By Samuel Itsede
Rural Women and girls lag behind Urban Women in all facets of life and are most likely to die from climate-change related disaster.
Furthermore, they face greater constraints in accessing natural resources such as land and water.
This was the observation made by the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs Dame Pauline Tallen in a press statement issued on her behalf by the Director Press in her Ministry, Shehu Maikai, in commemoration of year 2019 International Day for Rural Women.
The Minister said that the United Nation General Assembly has set aside 15 October, every year, to draw global attention to the plight of women and girls living in rural areas. Adding that the theme for this year’s celebration is “Rural Women and Girls, Building Climate Resilience”.
She noted that Climate change worsens existing inequalities between rural women and their urban counterparts.
“For example, urban women have the capacity to adopt low carbon emission technologies such as gas, microwave, solar or electric cookers, while the rural women are at the mercy of green-house gas emission by flaring fire wood and animal dungs as source of energy”. she said.
Dame Pauline Tallen advised government to adopt a gender responsive climate policy and program to reduce harmful effects of global warming as a result of climate change.
She said that the climate policy that she has in mind should include; a concerted effort to support the capacities of rural women and girls in agricultural production, food security and natural resource management and the provision of low green-house gas emission technologies, at affordable prices, to rural women.
The Minister said that her Ministry is working alongside development partners to ensure that rural women access critical resources including; Capital, Land, Technology and Entrepreneurial Skill as a way to boost climate resilience.
