12 Apr 2025 : The Beijing India Report as milestone and opportunity

Editorial 1: The Beijing India Report as milestone and opportunity

Context

The report shows a weak climate-gender link, which needs correction through policy and ground-level action.

Introduction

“It hurts to see girls drop out of school because of climate change and migration,” says a woman from Dhanelikanhar village, Chhattisgarh. “This generation was meant to do better.” It’s been 30 years since the Beijing Declaration, which pushed for gender equality in areas like education, health, and economy. India made progress with laws like the Domestic Violence Act and POSH Act, but implementation still lags, creating a gap between rights and real life.

An important integration

• Gender Inequality & Climate Crisis: Key Challenges
  • Gender inequality and the climate crisis are major challenges.
  • The quote from the Chhattisgarh woman shows the impact on girls' education.
  • There is a clear need to combine gender and climate actions, especially in rural India.
• Why the Beijing India Report 2024 Misses the Mark
  • The report lacks a strong climate-gender lens.
  • This is a missed opportunity: combining both is key to equality, resilience, and human rights.
• Problems Faced by Women in Rural Areas
  • Women have less access to resources and decision-making.
  • Most rural women work in agriculture.
  • Climate issues like heat, drought, and displacement worsen women’s health.

Health Impacts

• 50%+ of pregnant women in India are anaemic.
• Food insecurity raises anaemia risk by 1.6 times.

Climate Change & Women's Workload

• Unpaid care work (like water collection, fuel gathering) increases during climate stress.
  • Women in India work over 8 hours/day, with 71% of that unpaid.
  • By 2050, unpaid work may reach 8.3 hours/day (Arsht-Rock report).
• Economic Losses for Women
  • Heat and rainfall extremes reduce agriculture and human productivity.
  • Leads to:
    • Income loss (up to 33%)
    • Migration
    • Infrastructure damage
    • Service disruptions for women

Gaps in Climate Policy

• Most policies focus on energy, transport, and efficiency, not gender.
• Violence and Climate
  • India has the highest rate of intimate partner violence in the study.
  • As temperature rises:
    • Physical violence ↑ by 8% per °C
    • Sexual violence ↑ by 7.3% per °C

Role of Women in Climate Action

• Women are key to climate adaptation and mitigation, especially in rural areas.
• Their traditional knowledge of sustainable farming and resource management protects local ecosystems.
• Indigenous women preserve climate-resilient seeds suited to local weather.
• Women should be part of local decision-making and lead climate initiatives.
• Women produce nearly 50% of the world's food and use sustainable methods.

Women Collectives and Priorities

• Formal and informal groups of women:
  • Share workloads
  • Increase productivity
  • Act as first responders during disasters
• Urban women's focus: pollution and waste management
• Indigenous women’s priorities:
  • Mahua: forest-based livelihoods
  • Mao: safety amid resource conflicts
  • Migration: distress movement and support needs
• Gaps in the Beijing India Report
  • The report lacks a strong climate-gender focus.
  • Needs to include:
    • Gender-responsive climate action
    • Data and indicators on climate’s gender impact
    • Stronger insights on women’s climate experiences

Challenges in Climate Budgeting

• Climate support hubs are needed for:
  • Disaster aid
  • Health and safety services
  • Migration awareness
  • Reproductive rights protection

Action Points for Inclusion

• Organize community consultations with active women participation.
• Promote women leaders in:
  • Green energy
  • Local politics on climate action
• Invest in:
  • Education
  • Capacity building
  • Women-led climate solutions
• Study human-animal conflict through a gender lens.
• Impact of Closing Gender Gaps

Policy-Level Needs

• Gender-responsive NAPCC and SAPCC must reach grassroots.
• Focus areas:
  • Disaster preparedness for vulnerable women
  • Strengthening public services
  • Addressing trafficking risks
  • Supporting elderly women
• Push for:
  • Livelihood diversification
  • Non-farm jobs and skill training for women

Private sector participation is important

• Green funds should support:
  • Women-led innovations
  • Women-friendly technologies
  • Women's role in building a green economy
• These funds should help women start and grow green businesses, products, and services.
• More money needs to go to people working on the ground in climate-affected areas to improve resilience.
• The private sector should:
  • Invest in projects that empower women
  • Use gender-inclusive practices
  • Provide access to climate-resilient tools and services that help women most affected by climate change.

Conclusion

There needs to be cooperative partnerships between the government, civil society, research institutions, the private sector, citizens, and international organisations. In all these, the emphasis should be on knowledge sharing, regular communication, consultations, capacity exchange, recognition of champions and best practices, and collective advocacy to empower women as leaders in building climate resilience for a more sustainable future in India.