would spend less time when using a cleaner source of heating such an electric or solar stove.
- Heightened mass awareness on household adoption of climate smart agriculture methods including conservation farming, zero tillage and use of organic fertilizers.
- From a policy perspective, the 2022 IWD theme implies government putting in place measures to accelerate efforts in implementing the enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)[10]. This in the long run, implies mobilizing resources for climate action aimed at strengthening targets to reduce emissions (mitigation) as well as enhancing climate resilience (adaptation).
- There is need to enhance planning for climate action, including financial planning. The planning must be informed by sex disaggregated data. Recommended sex disaggregated data should include that relating to the effects of climate change on women and men, girls and boys and their ability to deal with climate related shocks. This calls for enhanced investments in research to enhance availability of sex disaggregated data through the Ministry of Green Economy working closely with the Gender Division.
[1] Paudyal B, Chanana N, Chhetri A, Sherpa L, Kadariya I and P Aggarwal (2019). Gender Integration in Agricultural Policies: A case of Nepal.
[2] World Bank Group et al., 2015; Huyer, 2016; Milazzo and Goldstein, 2017
[3] National Policy on Climate Change, Zambia (2016)
[4] IAPRI (2016). Towards Gender Mainstreaming in Agriculture, Natural Resources Management and Climate Change Programs in Zambia.
[5] Mukuka, R. (2013). Factors that Promote Gender Inequalities in Kapululwe Conservation Farming Project in Chongwe District. Master of Arts in Gender Studies dissertation, University of Zambia.
[6] Fisher and Carr, 2015; Mersha and Van Laerhoven, 2016
[7] EBRD. “Economic Inclusion in Transition.” p. 79
[8] Elena Ianchovichina and Susanna Lundstrom (2009). “What is Inclusive Growth?” World Bank
[9] Center for International Enterprise (2015). Economic Inclusion: Leveraging Markets and Entrepreneurship to Extend Opportunity.
[10] The NDC is considered a Policy document which has an overall objective of putting the country on a low carbon climate resilient pathway, aimed at assisting the country to contribute towards the achievement of the global temperature goal.
