NOTEBOOKSOF THE FONDATION

Challenge n°2

GENDER& CLIMATEEMPOWERING WOMENTO TAKE ACTION

EDITORIAL

Women and climate,an interconnected struggle

Women are on the frontline in the fightagainst climate change. They are the most
exposed to the effects of global warming.
When food prices rise, they are the hardest
hit by hunger and malnutrition. When water isscarce, they are the ones who, once again,sacrifice their education to walk even farther
to the next well. But women are also an
important part of the solution: they educate,inspire, nurture, and provide for their families
or even entire communities. The choices they
make as consumers are a determining factor
in changing economic and social models.

Furthermore, the plight of women in theface of climate change is symbolic of amuch bigger issue: climate justice. Whentemperatures rise, we are not all equal. Several
studies show that already impoverishedpopulations are the most impacted. The
most disadvantaged, overlooked and least
trained women – and men – suffer two to
three times more with each natural disaster,
drought or when ecosystems are disturbed.
Here again, women can make a difference:
because they are more aware of the daily
realities of climate change, they are pioneers
in environmental justice movements.

Yet despite their efforts and the strategicrole they play, women still often go unheard.
Because they are underrepresented ininternational conversations on climatechange, as well as in leadership positions
in major companies, public institutions
or community decision-making bodies,
their economic, social and political role isdiminished.

Time is running short. We have 10 years
to overcome the natural and humanchallenges upon which our future depends.
At the Fondation L’Oréal, which has always
supported women, we believe that thefight against climate change and the fightfor gender equality are to be led together.
When gender inequalities are eliminatedand women have the voice they deserve,
they have the capacity to create a moresustainable, inclusive and prosperous world.

This state of affairs must change. Excluding
or minimizing the role of women would be
to condemn the struggle against climatechange in advance. Everywhere, from
north to south, it is apparent that fighting forenvironmental protections against global
warming is impossible without also fighting
for gender equality, food security for all
and equal access to education. Research
into the links between gender equality
and the environment have demonstrated
their pertinence: the two issues deeplyintersect, while the United Nation’s 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are
interdependent.

Businesses, institutions, grassroots organizations,communities, citizens: it is our collective
responsibility to dedicate ourselves to fullyrecognizing women and their freedom
to act, including for the environment.
Defending women’s rights, giving themthe means to take action, to change their
future, to be heard and to participate in thedecision-making process benefits us all. Whatis good for them is good for the planet, andfor humanity.
Alexandra Palt
Executive Vice President of the Fondation L’Oréal

1

ABOUT THE NOTEBOOKTHE FONDATION L’ORÉALAs temperatures continue to rise around the world,
gender inequalities mean that women are disproportionately
impacted by the effects of climate change.

The Fondation L’Oréal supports and empowers women to shape
their future and make a difference in society, focusing on three major
areas: scientific research, inclusive beauty and climate action.

Gender & Climate is a report on how climatechange impacts women. The Fondation
L’Oréal commissioned it as a means toraise awareness of gender-specific threats,
as well as highlight humanitarian andclimate solutions that empower women.
In doing so, the report draws on numerous
resources and references to give a clearer
picture of the challenges many women faceand how they can be overcome. Solutions
mentionned in this Notebook include notably
those implemented by C40, CARE France
and the University of Beirut, with the supportof the Fondation L’Oréal.

Despite being the backbone of many
agricultural and rural economies, they areoften allotted the poorest quality land,
and are more likely to go without foodduring times of hunger. Meanwhile, they
are responsible for the brunt of unpaid careand household labor in many communities,
leaving them with limited time to pursue an
education. They are also at greater risk ofgender-based violence and even deathfrom climate-related natural disasters.
Yet women’s experiences and the lessons
they may offer often go ignored becauseof a lack of inclusion in the decision-making
process. Their unequal participation andrepresentation mean that States are missingout on a valuable resource when developing
policies on how best to respond to climatechange.

The complete report is available
on the Fondation’s website:www.fondationloreal.com.

