Excited yet exhausted. Optimistic yet anxious. Accomplished yet ambitious.

These are the emotions I was feeling around 7pm yesterday, after a long day of networking, attending events, and interviewing with press at Copenhagen. And, oh my gosh--by the way, sit down anywhere for FIVE MINUTES--and you will get interviewed by someone in the media!!!  Luckily, the perfect outlet for all these emotions approached me at about 7:01pm. 

The Global Gender and Climate Alliance hosted a breathtaking exhibit of indigenous women’s artistic expressions of how climate change impacts their communities.  The exhibit was followed by a theatric play that depicted how Global North and South communities address climate change differently in their communities, but at the same time, with global solidarity towards a healthier planet.  While this was the perfect opportunity for me to relax and decompress, I was also inspired by the forms of expression made between gender equity and climate change.

The message that most resonated with me was that:

Women are the most sustainable agents of change in their communities. 

The roles that we, as women, have played historically and presently, in whatever shape or form, have brought unity and strength to families and communities even despite the discrimination we, as women, have faced. 

This is why gender equity is so essential as a cross-sectoral approach to progress in our world today.  I also see gender equity as the best strategy to connect climate change and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) together as a massive moment for change!

Educating girls and boys, empowering women, meeting the demand for voluntary family planning, and ensuring access to comprehensive, youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services not only play an important role in supporting human rights---but also in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Starting with the conversation of gender equity and human rights has helped me in my conversations with environmental activists to make the connection of SRHR to climate change. Some see it as a stretch—but, I think once you focus on gender equity (luckily to our advantage) as a pressing issue in environmental justice, there’s a common path to walk.

Climate change disproportionately affects women, especially young women, who are often the stewards of their area’s natural resources--as they must walk farther to collect water, work harder to produce crops from dry soil, and cope with drought, flooding, [other] natural disasters and disease. At the same time, empowered women can be particularly strong agents for sustainable change in their communities. I believe that an effective approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation must support young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), as doing so is essential for adaptation while contributing to reducing the impact of future climate change. 

Even the State of World Population 2009 report, that was just released by United Nations Population Fund this past month, argues that “the international community's fight against climate change is more likely to be successful if policies, programs and treaties take into account the needs, rights and potential of women.”

I must also emphasize, though, that if women, particularly young women, are not meaningfully involved in the decision-making processes of policies, programs and treaties that affect our own lives and the lives of our families--then the fight against climate change AND the support for SRHR will both fail. 

So, if you’re an SRHR activist like myself—interested in working with environmental activists in an even bigger movement--then take my advice!  Through my experience, I’ve learned to MAKE THE CONNECTION THROUGH GENDER EQUITY!