Sometime in 2010, there was a heavy downpour one afternoon that flooded my area. All gutters and roads were covered with water to the extent that walking pathways couldn’t be differentiated from gutters. In fact, a 40-year-old woman drowned while driving. Not that the rains were new to me, but at that scale, it was quite unprecedented, at least within the span of my ‘milk years’.
This experience passes as my first, personal, dire encounter with the consequences of climate change. Given that COP26, convened in 2021, secured ambitious pledges to accelerate climate change mitigation efforts, 2022 particularly makes for a perfect year to deepen actions. But there is a dimension that I feel has been dangerously overlooked: As the world provides elbow grease in the fight for gender equality, the alarming reality of climate change adds another layer of hurdles, and, in my opinion, threatens the gains chalked thus far in gender equality advocacy. This is because, just like most other challenges , women are disproportionately affected. Here is a case in point: As rising sea levels and changing rainfall patterns pose food security and safety threats, the risks of conflict heighten, in the event of which women and girls are usually disproportionately victimized.
By the foregoing, I do not suggest that women are helpless victims of the climate crisis. Rather, and maybe ironically, they are the greatest force that may be harnessed to mitigate the effects. The climate crisis requires diverse, multidisciplinary, and broad perspectives. Accordingly, climate change is one of the thematic foci of my discussions on the Active Youth platform which I host on diamond FM.
The global economy is being reshaped in response to climate change. This presents an opportunity for women and girls to contribute to and engender more inclusive, and gender-responsive solution pathways.
BIO: RAHAMA ISSAH is the founder of Active Youth Global, a youth-led organization, contributing to the development of youth in Ghana. She hosts a radio talk show in Tamale that discusses issues affecting youth. She is a youth advocate from and a final year student at University for Development Studies, studying Doctor of Medical Laboratory Science.