Since 1998, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science program
has worked to empower more women scientists to overcome barriers
to progression and participate in solving the great challengesof our time, for the benefit of all. For 22 years, it has supported morethan 3,600 women researchers from 117 countries, rewarding
scientific excellence and inspiring younger generations of women
to pursue science as a career.
Convinced that beauty contributes to the process of rebuilding lives,
the Fondation L’Oréal helps vulnerable people to improvetheir self-esteem through free beauty and wellness treatments.
It also enables underprivileged women to gain access toemployment with dedicated vocational beauty training.
In 2019, more than 18,000 people had access to free treatments
and almost 6,000 women took part in professional beauty training.
Finally, women are affected by persistent gender-based discriminationand inequalities, exacerbated by climate change. While they areon the frontline of the crisis, they remain under-represented in climate
decision-making. The Women and Climate pillar of the Fondation
L’Oréal supports, in particular, women who are developing climate
action projects addressing the urgent climate crisis and raises
awareness of the importance of gender-sensitive climate solutions.

23

A VERY SPECIFIC
FORM OF VULNERABILITY
Women play a critical role in agriculture and rural
economies around the world. They are farmers, field hands,
market sellers, entrepreneurs… Yet because women often
lack the same access to resources and opportunities asmen, they are disproportionately impacted by the effects
of climate change. This limits their productivity and ability
to care for themselves and others.

ACCESS TO
LAND & AGRICULTURE

Key issues

50%

In response, farmers clear forests and otherecosystems to make room for more crops
and pasture, razing 3.3 million hectares- an area roughly the size of India - of forest
between 2010 and 2015 alone.
Yet far from solving the problem, deforestation
has only made climate change worse by
releasing tons of carbon into the atmosphere,
thereby affecting the resilience of landscapes
to coming shocks. It’s a vicious circle:
the more forest cleared, the more dire

Agricultural production must
increase by at least 50%
in order to feed the world’s
population and provide enoughraw materials for industry by
2050, according to the Food andAgricultural Organization of theUnited Nations (FAO). Meanwhile,some estimates project that
agricultural output could decline
by as much as 2% per decade.

“ Women are more
vulnerable to the effects
of climate change thanmen - primarily as they
constitute the majorityof the world’s poor andare more dependent
for their livelihood
on natural resourcesthat are threatenedby climate change.”
UN Women1
1
See: https://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/climate_change/downloads/Women_and_Climate_Change_Factsheet.pdf

4

One of the greatest threats we face from climate change and biodiversity loss overthe next 30 years is food security. The twin crises have already had a major impact on
agriculture, eroding much of the world’s arable land.
the consequences of climate change andbiodiversity loss, the less arable land there is
to farm.
With the global population expected to
grow to between 9 and 10 billion people
by 2050, this means changes need to be
made. Otherwise, we will be faced with thechallenge of having to grow more food on
less land, further straining agriculture systems,with women on the frontline.

How women are affected
Land grabbing
Women like men are increasingly affectedby the state or corporate seizure of farmland for development, which has displacedcommunities worldwide. The practice isespecially common in Sub-Saharan Africa,

Latin America and Southeast Asia, where
women make up an estimated 43% of the
agricultural labor force, according to the
FAO1. Globally, women make up less than
15% of all landowners2 .

See: http://www.fao.org/gender/resources/infographics/the-female-faceof-farming/en/
See: http://www.fao.org/3/I8796EN/i8796en.pdf

125

It’s a man’s world
The gender division of labor in many culturesmeans that women are often responsible
for cultivating and preparing food for thehousehold, while men are more likely to farm
produce to be sold at market. As a result,
women are frequently given less fertile land,leaving them and their families especiallyvulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Men are also more likely to be able torelocate for work, whereas women are often
restricted to the home as primary caregivers.

Self-sacrifice
Women all around the world are much more
likely to live in food insecurity than men.
In the event of shortages or price hikes,
they spend more time gathering food, andin some countries it is not uncommon for
women to find themselves at the bottom of
the food chain, ensuring that their families
have eaten before feeding themselves. This
leaves them particularly exposed to hunger
and malnutrition.

