Across India and South Asia, women have led grassroots resistance against unjust development, extractivism, and environmental degradation. Despite their central role, they are systematically excluded from decision-making processes, consultations, and land governance.

Women at the Forefront of Resistance

• Sijimali, Odisha: Women protest mining projects threatening forests and livelihoods, often facing police violence.
• Adivasi women in Jharkhand’s Dewas: Blocking coal mining to protect ancestral land.
• Tamil Nadu: Fishing community women resist the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.
  • These movements reflect community-led development rooted in lived experiences and ecological knowledge.

Systematic Exclusion from Decision-Making

• Largely invisible in decision-making spaces, especially under free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) protocols.
• Community consultations are male-dominated; women’s input is often dismissed as emotional, despite being rooted in socio-environmental wisdom.
• Example: In Phulbari, Bangladesh, women endured crackdowns while mobilizing against open-pit coal mining.

Legal Frameworks and Gender Gaps

• India: Forest Rights Act (2006) and PESA Act (1996) recognize women in Gram Sabhas.
  • Yet, land titles often exclude women; implementation lacks gender sensitivity.
• Nepal: Joint Land Ownership Policy promotes co-ownership of land.
• Bangladesh: Khas land programme prioritizes women, but male control remains dominant.
• Barriers:
  • No national gender-sensitive land policy in India.
  • Single women, widows, undocumented women are often excluded from redistribution.
  • Customary laws override statutory rights, especially in tribal regions.

Climate Change Deepens Gender Inequality

• Women bear the brunt of climate impacts:
  • Walk longer for water, care for the ill, and earn less.
• Excluded from planning for climate resilience and adaptation.
• Traditional ecological knowledge remains underutilized in climate frameworks.

Flawed Implementation of FPIC

• FPIC often lacks gender inclusivity.
• Consultations held in unsafe or inaccessible settings for women.
• Consent given by male leaders may not reflect women’s perspectives.
• Information gaps lead to ill-informed consent on projects with long-term impacts.

Need for Structural Change

• Inclusive FPIC must ensure:
  • Women-friendly scheduling, women-only spaces, translation, and legal aid.
  • Recognition of women as landowners, not just dependents.
• Amplify women’s leadership in:
  • Movements, negotiations, policy-making, and compensation processes.
• NGOs, allies, and governments must support women beyond protest sites.

Conclusion

True gender justice and climate justice require systemic change. Women’s leadership in environmental resistance is not about victimhood, but about vision and agency. It’s time policies, laws, and institutions recognized and empowered them accordingly.

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