Climate change in Afghanistan: A health hazard for women
WORDS BY SONAM, ART BY HELLA
Afghanistan is a country where the effects of climate change are clearly visible. In addition to the increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall, it is clear that the weather in big cities such as Kabul, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat, Balkh and Kunduz has been severely affected, and even scientists consider Kabul's weather to be poisonous for humans.
Climate change has serious negative effects on human health by affecting food sources and reducing drinking water. But what is more serious is that these changes cause heavy casualties by activating the agents of deadly diseases such as malaria, and inducing diarrhea and malnutrition. Most of all, mothers and children in Afghanistan are at risk of this - especially in poor areas and villages, where there is more capacity for climate-sensitive diseases. In these areas, the health system is neither regular nor efficient, and malnutrition can be most deadly.
Figures available in Afghanistan on nutritional status show that more than half of children under 5 years of age are lacking in minerals and vitamins. Iron deficiency is especially noticeable in young women. About 70% of women of childbearing age have iron deficiency. Due to the high sensitivity of agricultural fields to climate-change induced impacts such as weather instability, disruption of rains and seasonal temperature changes, local food resources can decrease. As a result, malnutrition is a threat, and the most vulnerable such as the poor, rural and women of Afghanistan can be its victims.
In Afghanistan, most of the people use agriculture for their livelihood, especially poor people, families who currently live in extreme poverty and insecurity, and those that have a lack of education. Natural disasters caused by climate change are sometimes factors that force families to resort to forced marriage of their daughters in order to survive; this is a serious danger for Afghan women.
Another issue of climate changes is the issue of long-term droughts and lack of access to water. This increases physical, hygienic and washing problems, including the risk of skin and eye diseases. Women are responsible for the cleaning of children, experience menstruation, face the difficulty of washing in running water and springs and have the responsibility of providing water and food for the family and taking care of the elderly and the sick in the family, which makes all of the conditions much more difficult for women.
There is no doubt that both men and vulnerable women will experience the effects of climate change, but it is women who will suffer the most from its negative consequences. This is because women are more likely than men to need adequate nutrition when the impacts of climate change occur. Climate change causes women to not get the important substances that are present in nutrition, which causes them to die. Climate change causes women to face gender violence; gender-based violence includes domestic violence, rape, sex work and forced marriage, child marriage, as well as other forms of exploitation of women. Reports suggest that human trafficking increases in areas where the natural environment is under pressure and change, and that there is a link between gender-based violence and environmental crimes such as wildlife poaching and illegal resource extraction. When climate change occurs, women and girls go to far places to get water due to droughts, and they are more likely to experience gender-based violence. When they return home again, they are faced with more fatigue, because they cannot fulfill their responsibilities well, which causes families to use violence against women.
The severity of the effects caused by climate change will depend on the path of future human activities. More greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more climate extremes and widespread damaging effects across our planet. However, those future effects depend on the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit. So, if we can reduce emissions, we may avoid some of the worst effects.