SHARE OF WOMENEMPLOYED IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN 2019

UNITED STATES
0,7%
HAITI
34,1%
ECUADOR
24,4%
PERU
25,6%
BOLIVIA
28,1%

MOROCCO59%
SENEGAL
26,8%
GUINEA
70%

BRAZIL
4,2%

100%
70%
50%

ARGENTINA
0%

CHINA
24%

JAPAN
2,9%

BURUNDI
96,3%

INDONESIA
28,2%
MOSAMBIQUE
81,5%

NAMIBIA69%
SOUTH AFRICA
3,6%

Get the measure
Empowering women in agriculture begins
with understanding the social, culturaland historical context of the region where
they live. What is the traditional social roleof women? How does it affect the genderdivision of labor? Does ethnicity or age
have an impact? It is also essential to lookat the geographic and environmental
conditions specific to the area and how
climate change impacts these factors.

reduce the rate of undernourishment in
the world, lifting up to 150 million people
out of hunger.
Climate smart agricultural practices
Tackling the gender gap in agriculture also
rely on supporting women smallholders
in adapting their agricultural practices
to the effects of climate change (cropdiversification, agroecological pest
management, sustainable water use).
They would have the means not only tosustainably intensify their productivity, butalso contribute more to the economy, as
well as the wellbeing of their families andsociety as a whole. It would also greatly
reduce food and economic insecurity
by giving women more control over theirincome and time.

NORTH KOREA
64,8%

INDIA
56,5%

CONGO (DRC)76,6%

HOW TO IMPLEMENT MEANINGFULAND LASTING CHANGE?

Equal access to resources
If women who run small farms were given
equal access to resources as men, theiryields would grow by 20 to 30%, according
to the FAO, increasing the total agricultural
production of low-income countries from
2.5 to 4%. Although this number may
appear small at first glance, it would

UNITED KINGDOM
0,6%
FRANCE
1,5%
PAKISTAN
72,5%

Solutions for a climate resilient agriculture

LESOTHO57,9%

IN ACTION

that improve production and ensure
food security. This reinforces their ability to
become decision-makers, advocates andleaders in efforts to address the climate
crisis within their communities.

As part of its mission to save lives,
defeat poverty and achieve social
justice, the NGO CARE implements
community-based agriculture projects
addressing the impacts of climatechange on communities in ways thatare more responsive to gender dynamics.

“ By failing to close thegender gap in agriculture,
the world is paying dearly.”

CARE develops on the ground adaptation
capacities of marginalized rural womenin the face of rising temperatures bydeveloping resilient agriculture methods

30%
10%
0%
Data not available

CARE 1

See: https://care.org/our-work/food-and-nutrition/agriculture/1

Sources: World Bank 2020, International Labor Organization 2019

6

7

WOMEN THIRSTINGFOR CHANGE
As the global population has grown, so has the demand forclean water. Yet climate change makes it an increasingly
rare resource, with extended periods of drought, variable
rainfall patterns and flooding putting strain on the world’s
water supplies. While water scarcity is an issue that impacts
everyone, social and cultural inequalities mean that womenare often the worst affected.
Key issues

WATER SECURITY
An estimated700

Between 1900 and 2010, the global population more than quadrupled from 1.6 to 7
billion people. Our water footprint, meanwhile, increased nearly twice as fast by astaggering seven-fold, driven in part by industrialization, the intensification of agricultural
production and urbanisation.

million people
are affected bywater scarcity
worldwide.

With water use expected to grow by a further
40 to 50% in the next 10 years, the world’s
supplies are insufficient to meet the demand.
Climate change has only exacerbated the
problem, leading to variable rainfall, severe
drought and flooding in many regions of theworld. According to the United Nations World
Water Development Report 2018, nearly halfof the global population (or 3.6 billion people)

currently live in areas under high water stressat least one month of the year.
Access to clean, safe water is critical to oursurvival. Without it, communities can’t growfood or stay healthy, making them andwomen in particular vulnerable to hunger,
illness, poverty and even political instability.

How women are affected“There will be a 40% gap
between the supply and demand(for drinkable water) by 2030.”
2030 Water Resources Group8Time poverty
Many communities around the world rely
on women and girls for unpaid care anddomestic work, including the collectionof water. It is used in everything from foodproduction and cooking, to cleaning andwaste disposal. But the scarcer the water,
the more time women spend collecting it.

