Climate change increases domestic workload for rural girls
By Lynn Makunike
The climate crisis is worsening the challenges faced by young girls, particularly those living in rural areas. I grew up in the rural areas of eMalalume village in Plumtree, about 70 kilometres south west of Bulawayo city in Zimbabwe. I lived in that area from 2007 to 2015.
One of the things that I vividly remember about my time in eMalalume village is that the temperature seemed to be increasing every year and that vegetation was dwindling. My school was almost 5 kilometres away and together with other learners we would make the entire journey to and from school on foot and in the scotching sun. Because of the excessive hit, I slowly developed migraine headaches and would nosebleed heavily while walking in the bush paths. There were no homes or wells nearby and my school uniform would be spoiled by the time I got home.
The year 2008 was particularly difficult for me because of the drought. There was no rain and no water in wells. When we got home after school, we would walk several more kilometres to fetch water for household use. This is when I realized that climate change affects girls more than boys. While we assumed more responsibilities, the boys had their routine roles of looking after cattle. Since there was no farming due to the droughts, the boys even had more free time.
While we suffered academically because of increased responsibilities, my male cousins were rarely affected. They were actually doing far much better at school. They had more time to play and more time to study. They never helped us since most of the chores like fetching water, firewood and cooking were designated as women’s work.
Many girls in eMalalume village dropped out of school at grade seven. There were several reasons for that. Some parents felt that the girls needed to be at home so that they do all the chores without being interrupted by school work. Some girls were overwhelmed by domestic responsibilities that they decided to drop out of school on their own. Many girls were also getting married in the hope of starting a new life.
By the time I left the village for Bulawayo metropolitan city, the climate crisis in eMalalume village had worsened. Fewer girls are managing to go to school up to form four. The majority are being trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty where they drop out of school, get married and start to have children who also face the same conditions.
I think the government should take deliberate steps to cushion communities from the climate crisis through a gender lens. Women and girls should be take leading roles in climate action programmes so that resources are channeled to address the real needs.
