One of the worst monsoons that the country of Pakistan witnessed in years turned out to be catastrophic again when it flooded the whole nation; this was another event to reflect again and again regarding how vulnerable this nation is before extreme weather events that are climatically determined. Millions have been affected, displacing huge portions of the population, destroying homes, infrastructure, and farmland. More than 15 million are estimated to be affected, with vast numbers needing urgent humanitarian relief. Destruction left by the floods reminds the world that climate change is increasingly turning into a threat in all regions of the world where such catastrophes happen.
This situation in Pakistan reminds everyone of how climate change impacts not only the physical infrastructure of a country but also the most vulnerable sections in society-in this case, women, children, and marginalized groups. These vulnerabilities should be considered with urgency and action while discussing the gender aspects of climate migration and displacement. This lesson can be drawn from the situation in Pakistan on gendered climate migration and youth advocacy for critical action toward climate justice.
Climate, Gender, and Youth: A Gendered Approach to Disasters
Climate-related disasters such as floods, heat waves, and droughts, by themselves or in synergy, can fuel existing inequalities based on gender; mostly, it hits women and girls. A Pakistani society exercises an absolute grip on the gender role; a woman undertakes much critical tasks as regards her household, for example, fetching water, preparing food, and managing the family's health. Once these activities are hindered by disasters, these women have to venture more to achieve their fundamental needs or take more burdens while increasing vulnerability towards GBV and exploitation.
In circumstances that are uncertain in such a situation of a disaster, such women and children have to fend for themselves while tearing the social texture apart. Other chances of falling into human trafficking or exploitation result from lost economic resources and shelter that pushes vulnerable people into danger situations. This economic hardship increases chances of child marriage since families seek financial assistance by marrying off their daughters.
The floods of 2024 have especially revealed how climate change amplifies the vulnerability of women and girls, as it affects their mobility, safety, and overall well-being. Entire communities are displaced, and hence the gendered impacts of migration and displacement become glaring. Women are mainly confined to shelters and camps, where they face overcrowding, poor sanitation, and limited access to needed services. This worsens their plight and increases their vulnerability in hostile environments already.
Climate migration, gender, and youth have impacted the displaced community.
The floods of 2024 have further worsened the situation of Pakistan's displaced women and girls. Overcrowding in shelters and camps, with poor facilities for women and girls, increases risks of GBV. Shelters mostly lack designs or facilities that are gender-responsive, such as separate spaces, appropriate sanitation facilities, and appropriate lighting, thereby increasing vulnerability to violence and exploitation.
Many communities are temporarily displaced and face crowded, often unsafe, unsanitary, and uncomfortable conditions. In case their health needs are neglected, many challenges are faced by women. The loss of healthcare infrastructure makes services like reproductive health care, maternal health services, and mental health support challenging for women and girls. Many of the health structures were destroyed or over-burdened, making it problematic to access contraceptive and maternal health services for most women and girls who were displaced.
Psychological health has been very significant for women and girls. The trauma caused by losing their homes and loved ones and living in very harsh conditions has resulted in generalized anxiety, depression, and stress. Most camps do not have any amenities that guarantee sanitation, while they have no specific toilets for the women. Therefore, many displaced people are psychologically and physically agonized. More than this, if psychosocial-related problems are overlooked, their full effects on general welfare and capacity will take longer time among the victims of this crisis.
Women education is still facing an interrupted condition. Most schools are either destroyed or used as shelter for the internally displaced populations and many girls and boys cannot achieve education simply because many schools remain unreachable in different parts of this nation. In Pakistan, it is said that more than 20,000 schools have experienced damage or have been shut due to the floods, internally displacing nearly 3 million children. The school closure affects the most affected groups which include girls who easily opt to stay back home because of the additional burden on them in staying away from school after the disaster has occurred. These education setbacks have a long-term effect socially and economically because they prolong poverty and inequality in gender lines.
What to Do: An Action to Youth
This has been very evident in the case of floods in Pakistan 2024. Thus, it calls for actions. Here, the role of youths would be great in pushing for climate policies that would focus on needs before, during, and after a disaster, catering to women and girls. The youths of Pakistan and the world at large will contribute significantly to reshaping the climate conversation to an extent that GBV-sensitive disaster preparedness and humanitarian responses will also be included. This is how the youths can act below.
1. Advocate for Framework on Prevention and Response to GBV
Youths will advocate for the development transport as well as accommodation which is GBV-sensitive to women and girls. This would include safe means of transport, different well-lit areas for women and girls in shelters and camps that will reduce risks to violence. While advocating for such measures, youths can make places of displacement safer and more hospitable to vulnerable groups. In addition, the promotion of community-based security initiatives that make women feel more secure in disaster situations is necessary.
2. Advocate for Gender-Responsive Healthcare Services
The health care services that have to be provided for women and girls also have to be commensurate with the nature of the reproductive health services and mental health service providers. Even mobile clinics can only provide female-specific health services but to provide health services for all internally displaced persons even before, during, and even after disaster might strike. There is a necessity for mental health care service since such displacement often leads to depression and other psychological disorders in the short term if they are not addressed.
3. Advocate for Continued Education of Displaced Children
The most impactful way in which young people can bring about a difference is by advocating for the continued education of displaced children, most especially girls. This includes calling for hybrid learning environments, fusing online and in-class learning, and ensuring that these children have access to other educational resources, such as mobile learning kits and digital platforms. That kind of support in education enables children to continue their learning even when the environment is hostile; it targets personal development, thus curbing cycles of poverty and gaps between genders.
4. Raise Awareness and Mobilize Communities
Youths can use social media and other means to raise concern about the gendered effects of climate migration and displacement. The opportunity is, therefore, there for the youths to amplify the voice of affected communities in canvassing specific needs of women and girls on a local, national, and international level. Hence, it's a chance to connect with a broader demography of youths from different backgrounds and establishing the solidarity networks necessary for mobilization towards change in the virtual world.
5. Advocacy for Policy Change
Youth can advocate representation of gender and youth perspectives about climate change policies, particularly issues on migration and displacement. Only by discussing the policies in the forums such as COP29 and exerting pressures for the implementation of gender-sensitive disaster management would climate migration be addressed justly. That way, it shall give them the means to be sure they are heard as well as how their concern for the issues on gender and migration might find its place within the adaptation and mitigation strategy of the climate.
Conclusion: Endeavor for Climate Justice.
The unfolding climate crisis revealed by the 2024 floods in Pakistan shows that, indeed, there is urgent necessity for gender-responsive climate action. It is at the same time a human rights issue that needs attention, but mainly it is an issue faced by communities and migrants of the world. It's a time when the young generation will be leading the world. This would also create an opportune time for effecting changes that favor women and girls more, to serve within such a scenario. Youth need to raise actions and create awareness for fair, equal, and respecting inclusive policies as the future world shall look upon climate migration and how justice is provided.
With growing numbers of climate events, it is time for the international community, in partnership with the national and local governments, to strive to develop disaster response strategies that are both resilient and gender-responsive. In this fight against climate change, no previous generation has faced such an imperative that the voices of young people play in the advocacy and action needed and, therefore, such a more critical role they play in defining a just and sustainable future.
Written By:
Zubair ali Janwary is a broadcast journalist based in Karachi, Pakistan. He covers religious minorities, climate change, Human Rights.