This in turn can make it difficult for them toattend school, widening the gender gap bylimiting their ability to advance.
Resource management
As the backbone of many rural households,
women are often forced to make hard
choices with limited financial resources9

in the face of price hikes and food shortages
caused by climate change. As a result,savings are often made by slashing spending
on education costs, especially for young girls.

and girls are largely responsible for watercollection, they are more at risk for waterborne parasites and illness. Scarcity is alsoa major issue during and after pregnancy
for women, who depend on clean water
to keep them healthy. About 44 million
pregnant women have sanitation-related
hookworm infections worldwide, while
1 million deaths each year are associatedwith unclean births, according to UN Water1.

Health & hygiene
As temperatures around the world continue
to rise, so does the threat of watercontamination caused by increased flooding
and extreme weather. Because women
1

Water Security Solutions

HOW TO IMPLEMENT MEANINGFULAND LASTING CHANGE?
Protect forests
Trees play an essential role in keeping
soil from drying during times of reduced
rainfall. They also mitigate the effects oferosion and flooding, preventing runoff
from polluting clean water sources.
Stopping deforestation would greatly
reduce many of the risks associated withclimate change and water, alleviatingmuch of the burden on women and girls.

See: https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/gender/

POPULATION, TERRITORIES AND WATER RESOURCES BY REGION
IN 2020 AND 2050

18%
EUROPE

18,1%
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Better water management
Involving women in improving water
management policies is essential toresponding to local climate conditions
and gender inequities by increasing
productivity and sustainability. The greater
the access to clean water, the lower therisk to women.

8,7%EAST ASIA

9,7%
SOUTH EAST ASIA
AND OCEANIA

16,2%
NORTH AMERICA(including Mexico)

3,6%
CENTRAL ASIA
8,5%
NORTH AFRICA
AND MIDDLE EAST

13,8%
SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA,CARIBBEAN

Available water resources
400 billion m3

Population in 201960 million inhabitants

3,3% SOUTH ASIA

18%

Share of the region
within emerged land

10

Population increasein 2050

Sources: World Bank 2018, FAO Aquastas, 2018. United Nations, World Population Prospects, 2018

(including Russia et Turkey)

IN ACTION
Test-the-Water, a project by the Nature
Conservation Center at the American
University of Beirut, is turning the tide on
how we respond to water contamination
amidst climate change and genderinequality.

Facilitated by a first-of-its-kind digitalplatform, water quality test kits, andsolution co-creation workshops, theproject applies a participatory approach
to including marginalized citizens inassessing, analyzing, and advancing
solutions to the underlying social,technical, and management issues
driving poor water quality. In doing so,
Test-the-Water is creating the kind ofcollective processes needed to improvewater quality, embrace gender equality,
and adapt to climate change.

Adapting to climate change is fundamentallytied to including women in decision
making on accessible and safe community
water. Test-the-Water gives women anempowering stake in evidence-based
remediation of contamination that waspreviously considered out of hand.

Population decreasein 2050

11

WOMEN ARE EXPOSED TO
GENDER-SPECIFIC HEALTH THREATS
Inequality means that women especially pregnant womenare at far greater risk than men of suffering from malnutrition,
long-term illness and disease caused by climate change.
Yet as global temperatures continue to rise, so does
the burden on women’s health.
Key issues

HEALTH & DISEASES

300

million people
contract malaria
each year.

“Women must be satisfied with what themembers of her household leave her to eat,
especially in times of hunger or famine.”
World Health Organization

As we have already seen, climate change has a serious impact on everything fromfood security to clean water access, threatening the wellbeing of communities aroundthe world.
additional deaths per year from malnutrition,
malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress, according
to the World Health Organization (WHO)1.

Drought, variable rainfall, flooding andextreme heat have had an overwhelmingly
negative impact on health by destroying
crops and contaminating water supplies.

While both men and women are at greater risk
because of climate change, women are more
vulnerable to gender-specific health threats.

Between 2030 and 2050, rising temperatures
are expected to claim an estimated 250,000

How women are affected
A balanced dietAs climate change threatens global
agriculture systems and food security,
cultural and social norms in many regions
mean that women are among the mostat risk of hunger and malnutrition. This canhave a lasting impact on women’s health,increasing their risk of amenorrhea or theabsence of menstruation infertility and preeclampsia.

