Day 11: Women’s Empowerment and Education
Originally published: 11th April, 2020 on Facebook and Instagram
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION
There are, of course, plenty of humanitarian, social and political reasons why gender equality and women’s education is important and relevant.
One of the reasons, which is not discussed as often as it should be, is that fact that women’s empowerment and education has direct impact on climate change and sustainable living.
Project Drawdown reports that gender quality and women’s education are in the top ten solutions to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emission. How?
(1) HEALTH: Educated women tend to contribute towards family income, thereby creating access to better nutrition, medical facilities and quality of life. This leads to reduction in infant mortality and spread of diseases like malaria and AIDS.
(2) AGRICULTURE: Women play a vital and central role in agriculture. They form a higher percentage of agricultural labor than men, especially in rural communities. They are responsible for rearing animals, harvesting and processing food, and also growing specialized cash crops. So, educated and well-paid women will make better/sustainable choices for farming and thereby, lead to the production of better quality and more sustainable food.
(3) FAMILY STRUCTURE: In most traditional family structures, women are the care givers for children or the elderly. An educated woman will make better choices for herself and her family with regard to food, resources, education, money and protection. Gender equality will also allow the shift to a more equal role of both partners… more men and women will share the responsibilities of both care giving and contributing financially to the family. This will lead to more robust and healthy families and take the burden off of individuals.
(4) FAMILY PLANNING: Studies show that educated women have fewer and healthier children, thereby contributing effectively towards society and reducing climate change with population control. Giving women access to high-quality medical information/access/education about family planning, contraception, children, infant care and more will allow them to live with dignity, joy and security.
Lifting up those that do not have the privileges that the rest of us is an important step towards sustainable living. Taking care of the planet starts with taking care of ourselves and the people around us.
