This article was written by the Rural Action for Climate Resilience (RACR).
As climate change accelerates, rural women find themselves disproportionately affected by its harsh realities, yet their daily struggles often go unnoticed.
From extreme droughts to other unpredictable weather patterns, the gendered impact of climate change on rural communities is a silent crisis.
Members of the Rural Action for Climate Change (RACR) project are urgently calling for solutions that address women’s vulnerabilities in the climate crisis and that empower women to be able to adapt to and respond to the effects of climate change.
In South Africa, rural women are bearing the brunt of both domestic and environmental challenges. They have primary responsibility for providing food and care, yet climate change has made these duties even more difficult.
Declining water resources, rising temperatures, and unpredictable crop yields, which worsens these pressures, pushing women to their limits.
Asiphumze Luthuli from Mount Frere Paralegal Advice Centre in the Eastern Cape, and Youth Ambassador for Climate Change in the RACR project says “Many of these women don’t realise they are the most vulnerable, which also emphasises the lack of climate education and awareness.
In communities like Mount Frere, access to basic resources like water and healthcare is already limited. With rivers drying up, women are forced to manage their households with fewer resources. When it’s too hot, the water in our rivers dries out. How do we cook without water? How can we wash clothes?”
The climate-induced scarcity of resources intensifies daily challenges, from basic survival to caregiving. Compounding this issue is the lack of access to healthcare.
In emergency situations, damaged gravel and flooded roads make it impossible to reach aid in time, putting the lives of women and their families at risk. Luthuli shares the heart-wrenching reality: pregnant women in labour are often left stranded, unable to get the urgent care they need.
As climate change increases economic strain, there are documented cases of domestic violence as a result of extreme weather impacts.
Additionally, with climate change disrupting access to basic requirements like water and firewood, women have to travel further and are more exposed to gender-based violence outside their homes as well.
Despite these challenges, hope exists.
Women-led organisations like the Mount Frere Paralegal Advice Centre and the Interchurch Local Development Agency in the Eastern Cape are working tirelessly to integrate gender perspectives into climate action.
These groups, with young resilient women like Asiphumze Luthuli and Lisakhanya Nqeleni, are ensuring that rural women’s voices are heard in decision-making spaces. However, they need greater support to scale their efforts.
“Women are left out when it comes to making decisions related to climate change adaptation and mitigation, limiting their ability to influence solutions that affect them directly”, says Lisakhanya Nqeleni from the Interchurch Local Development Agency in Uitenhage, and another Youth Ambassador for Climate Change. By offering leadership training, capacity-building, and climate awareness, these organisations are helping rural women become leaders in their communities.
The road to change, however, is long and requires collaboration from all sectors.
The project’s website: www.ruralaction4climate.org.za
Picture: UNDP