Maternal malaria
Variable rainfall caused by climate change
has led to a spike in mosquito-borne
diseases, such as malaria. Women are up to
three times more likely to become infectedduring pregnancy, making them especiallyvulnerable to the disease. This is because
pregnancy strips women of their immunity
to malaria, making them more susceptible
to serious illness. Malaria can also affect theSee: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health

1

12

13

development of the fetus, increasing the riskof premature birth and infant mortality.

associated with climate change, including
heat related mortality2. For example, during
the 2003 heat wave in France which claimed
the lives of nearly 15,000 people the majorityof victims were women. There are a numberof possible physiological explanations:
women not only tend to have a fastermetabolism than men, but they also sweat
less, making it more difficult for their bodies
to cool.

Mercury rising
The last five years have been the hottest on
record, with global temperatures rising 1.15
degrees C above the pre-industrial averagein 2019, according to the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)1.
Women are most vulnerable to health risks
1

See: https://www.noaa.gov/news/2019-was-2nd-hottest-year-on-record-for-earth-say-noaa-nasa

2

See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6038986/

GAP IN WOMEN’S FOOD INSECURITY PREVALENCE RATEVERSUS MEN
IN 2016 (in percentage points)

Health & Diseases Solutions

HOW TO IMPLEMENT MEANINGFULAND LASTING CHANGE?
Education equality
While significant progress has been
made in recent decades towards closing
the gender gap in education, climatechange has shown just how fragile manyof the gains are. Which is why it is so
important to invest in equal education.
Educating women and girls will not only
make them more resilient, but will also
give them the tools they need to makeinformed decisions about their health andthe wellbeing of their families.

See: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/family-planning-contraception

IN ACTION

60%

+ 10

Women and girls makeup 60% of the undernourished populationin Asia-Pacific, according
to ARROW.

+5
0
-5
- 10
Data not available

Access to healthcare
Women in many regions of the world lackaccess to adequate healthcare services,in part because of economic, social andcultural inequalities. This means that they
are not getting the care that they need.
By ensuring equal access to healthcare,mortality rates linked to gender-specifichealth threats from climate change will
decrease.

Family planning
Pregnant women are especially vulnerable
to climate related health risks. Yet indeveloping countries, an estimated214 million women who want to avoid1+ 15

pregnancy lack access to or do not use
contraception, according to WHO 1.
Effective family planning can help reduce
the number of unwanted pregnancies by
70%, while lowering the rate of maternalmortality by 66%.

ARROW is a regional non-profit organization
based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
committed to supporting women’s
reproductive and sexual health.
Since its founding in 1993, it has recognized
the intersectionality between women’s
health and climate change, conducting
studies in select island and coastal countries
in Asia to gain a better understanding of thetwo issues. It has also launched a regional
partnership to explore how climate change
directly impacts women’s reproductive andsexual health in Asia-Pacific. To learn more
about ARROW, visit www.arrow.org.my.

Sources: UN Women 2020, FAO 2017

14

15

NATURAL DISASTERS
IMPACT WOMEN MOST
The last few decades have seen a spike in climate-related
natural disasters. Catastrophic storms have destroyed entire
communities, while flooding, drought and famine havedisplaced millions. While everyone is affected, the majorityof victims are women and girls who often lack the same
life-saving skills, resources and access to information as men,putting them at greater safety risk.

SAFETY & RESILIENCE

x4
The number ofnatural disastervictims has morethan quadrupledsince 1975.

Key issues
Since 1980, the number of natural disasters worldwide has more than tripled. This has
been largely attributed to climate change, which has led to extreme weather events ofgreater frequency and strength.

“Characterising womenconsistently as vulnerable
marginalises their
participation in climatechange mitigation andadaptation, and omits
or diminishes the many
strengths and solutions
they bring.”
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,
UN Under-Secretary-Generaland Executive Director, UN Women16

As a result, our planet is becoming a moredangerous place to live, as the strain on
environmental, economic, social andpolitical systems grows. With governments
and other institutions struggling to manage
the fallout, communities around the world
have suffered. The impact of climate-related

natural disasters has led to increased poverty,
conflict, mass migration and mortality rates.
In many regions, it has amplified existing
inequalities, running along the faultlines ofsociety. This means women are often among
the worst affected, leaving them vulnerable
to exploitation, violence and even death.

