Climate change has come about as one of the key challenges of this era, affecting ecosystems, way of life and social structures across the world. However, not all people are affected equally by it. In a country like Pakistan, which is among those most vulnerable to climate change, women generally suffer more than men. This is not because disasters such as floods or drought discriminate in themselves, but because deep-rooted gender inequality, scant access to resources and strict social norms aggravate women’s weak position. The 2022 floods are a good example. climate disasters are not gender-neutral, but Rather, show and intensify existing inequalities, forcing women into a situation of displacement, poverty and insecurity. These countries suffering most include Pakistan, Bangladesh many regions in Sub Saharan Africa. Households that do not have much in the way of resources and are poorly adapted to changes in climate the most vulnerable.
In South Asia, where families leave previously affected zones after the disaster has passed is now an important strategy of merely staying aline. One major difficulty faced is (in Pakistan) that water is scarce. How to earn a livelihood is not certain; a sense of security in life does not exist at all. And there is even the problem of gender-based violence for some families. Because of their poor educational background, their inability to choose their own well-beings and none-or all given positions in decision-making processes, women often bear the brunt in such situations. The floods of 2022 in Pakistan serve as an example. Continuous rainfall destroyed some 360 square kilometers of arable land, 75 ha livestock died; nearly 24000 schools were damaged, millions of people had their homes washed away or buildings destroyed. Total losses were estimated to exceed 30 billion. Honestly, for women, the hits just kept coming. We're talking scrambling for food, squeezing into overcrowded, leaky shelters, zero privacy, garbage sanitation. oh, and let’s not forget the mess with maternal health care. Like, pregnant or not, you’re basically left to fend for yourself. Meanwhile, your brain is busy juggling anxiety, trauma, and waves of depression, all while folks expect you to magically keep the household together as if the world hasn’t been flipped upside-down.
Women face a uniquely severe set of challenges during climate disasters, which intersect across several domains food insecurity, lack of safe housing, inadequate sanitation, and, critically, major disruptions in maternal and reproductive healthcare. These disruptions are compounded by significant mental health burdens: anxiety, trauma, depression, and the relentless pressure to maintain caregiving and domestic roles even as daily life disintegrates around them. Vulnerability Theory offers a key framework for making sense of why women bear the brunt of these impacts. The theory foregrounds how poverty, limited access to education, fragile health systems, and entrenched patriarchal customs converge to render women particularly vulnerable. In rural Pakistan, for instance, women are often confined to domestic labor collecting water, preparing food, providing care tasks that intensify precisely when resources become most scarce. At the same time, social norms significantly constrain women's mobility and authority, creating a situation where, during disasters such as the 2022 floods, many women were unable to reach emergency shelters or health facilities simply because they were not permitted to travel independently. These obstacles heighten women’s exposure to risk and increase dependence on others, ultimately deepening their vulnerability.
Migration as a coping strategy introduces additional gendered complexities. For privileged or relatively wealthy households, relocation may bring opportunities for improved education and healthcare often in urban environments but for the majority, migration is a forced, temporary response to crisis rather than a long-term solution. Displaced families regularly encounter heightened insecurity, inadequate sanitation, and the fragmentation of social networks. Women, in particular, become more susceptible to sexual harassment, violence, and profound psychosocial trauma within displacement settings. Far from leveling the playing field, migration often amplifies pre-existing gender inequalities. Importantly, these patterns are not exceptional to Pakistan. Across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, women commonly lack equal access to land, secure water, political representation, or opportunities to redistribute the burdens of unpaid care work.
In Pakistan specifically, conservative socio-cultural norms further curtail women’s participation in decision-making processes concerning climate adaptation. Exclusion from household economic choices and local governance means that resilience-building efforts frequently fail to address the full spectrum of community needs. Yet, it is essential to recognize that women are not merely passive victims in this narrative. When provided with access to education, digital skills, and opportunities for political participation, women frequently play transformative roles in fostering community resilience. Their expertise in resource management, healthcare, and caregiving equips them with valuable insights for designing effective adaptation strategies. Integrating women into disaster response planning and early warning systems can substantially improve the adequacy and reach of relief interventions, ensuring the needs of the most at-risk groups are recognized and addressed. To genuinely advance resilience, climate policies in Pakistan must prioritize the dismantling of discriminatory norms and the direct empowerment of women. This includes strengthening healthcare infrastructure especially for maternal and reproductive services and supporting community-based initiatives in health education and mutual aid. Guaranteeing reliable access to water, nutrition, and shelter particularly for pregnant women and children should be non negotiable during climate crises. Mental health services must also be incorporated into emergency response frameworks. On a policy level, addressing these interlocking challenges requires intersectional and multi-sectoral strategies informed by feminist and vulnerability theories. Analyses and interventions should consider not only gender, but also class, ethnicity, and geographic location. Data collection and monitoring processes require systematic gender disaggregation to ensure interventions are responsive to real, lived needs.
International climate finance and partnerships should be targeted toward projects that put women at the center, treating them as agents of resilience rather than passive beneficiaries. In summary, climate change represents not solely an environmental or economic challenge, but a profound issue of social justice. Women particularly those in Pakistan and other low- and middle-income countries occupy the frontlines of climate vulnerability while remaining underrepresented in policymaking spheres. Building authentic and lasting resilience to climate change will require a conscious effort to redress this imbalance by guaranteeing women full participation in the search for solutions. Investment in education, health, and inclusive climate policies is not merely an ethical imperative it is foundational for effective and sustainable climate adaptation.
