Gender equality cannot be achieved by women alone 

Women and children are 14 times more likely to die in climate disasters than men, and four out of five people displaced by climate change are women and girls. These statistics, cited in United Nations reports and echoed in academic literature, have become the grim backdrop of the global climate crisis. In Bangladesh, the situation is especially severe. To understand the reality on the ground, Shahnaj Begum, In-charge of the Climate and Environment page of The Daily Observer, talks with renowned women's rights activist Shaheen Anam. Excerpts of the interview are as follows:

DO: Bangladesh is often called ground zero for climate change, but the experience is hardly gender-neutral. How would you describe the impact of climate change on women in this country, not just in policy language, but in the everyday realities of work, health, mobility and dignity?

Shaheen Anam: Climate change is not gender-neutral. Women and girls often experience its impacts more severely because they already face unequal access to income, land, resources, healthcare, information and decision-making.

If we look at everyday life, the impact is very visible. When a cyclone, flood or salinity crisis affects a community, women are usually responsible for collecting water, caring for children, older people and other family members, and managing the household with fewer resources. When water becomes scarce or unsafe, women and girls often have to travel longer distances to collect it.

Climate shocks also affect women's livelihoods. Many women depend on agriculture, livestock, fisheries, small businesses, or informal work. When these livelihoods are disrupted, women have fewer alternatives.
 
Through MJF's work with climate-vulnerable communities, we have seen that climate change is not only about rising temperatures or more frequent disasters. It is about who carries the burden of those changes. And too often, women carry a disproportionate share of that burden.

DO: There is growing concern that extreme heat, severe air pollution and salinity are affecting women's reproductive health, including pregnancy, childbirth and maternal outcomes. What has your research found about these effects on women in Bangladesh?

Shaheen Anam: Our experience and engagement with women in climate-vulnerable communities tell us that climate change is closely connected with women's health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights.

We should be careful not to say that every health problem experienced by a woman is caused by climate change. But there is growing evidence that environmental stresses can create additional risks for women's health.

Extreme heat is another emerging concern. Women working outdoors, agricultural workers, women in factories and women carrying out unpaid care work may be exposed to heat for long periods. Air pollution can create additional health risks, particularly for pregnant women and women working in polluted environments.

We therefore need to look at climate change not simply as an environmental issue, but through a gender and human rights lens, including women's health and reproductive rights.

At the same time, we need more Bangladesh-specific research on the relationship between extreme heat, air pollution, salinity, pregnancy and maternal health. 

DO: When you focus on marginalized women in coastal belts, chars, haors or urban slums, what specific disruptions have you documented? And what capacities are these women themselves mobilizing to cope with the crisis?

Shaheen Anam: One of the most important lessons from MJF's work is that women should not be seen only as victims of climate change. They are also agents of adaptation and change.

The disruptions are different in different locations. In coastal areas, salinity, cyclones, tidal surges and water scarcity are major concerns. In chars, river erosion, flooding and loss of agricultural land can destroy livelihoods. In haors, floods and changing agricultural patterns affect food security and income. In urban slums, heat, water shortages, poor drainage, pollution and insecure housing create additional pressures.

But women are responding in very practical ways. They are changing agricultural practices, diversifying livelihoods, rearing livestock, saving collectively, developing alternative income sources and participating in community awareness and local decision-making.

DO: Successive governments have announced climate and gender initiatives. In your assessment, which measures have genuinely addressed the disruption to marginalized women's lives, and where do the gaps remain?

Shaheen Anam: Bangladesh has made important progress. We have climate policies, climate financing mechanisms, gender policies, disaster management systems and social protection programs. Gender is increasingly recognized in climate discussions. But there is still a significant gap between policy commitment and implementation.

A policy may say that women should participate in climate decision-making. The question is: are women actually sittng at the table when local adaptation plans and budgets are prepared?

A policy may recognize safe water as a priority. But can a woman in a coastal village actually access safe water throughout the year?

A climate program may provide livelihood support. But does it address women's land rights, mobility, access to finance, technology and markets?

DO: NGOs and development partners agencies often present themselves as allies of climate-vulnerable women. What contribution do you believe they are actually making, and what are the limitations of that role?

Shaheen Anam: NGOs and development partners have an important role, but we should also be honest about its limits.
Our role is not to replace the government. Our role is to demonstrate what works, generate evidence, strengthen people's voices and create partnerships that can influence larger systems.

MJF works with grassroots organizations and communities across Bangladesh. Through these partnerships, we support women and marginalized communities to identify their priorities, strengthen their leadership, access services, and engage with decision-makers. This kind of work can demonstrate solutions at the community level. It can also bring marginalized women's voices and experiences into national policy discussions.

But there are limitations. Projects have a fixed duration and geographical coverage. NGOs cannot provide a permanent solution to climate change. Nor can project-based interventions replace public institutions.

The bigger question is how we take successful local practices to scale and make public institutions more responsive.
Donors also have a responsibility. They should provide flexible, long-term funding that allows communities to identify their own priorities. Climate adaptation cannot always be designed around short project cycles and predetermined indicators. Most importantly, women themselves must be treated as decision-makers, not beneficiaries.

DO: Climate change affects agriculture, air, water and the natural environment. But is it a myth or a documented truth that its impact falls more heavily on women than on others? What is your own view?

Shaheen Anam: It is not a myth. It is a documented reality, but we should explain it carefully.
Climate change affects everyone. 

Women in Bangladesh generally have less control over land and productive assets, lower access to formal employment and finance, greater responsibility for unpaid care work, and less participation in many household and public decisions. So when a climate shock occurs, women start from a less equal position.

Women may face additional risks related to privacy, sanitation, security and violence. This is why we say climate change is gendered. But the answer is not to portray women as helpless victims. Women have enormous knowledge and capacity to adapt. What they need is equal access to resources, information, technology, finance and decision-making.
That is why climate justice and gender justice must go together.

DO: Manusher Jonno Foundation is widely regarded as the only organization in Bangladesh that treats climate change and gender as linked priorities. As its head, what is your future plan for advancing that agenda?

Shaheen Anam: I would not say that MJF is the only organisation working on the link between climate and gender. There are many organizations, researchers and movements doing important work. What I would say is that MJF has made the intersection of women's rights, climate vulnerability and social justice a strong institutional priority.

Our future approach will be built around three things. First, women's leadership. We want climate-vulnerable women and girls to have a stronger voice in decisions about adaptation, public services, livelihoods and climate finance.

Second, evidence and policy influence. We need more Bangladesh-specific evidence on issues such as salinity, heat, reproductive health, women's livelihoods, unpaid care work and gender- based violence. Evidence must then reach policymakers and institutions.

Third, locally led adaptation and accountable institutions. Communities know many of the solutions. We need to strengthen their capacity to engage with local government and public institutions and to hold those institutions accountable.

DO: You have been making the case for women and climate for years. How far has that message reached all levels of society? What obstacles have you faced, and what more do you believe must be done?

Shaheen Anam: I think the message has travelled much further than it did 10 or 15 years ago. Climate change is now widely recognized as a development issue, and gender is increasingly recognized as part of climate action.
But awareness is not the same as transformation.

Our experience tells us that when women are given information, space, resources and collective strength, they can become powerful agents of change. We have seen women organise, advocate for services, diversify their livelihoods, respond to disasters and engage with local and national decision-makers.

We also need to bring men, boys, local leaders, government officials, businesses and communities into this conversation. Gender equality cannot be achieved by women alone.