How women are affected
Death toll
Women are 14 times more likely to die in a
climate-related natural disaster than men,according to UN Women. This is largely due
to gender inequalities, which mean thatmany women lack the same emergency
preparation, life-saving skills (such as
swimming) and autonomy, putting themat significantly greater risk of danger in theevent of extreme weather, flooding, drought
or famine.
I do (not)More and more women and girls are being
forced into early marriage as their families
seek a lifeline out of poverty caused17

by climate-related natural disasters.
This in turn limits their access to education andother opportunities, disempowering them.

migrate. As a result, women and girls are
more exposed to the threat of targeted
violence, including intimidation, sexual
harassment, assault and rape, according to
the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP). There are also increasing reports of
migrant women and girls falling victim to
kidnap, forced labor and sexual exploitation.

Violence against women
Climate-related natural disasters havedisplaced millions of people around theworld, forcing many into camps or to

In 8 out of 10
households
women and girls
are responsible
for fetching water,
exposing them to therisk of harassment,
sexual assault andrape en route.

In Dafur refugee camps,

82% of rape victims
treated by Médecins Sans Frontières
were attacked while conducting
daily household activities,
such as water collection.

Safety & Resilience Solutions

HOW TO IMPLEMENT MEANINGFULAND LASTING CHANGE?
Mainstreaming gender data
One of the greatest challenges ofaddressing the impact of climate-related
natural disasters on women is a dearthof gender-specific indicators and data.
Without a more accurate picture of how
climate affects women’s security, it isdifficult to assess how much progress isbeing made and where improvement isneeded.

IN ACTION
Launched in 2017, The C40 Women4Climate
initiative is a global mentoring Programmethat aims to support and guide future
female leaders across multiple sectors(companies, government, academia,
civil society) in developing innovativeand inclusive local projects to reducethe impact of climate change in cities.
Founded in 2017, the initiative mobilized
women climate leaders from theirown teams, supporting their projects
and strengthening their leadershipcapabilities.
Since the launch of the partnership,
22 mentorship programs have beenlaunched in 16 cities (Addis Ababa,
Auckland, Barcelona, Freetown, Lisbon,
Lima, London, Paris, Mexico City, Tel AvivYafo, New Orleans, Montreal…), with a
total of 300 women beneficiaries.

Get women involved.
Women’s participation in leadership andthe decision-making process is crucial tofinding solutions that are adapted to theirunique experiences and circumstances.
By involving women more, they will bebetter equipped to respond to andreduce the safety risks of climate-related
natural disasters.

“Women aren’t merely
victims: because they areon the frontline, they are
best placed to observe theeffects of climate change,
develop useful knowledge…
and find practical solutions.
We must change theperspective we may
sometimes have of themas victims in order to seethem as a resource, and to
give their voices significant
space ”
Gender & Climate: Empowering Women to Take Action

18

19

INTERVIEW WITH

Where does your commitment to womenand climate change come from?

HINDOU OUMAROUIBRAHIM
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is an environmental activist andmember of the Mbororo community in Chad. She began
fighting for the environment and indigenous rights at theage of 16, when she founded the Women and Indigenous
People’s Association of Chad (l’Association pour les femmes
et les peuples autochtones du Tchad or AFPAT). The non-profit
currently focuses on developing income-generating projects
for women, as well as collaborative tools such as 3D mapping,which can reduce conflicts over natural resources by allowing
for a more sustainable management of ecosystems. She is an
advocate of combining traditional, indigenous knowledge
and science to combat against climate change and protect
biodiversity.
Nominated as an ambassador of the United Nation’s
Sustainable Development Goals, Ibrahim was recognizedby the BBC in 2018 as one of the world’s 100 most inspiring
women. TIME Magazine also listed her as one of the 15 mostinfluential women in the fight against climate change.
Social media
Instagram: hindououmar
Twitter: @hindououmar

