A woman’s place is in the struggle
“Women should be part of any agreement on climate change not as an afterthought or because it’s politically correct, but because its the right thing to do our future as humanity depends on unleashing the full potential of human beings, and the full capacity of women to bring about change.”
Thoraya Obaid
By Chuck Baclagon
The commemoration of International Women’s Day remind us that the story of women’s struggle belongs to the collective efforts of all who care about equality.
In many places, women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men—primarily as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent for their livelihood on natural resources that are threatened by climate change, also because they face social, economic and political barriers that limit their coping capacity.
Celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women, by recognizing that the struggle for climate justice is part and parcel with the pursuit for gender parity.
We are sharing these photos and stories of women from the frontline showing how they have been able to struggle, thrive and harness the power of the sun in order to meet their energy needs – and how they have contributed to saving the climate in the process.
Let today be a time to remember that there can be no climate justice without gender justice.
Nida Pado, Yolanda survivor from Basey, Samar, sets up the lights powered by TekPaks inside the cave. Her community commemorated Haiyan just ahead of its third anniversary by conducting an evacuation drill in Tinabanan Cave in Marabut, Samar, which is also a major evacuation center.
Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator of the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development. She was a student activist during the Marcos regime. Her husband, renowned activist, Lean Alejandro, was believed to have been killed by the rogue elements military in 1987. Since then, continued her work on economic and social justice and is now considered one of the leading experts on the subject.
Angela Lumbre and Hazel Ocenar, Yolanda survivors from Tacloban City, operate portable solar power units (called TekPaks) which they will use to respond to emergency situations. The TekPak is a compact kit that can provide light and energy through solar power especially for communities vulnerable to disasters and climate change.
Peti Enriquez, of Bukluran ng Inang Kalikasan, the main organization leading the anti-coal resistance against the Philippines’ first and oldest coal power plant in Calaca, Batangas.
Azucena Bagunas, Yolanda survivor from Marabut, Samar and member of the women’s group Unhan Kababayen-an Tinabanan Organization holds up a solar-powered LED bulb during an evacuation drill inside the Tinabanan Cave in Marabut.
Former Batangas City Councilor, Kristine Balmes rallied the Batangas City local government in opposing the proposed Pinamucan coal plant JG Summit Holdings, a company owned by the Gokongwei family — one of the ten richest families in the Philippines.
Alma Latina holds her 4-year-old daughter in their home in Suluan Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar. She is the leader of the women’s group Sulong Suluan which partnered with an NGO to help their island gain access to solar energy.
A member of the women’s group Sulong Suluan woman joins the demonstration of the solar home system which she and some other inhabitants of Suluan Island received from an NGO.