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What is ecofeminism?

Wmc Fbomb Climate Change March Independent 31919

Over the last few months, as I've watched the news of the Amazon rainforest fires unfold, I've realized I should learn more about the environmental issues that are ravaging the place where I live. As I started learning more about climate change, I couldn't help but see that thanks to a combination of socioeconomic, cultural, and biological factors, women all over the world seem to be more affected by this crisis than men.

According to the UN, 80% of people displaced by climate change are women. Women are more likely to experience poverty and have less socioeconomic power than men, which makes it more difficult for them to recover from weather disasters that are becoming more and more frequent.

Ecofeminism is a movement that aims to address this problem. It recognizes that life in society as well as nature should be maintained by means of collaboration instead of domination — and that the domination of women and nature stem from the same roots.

The link between women's inequality and nature's devastation was first named in the late 1970s when the French feminist Françoise d'Eaubonne coined the term "ecofeminism" to explain how the fight for women's rights is connected to the fight for a more sustainable world. Since then, many ecofeminists have raised their voices to present the connection between these two struggles. Take Wangari Maathai, an African woman born in a rural area of Kenya, founded the Green Belt Movement, which was responsible for raising awareness about environmental conservation, community development, and capacity building. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Or Carol Adams, a U.S. feminist-vegan activist who has published numerous books on ecofeminism, veganism, and related subjects. Petra Kelly, a German activist and politician, co-created a Green Party in her country from which she advocated for ecological, human rights, and feminist causes. 

Lorena Casco, a 38-year-old Uruguayan teacher, and activist, explained her view of ecofeminism to the FBomb. "The world can't resist capitalism's consequences — the level of consumption we have nowadays is unbearable," she said. "Feminism and environmental issues are connected because they come from the same root." Lorena claims that for our patriarchal society, everything is a resource, human or nature, and this generates a lot of inequality and destruction.

Ecofeminists and authors Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva share this view. They have spent their careers explaining how the capitalist patriarchal world system is responsible for both the destruction of the planet and the denial of women's rights.

"This system emerged, is built upon, and maintains itself through the colonization of women, of 'foreign' peoples and their lands, and of nature, which it is gradually destroying," Mies and Shiva wrote in their co-authored book EcoFeminism.

Although capitalism has survived for so many years, the philosopher Alicia Puleo states in her article, "What is Ecofeminism?" that it's an unsustainable option in the long run — and women can play a huge rule in dismantling it. According to Puleo, "As several UN world conferences and reports by numerous NGOs point out, women are the first victims of environmental deterioration, but also play a key role in defence of nature." 

Several organizations reflect Puleo's optimism, such as Women's Voices for the Earth in the U.S., the Women's Environmental Network in Europe, and WoMin in Africa. Thanks to these organizations, people all over the world can keep learning through reflection, discussion and action how to oppose the domination of both women and nature.



More articles by Category: Environment, Feminism
More articles by Tag: Activism and advocacy, Climate change, Women's leadership
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Regiane Folter
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