20of ingenuity, despite never having been toschool, nor having had access to even themost basic technology, such as electricity or
potable drinking water.
All they have is nature. Nature feeds theirchildren, treats the sick, heats their homes.
Yet their way of life is being threatened byclimate change, which has put the entire
community in danger. The rainy season ismuch shorter, while the dry season is longer
and hotter. These shifts are threatening thesurvival of entire populations. We are now
seeing more conflicts – sometimes violent,even deadly – between communities, overaccess to fertile land or water.
The whole world can learn from these
women, who are the first to wake up andthe last to go to sleep to ensure the survivalof their communities. I sometimes wonder:
what miracles could these women achievewith one ounce of technology or accessto funding? They are the best architects tobuild a more equitable world for all. They are
victims of climate change even though they
have not benefitted from industrialization.
They are a model for all communities aroundthe world who have funding and technology
to make great things happen.

My commitment to women and climatechange comes from my childhood in Chad. I
was fortunate to have an incredible mother,
who was very strong. She chose to send
her kids to school against the wishes of her
community, which was not in the habit ofeducating children, least of all young girls.
At school, I was marginalized, bullied by theother children. I often heard my classmates
say things like: “you come from the bush” or“you smell like milk.” To be honest, I didn’t
realize just how hurtful their comments were.
I had only one thing on my mind: to fightto go to school, do my homework well andsucceed.
Other girls my age suffered a different fate.
They were doubly punished, first for being awoman, and then for not knowing how toread or write. This is where my commitment
comes from: to defend the right of theseyoung girls to receive an education.
I went to school, but I never lost touch with
my identity as a member of the Fula people,
nor the realities of rural life… I knew a rurallife that was dependent on nature and theseasons. I know in my heart how importantenvironmental protection is.

In your opinion, what needs to bedone most urgently in Chad? On theinternational level?

How can Fula women inspire the world in
the fight against climate change?

Investing in adapting to climate change
in rural areas, in order to facilitate thekind of community resilience [shown by
Fula women]. Supporting women meanstransforming communities: everyone benefits.

The struggle of Fula women is one of fascinating
community resilience in the face of new andongoing crises with terrible consequences.
Fula women have an extraordinary capacity
to innovate and adapt. They are the paradigm

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We also have to listen to women andamplify their voice. It’s impossible to combat
climate change without integrating humanrights, otherwise we run the risk of adopting
false solutions. Only 29 countries aroundthe world have integrated human rights into
their Climate Plan and I am extremely proudthat Chad is one of them.

future for their families and their communities.
Women’s leadership is built on educating
young girls. We have to tell them that they
can be whatever they want, whether adoctor, scientist, community leader orminister.

What is your personal motto?

What are some of the obstacles you haveencountered as a woman scientist andactivist?

I’m not guided by a personal motto, but
by faces. The faces of the women in mycommunity are the inspiration for my energy,
my courage, my fight.
In many indigenous communities, decisions
are based on a rule of seven. You have tothink about the past seven generations –which means knowing their names, theirfunctions – and the seven future generations.
This rule allows us to think sustainably andwith wisdom, as well as question what we will
leave behind. I would never forgive myself
for destroying the environment that I havethrived from and for not preserving it for theseven generations to come.

I come from a patriarchical community,
where there is little respect for what women
have to say, and where it is looked down
upon to see a woman address community
leaders. I had to fight for acceptance by
proving that my words would be followed byaction. After much effort, community leaders
now listen to me and even deliberately
follow my advice.
Then there was the time that I had to sit forinternational talks, surrounded by white menin black suits, who appeared amused by mytraditional dress… Their attitude [towardsme] gave me strength to raise my voice,because the message I carried I had learned
from adversity, not in a classroom.

How would you define women’s leadershipon climate change? What do they bring to
the fight?

“Women’s leadershipis built on educating
young girls. We haveto tell them that they
can be whatever theywant, whether a doctor,
scientist, community
leader or minister.”Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

Women know how to think collectively.
They have a long-term vision. Mothers put theirchildren first, before thinking of themselves.
They think of what they’re handing down totheir children, they invest in building a better

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Illustrations: Asia Pietrzyk
Cover paper: Sirio Color Lampone - From sustainably managed forests
Inside pages paper: Nautilus - 100% recycled24