Women’s Day warning: ‘Man-made’ climate change kills more girls

Men and women may not always be on the same footing but you’d think both sexes would be equal in the face of floods, typhoons or droughts. Think again. Natural disasters kill more women than men on average – 90% female fatalities in some cases – prevent girls from going to school, and increase the threat of sexual assault. The issue has leapt to the fore in global negotiations on climate change, which scientists warn will be responsible for increasingly violent and frequent natural catastrophes around the world.

It boils down to the fact that women and men have different types of vulnerabilities already in the world. And then climate change comes along and accentuates all of those.

Tara Shine, special advisor to the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice think tank

Of the 140,000 victims of the ‘91 cyclone that battered Bangladesh, 90% were women, as were nearly two thirds of those killed by Myanmar’s 2008 Cyclone Nargis. Culturally, women are less likely to be taught to run, swim and climb trees in those areas. Lifesaving forecasts are also less likely to reach them: 300 million fewer women have mobile phones than men. And, in parts of the developing world where girls are expected to fetch water, many miss school because of the increasingly long walks to working wells.

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