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UN call for women’s cause
KATHMANDU, NOV 20 - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Nepal has called for a renewed debate and actions to respond to population issues and Nepali women's empowerment in the face of climate change.
The call comes with the release of the UNFPA's report on State of World Population 2009. “This is a vital time in Nepal to re-invigorate the debate and identify the actions needed to respond to population issues and women's empowerment in the face of climate change. We hope the report will contribute to the debate,” said UNFPA Representative in Nepal Ian McFarlane.
The document points that women bear the disproportionate burden of climate change,
but debates aimed at mitigating climate change impacts overlook concerns of this vulnerable lot. It argues that the international community's fight against climate change is more likely to be successful if policies, programmes and treaties take into account the needs, rights and potential of women.
“Poor women in poor countries are among the hardest hit by climate change even though they contributed the least to it,” a UNFPA Nepal release quoted UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid as saying in the report.
With their unique health concerns, from hygiene needs to life-threatening complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, women are more prone to sexual violence and domestic abuse in disaster situations.
The poor are more likely to depend on agriculture for a living and therefore the risk of going hungry or losing livelihoods due to droughts, floods, unpredictable rains and hurricanes is high among them. Worst still, the poor tend to live in marginal areas, vulnerable to floods, rising seas and storms.
During disasters, women often become the sole providers and caretakers for their households, and sometimes for the families of others —especially when men have been killed, injured or must leave in search of income.
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