Climate Change: New Tragedy for Afghan Women

WORDS BY SOWIEBA

ART BY AWREY

An Afghan citizen said in a telephone interview: “the only things that matter now are that we survive and eat. We are like wild animals in a jungle fighting for a slice of bread”. That saddening tragedy shows the current state of Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a country of awful tragedies: four decades of conflicts, poverty, refugee displacement and recently, the tragedy of climate change.

Climate change is the changing of weather over a long period, which is one of the greatest global challenges of the twenty-first century. It impacts all regions, generations, ages, classes, groups and genders. Those who are already vulnerable to tragedy will also experience the climate’s greatest impacts.

Poor countries like Afghanistan have the greatest need for adaptation strategies in the face of climate variability and change. In 2014, Afghanistan ranked as the sixth most affected country by climate change. Afghanistan has an arid and semi-continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. This kind of location is very dangerous in the face of climate change. Since 1950, temperatures in Afghanistan have risen 1.8 o C. This led to massive droughts in this country.

Therefore, Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change and it is one of the least equipped to deal with the awful consequences. For years, Afghanistan has experienced intense and worsening natural disasters, including:

  • Droughts

  • Storms

  • Floods

  • Earthquakes

  • Landslides


These disasters have been increasing in recent years as a result of climate change. Thousands of people across the country are now affected by climate change. Now, Afghanistan is suffering the most severe drought in living memory. Climate models suggest that Afghanistan will be confronted by a range of new and increased climate hazards in the near future.

ACTION AID research finds that the number of people being displaced by the climate crisis is rising in Afghanistan. The most likely adverse impacts of climate change in Afghanistan are drought related. For instance, in the Shaiday camp near Herat province, the majority of its residents were displaced by the severe drought of 2017–2018, or consequent floods due to untimely rainfall. This year, in 2022, nearly all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces have been hit with natural disasters, including flooding this summer, which killed tens of people and affected thousands of Afghan people painfully, or the disaster of the earthquake in the Paktika province.

In addition, extreme heat and freezing weather shows the serious impacts of climate change in Afghanistan. These conditions will continue to impact upon the socio-economic development of Afghanistan and will especially have a significant effect on women in this country.

Women are the Main Victims of this tragedy


Both women and men working in natural resource sectors, such as agriculture, are likely to be affected. However, the impact of climate change in Afghanistan on gender isn’t the same as others experiencing poverty. Women in Afghanistan are increasingly being seen as more vulnerable than men to the impact of climate change.

The difference between women and men can also be seen in their different roles, responsibilities, decision-making, access to land and natural resources, opportunities and needs. Worldwide, Afghan women have less access to knowledge, technology, and resources that would improve their capacity to adapt to climate change.

There are many reasons why Afghanistan is vulnerable to an environmental crisis which also affects women disproportionately:

  • 80% of the population relies on agriculture to survive; small changes to the climate have enormous impacts on food shortages.

  • Years of conflict have eroded traditional, natural resource management mechanisms, and diverted the former government’s focus away from climate change adaptation programs.

  • There is no social safety net to help people cope in times of crisis.

  • Climate disasters destroy ecosystems and force people to leave homes, provoking conflict over scarce natural resources.


A woman I know from the Bahrak district of Badakhshan told me that after her husband died in the conflict between the Taliban and the national army of Afghanistan, she was forced to work on her land to survive. She said to me, “I haven't had a good harvest this year so only 6 of my children can survive and I need humanitarian help if I can get it”. Therefore, women’s vulnerability to climate change stems from social, economic and cultural aspects. Women have limited access to the control of environmental goods and services; they have negligible participation in decision-making and aren’t involved in the distribution of environmental aid and humanitarian benefits.

Women and girls displaced due to climate change disaster in Afghanistan are more likely to face domestic violence, sexual harassment, trafficking, and forced early and underage marriage; found in the research of a gender analysis of climate including migration in South Asia. Many provinces' social-cultural norms prevent migrating, seeking refuge in other places and women from working when a disaster hits, especially when they can no longer travel to get food or drinking water.

Consequently, Afghan women are less likely to confront climate change, because Afghan’s patriarchal society places women under the subordination of men. After the 15th of August, when the Taliban returned to power, women began disappearing from every part of society and child marriage started increasing. Therefore, in addition to conflicts, human rights and the matter of girls' education, climate change is also a big storm of tragedy for Afghan people, especially women.

At present, climate change isn’t a consideration in the national or sector plans of the Taliban regime. So the Taliban and the global community must adopt a plan to reduce the impacts of this disaster.

ART BY HELLA