Why The Climate Crisis Is A Women’s Rights Crisis

By 2050, the climate crisis is set to push 158 million more women and girls into poverty and leave 232 million struggling with food insecurity, according to UN projections. Climate disasters are fuelling gender-based violence, forced marriages, and threats to sexual and reproductive health.

Amelia Whitworth, Head of Policy, Campaigns & Youth at Plan International UK explains why addressing the toll on women’s rights and gender-based violence is essential to fully grasping the sweeping dangers of climate change and shares the story of two young women leading the fight against it.

Why the climate crisis is a women’s rights crisis

Across the world, the repercussions of the climate crisis are hitting women and girls the hardest. According to the World Economic Forum, females account for over 80% of those displaced by climate-related disasters. This emergency is magnifying the inequalities millions of women and girls already face because of their sexuality, race, class or geography.

Against a backdrop of climate-induced poverty, families are being forced to make desperate choices to survive, and too often it is girls who suffer most as a result. Climate shocks and stresses heighten girls’ risk of facing gender-based violence, forced marriage and unplanned pregnancies.

The Malala Fund estimates that climate change will end schooling for at least 12.5 million girls every year
Amelia Whitworth

Social norms also result in girls often eating least and last during food shortages, putting them at greater risk of malnutrition. The numbers paint a grim picture. The UN projects that by 2050, an additional 158 million women and girls will be pushed into poverty because of the climate crisis, and 232 million will face food insecurity.

Meanwhile, the Malala Fund estimates that climate change will end schooling for at least 12.5 million girls every year in 30 climate-vulnerable countries. Education is a right that gives girls a chance to gain vital skills and knowledge to shape the rest of their lives. Not only that, but it is also a powerful tool for building resilience to climate-related disasters. Girls are being stripped of the chance to secure their own futures.

But here’s the thing: women and girls aren’t just bearing the brunt of the climate crisis; they’re leading the fight to solve it. Despite only eight out of the 78 world leaders at this year’s COP29 summit being women, across the world, girls and young women are using their lived experiences to organise grassroots movements, advocate for greener policies and drive change.

16-year-old Astriyati is from a small rural village in Indonesia, which is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Extreme weather events exacerbate poverty, and child marriage is seen as a way of reducing the economic burden on households. She says: “Whenever a family has money problems, the first thing they think of in my village is to marry off their daughter.” To combat this, Astriyati raises awareness of reproductive health and the negative consequences of child marriage, empowering other girls in her community. “I have a dream to prevent all child marriages in my community. I want girls to have big dreams, not to have their dreams stopped by marriage.”

In places hit hardest by climate change, girls are often the driving force behind their communities adapting and becoming more resilient to its impacts. Hannan, 17, is a youth leader in her community in Cotabata City in the Philippines—one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world. She learnt how to prepare and respond to disasters from Plan International’s Youth Cares project. “These disasters don’t just disrupt our daily lives. They can devastate our homes, destroy our possessions, and threaten our safety and wellbeing,” says Hannan.

We know that women and girls are driven to create change—and throughout history they have led the way in improving society—but their voices are widely missing from the rooms where big decisions happen. This has to change if we want effective solutions that protect and empower those most affected by the climate crisis. We should hold policymakers accountable to actively include girls and young people in decision-making spaces.

It’s time we demand that our leaders commit to funding that reaches girls and women, like Astriyati and Hannan, so they aren’t left fighting the climate crisis on their own.

Find out more about Plan International UK and support their work here.

Mischa Anouk Smith is the News and Features Editor of Marie Claire UK, commissioning and writing in-depth features on culture, politics, and issues that shape women’s lives. Her work blends sharp cultural insight with rigorous reporting, from pop culture and technology to fertility, work, and relationships. Mischa’s investigations have earned awards and led to appearances on BBC Politics Live and Woman’s Hour. For her investigation into rape culture in primary schools, she was shortlisted for an End Violence Against Women award. She previously wrote for Refinery29, Stylist, Dazed, and Far Out.