I peered at the pile of newspapers resting immaculately inside the drawer, unsure whether I will be able to craft garbage bags out of them. My origami skills were put to the test as I made the first crease, the last and all folds in-between.
Over two years ago, I decided to cut down on single-use plastics at home. Inspired by my success at making bin liners out of old newspapers, I started favouring paper or fabric over plastic for regular storage. Sustainability readily finds a place within the larger framework of mindful living. Naturally, even at the peak of the lockdown, such practices were sacrosanct.
In poor households and in rural areas, women routinely assume additional labour. Leveraging this resourcefulness, advocacy groups and organisations across the world have launched grassroots-level programmes that empower communities to respond to the effects of the changing climate. These communities, spearheaded by women, have been implementing climate-resilient solutions such as rainwater harvesting and sprinkler taps, soil conservation and tree plantation, as well as low-cost roof cooling options to reduce room temperature.
Whether the pursuance of pro-environment initiatives is borne out of compulsion or choice, the correlation between women and sustainability is wholesome. The relationship, though, is not entirely inexplicable. Women assume the role of nurturers and comforters, often at the expense of caring for themselves. Because these aspects are concerned with the future, it requires regulating behaviour and exercising caution in the present.
This has prolific policy implications. For a future where sustainability is a way of life, a gender diverse labour force is one way to go. It calls for a systematic dismantling of the current order of under-representation of women in fields of energy, transport and more. Crisis unites and this time, it presents a fresh opportunity to include more women in decision-making roles. Or perhaps, the challenge of gender inequity has repackaged itself in a new bottle of climate and environmental deterioration.
Regardless of the lens used to examine this emergency, justice-based solutions will be instrumental to address it. Fortunately, the world has existing solutions to ensure that a greater number of women land opportunities to participate in the economy. There is nothing quite like hindsight and past experience serves as reminders to abandon stereotyping and judging women — instead, making a case for why women need to be at the heart of a sustainable future requires a fine-toothed comb. Speaking of combs, I swapped plastic for one made of neem wood.
aanchal.govindani@gmail.com
