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Gender and Climate Change

The different impacts of climate change due to pre-existing gender inequality

7-year-old Madina Mohamed Awad heads out to a creek in the small village of Gelhanty in Agig locality, Red Sea state, where she collected water in the past.

UNICEF/UNI500218/Sudan/Ahmed Elfatih Mohamdeen

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There are 48.7 million adolescent girls across the MENA region and today, more adolescent girls than ever before live in drought impacted communities; fearing walks to school during rainy season; and migrating to seek refuge from floods, fires, or water- or food scarcity. These adolescent girls bear a double burden: restricted not only by their age, but also by gender norms that prevent far too many from becoming educated, healthy, informed, skilled and empowered as fully active citizens.

Challenges:

Girls’ household responsibilities and distance to school in increasingly harsh conditions challenges their access to learning. The lack of water and sanitation services may affect girls and adolescent girls’ reproductive health, with a potential negative impact on their psychosocial and well-being, In some contexts, risks associated with climate change exacerbate possibility of gender-based violence, including child marriage which is reported as a negative coping mechanism due to climate change induced economic insecurity. Indeed, the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, notes that gender-based violence is prevalent where there is both conflict and risk of experiencing extreme weather events. Climate change may also increase food insecurity thereby contributing to high anemia rates for adolescent girls. reductions in educational attainment, lower academic performance, and higher absenteeism among girls who have experienced climate shocks.

7-year-old Madina Mohamed Awad fills her container with unsafe water from a creek in the small village of Gelhanty in Agig locality, Red Sea state, where she collected water in the past. — UNICEF/UNI500226/Ahmed Elfatih Mohamdeen

In periods of crisis, including crises brought about by climate change, such as more-frequent and more-severe droughts and floods, girls’ drop out from school more often than boys due to the gendered expectation that they should help with domestic household responsibilities or look after their siblings. These expectations exacerbate existing barriers to education for girls.

water scarcity has increased the travel distance for adolescent girls to fetch potable water, which in turn forces girls in rural areas to drop out of school.

Decline in clean water due to water scarcity also makes adolescent girls’ menstrual and other hygiene management more difficult, with implications for the sexual and reproductive health, well-being, and educational opportunities.

Heatwaves, drought and water scarcity have an impact on agriculture and livelihoods, especially impacting communities in MENA where the largest percentage of female formal la bour-force.

Girls are especially vulnerable to malnutrition during adolescence, with an increased risk of iron deficiency anemia due to growth spurts and menstruation.

UNICEF/UNI435806/Yemen

Dar-Ghaitha village children are thrilled with the KSrelief WASH project, which ensures clean water for them. In Aslam District, in Hajjah, Yemen.

UNICEF/UN0749107/Sudan/2022/Zehbrauskas

On 6 October 2022 in Nyala, South Darfur, Sudan, a woman and child carry water collected from a water point in Otash camp.  Otash is the second largest camp for internally displaced people in Darfur. This facility, which supplies some 6,500 people with water, was constructed with UNICEF support by the Water, Environment and Sanitation department to serve new arrivals to the camp.

Solutions:

The focus is on the impact of climate change on adolescent girls. UNICEF seeks to address climate change and its negative effects on adolescent girls by promoting technological and educational capabilities, enhancing community participation, and empowering girls to become leaders and advocates in assisting communities to tackle climate challenges. In general, the dual-track approach aims to achieve structural, legal, and cultural changes to address the effects of climate change and achieve gender equality, bringing about lasting positive change in the lives of adolescent girls. As part of UNICEF Climate Change Strategy, we focus on:

Protect girls by adapting the social services they rely on.
Prepare girls by improving their capacities and ensuring their voices are heard.
Prioritize girls in climate funding, policies and resource allocation.

In 2022, UNICEF in partnership with Karama and the Wa’ed Network of adolescent girls supported the development of a Technical Cohort to Advance Adolescent Girls and Young Women’s Leadership in Climate Change. The Technical Cohort consists of members Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and UAE, representing over 25 different girl-led community initiatives and organizations.

UNICEF and Karama together with the Technical Cohort supports increasing and strengthening partnership with, and support towards girl-led movements and networks to ensure adolescent girls’ leadership and adolescent girls led solutions in disaster preparedness and climate.

This includes elevating indigenous technology and traditional ecological knowledge and practices within the communities that the adolescent girls represent.