Ecofeminism

Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism that encompasses the concepts of ecology and feminism. Although the term originated in the 1970s, many consider that ecofeminist practices have existed for much longer. Just as it is customary to speak of feminisms in the plural rather than feminism, ecofeminists will often use the term in the plural (ecofeminisms), to represent the diversity of experiences and points of view. Most agree that there is a connection (spiritual, material, or both) between the oppressions experienced by women and environmental destruction.

Understanding why feminism is climate justice

Livelihoods of women in the Global South	Women in the global south are often main caregivers of agricultural lands and responsible for providing food and water for the communities. This makes them more vulnerable to effects of climate change, such as droughts and extreme weather.
Violence and health consequences as climate migrants	Climate change causes communities to be forced to move to new areas. Women are more susceptible to gender-based violence in these situations, such as conflict-related sexual violence, humans trafficking, and child marriage. Women also experience unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections due to loss of access to sexual and reproductive health services.
MMIWGT2S crisis links resource extraction	Deadly violence and sexual assault towards Indigenous women, girls, trans and two-spirit people occurs at high rates in communities located near resource development projects. See the following article for more on the MMIWGT2S crisis and it's links to resource extraction in so-called Canada.
Climate disaster increases incidents of violence	Women and young girls are at greater risk of emotional, physical, and sexual violence by men after climate disasters or other stressful events caused by climate change.
Negative impacts on mother's and child's health	Indigenous women live with the constant disruption of traditional food systems due to shifting climatic conditions. Climate change has altered the environment where traditional medicinal herbs are cultivated and gathered, elevating health risks and infant mortality.

Important eco-feminist leaders

Wangar ĩ Muta Maathai (Kenya) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 and founded the Green Belt Movement to fight against deforestation by enabling women to learn how to take care of the trees in their homes. community.

Maude Prud'homme (Quebec) fight against the development of hydrocarbon projects and for the protection of ancient forests. She offers training on ecofeminism.

Vandana Shiva (India) is known for her fight against GMOs and for the preservation of traditional agricultural knowledge, she is considered an important ecofeminist figure of our time

Thanks to Nyla Downey for compiling some of the content for this page.

If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.

Back to Homepage