Hotter than (Sa)hel
As my blog draws to a close, I want to finish on a heated issue: the instability of the Sahel region. Home to Lake Chad - a transboundary freshwater source - the area has become a locus for intersecting challenges of climate change. Temperatures in the Sahel are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, depleting natural resources at a rate that outstrips demand. Since the 1960s, Lake Chad has shrunk by 90% - a figure that equates to approximately 24,500km² (Figure 1). Yet the livelihoods of 30 million people within Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon still depend upon it. For an area that is already characterised by poor governance, a persistent economic crisis and a bourgeoning terrorist organisation (Boko Haram), this does not bode well. In fact, it only exacerbates existing crises, creating conflicts that have a gendered impact. This brings me to the topic of my final blog on water and gender: climate-related challenges for indigenous women in the Sahel.
The gender gap in the Sahel region is 48.4%; almost 18% higher than the continental average. For indigenous women, this disparity holds greater detriments. It positions them as "third class citizens"; a status inferior to both men and non-indigenous women. Consequently, they face multidimensional discrimination on the basis of sex, race, language, culture, religion and class.
The livelihoods of indigenous peoples are inextricably linked to their surrounding environment. Despite representing only 5% of the global population, they manage more than 1/4 of all land on earth. Within the Sahel region, indigenous men and women rely on Lake Chad to provide water, food and income. As the Lake dries up, women are forced to walk farther to gain access to a source. Not only does this exacerbate their time-poverty, but it also bears health and security implications; exposing women to gender-based violence. In the Sahel, indigenous women are particularly vulnerable to female genital mutilation and early/forced marriage.
Water insecurity is driving two other gendered challenges: 1) migration and 2) conflict. In order to provide for the family and maintain their dignity, men are migrating out of the region; to urban areas within Africa or further ashore, to Europe - in search of work. At present, 10.7 million have migrated. Not only does this leave the female to embody both positions of the household, but it also leaves them unequipped to handle the effects of climate change. Rising temperatures are unfairly falling upon women.
Additionally, as people compete for the little water that is left, conflict is erupting. Between 2016 and 2019 in Nigeria alone, 4,000 people died as a result of farmer-pastoralist friction. In Chad, armed conflict has repressed civil society, in which women's groups have disproportionately suffered from rape and sexual abuse. Indigenous women in the Sahel are thus experiencing the climate conflict trap: climate change is driving conflict and in turn, conflict is affecting women's capacity to respond. But not one woman...
Hindou Ibrahim: a force to be reckoned with
Ibrahim is an environmental activist of the Wodaabe people and founder of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad. She advocates for more inclusive representation of indigenous women at global summits - a factor which is questioning the legitimacy of COP26. She also believes that women are "innovators" and "solution makers" in the face of Sahel's climate variability (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim TEDWomen 2019
Ibrahim works with indigenous herders to bridge the relationship between men, women and local environments. Since indigenous women operate in tangent with nature and the home - using their terrain and individual powers to mobilise a lot out of a little - they are central to mapping resources.
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| Hindou Ibrahim, 2019 |
Consequently, natural features such as ridges and plateaus are mapped onto a board, creating an intricate 2D/3D map from which information - such as an access point to water or the presence of fruit trees - can be added. This will allow for the conservation of resources and the agreement on how to share corridors for animals and access to fresh water. Not only does this minimise conflict and gendered impacts, but it creates space for women within decision-making processes; increasing their participation and empowering their voices.
Women, men and nature can't live harmoniously until women and men are living equally. This includes all dimensions of 'women' and particularly those whom are on the frontlines of the fight against femicide and ecocide: the indigenous heroes of Sahel.
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