The COP29 Climate Summit brought together leaders and experts from around the world, with Mwanahamisi Singano’s name gaining attention for her advocacy for gender justice and climate justice. As the Policy Director of the Women, Environment, and Development Organization (WEDO), she has played a key role in integrating gender equality into climate action. Mwanahamisi believes that gender equality is not a secondary issue in climate policy but a core element in addressing the climate crisis. She emphasizes that only by truly incorporating gender justice can climate action become equitable and sustainable.
Mwanahamisi’s work spans a wide range of areas, from advocating for land rights reform to supporting grassroots women-led initiatives, demonstrating her strong commitment to gender equality and social justice. During her speech at COP29’s Gender Day, she urged the international community to reassess the inequities in resource distribution and ensure that women’s voices and needs are central to climate policy:
“When women have the power to change, we not only change the climate but the future of the entire world. Their innovation, resilience, and leadership strengthen communities, make policies more equitable, and ensure that actions are truly implemented.”
Gender and Climate: Women as the Core Force
Mwanahamisi points out that the impact of climate change on women is particularly profound, especially in Africa and other developing countries, where women often bear the majority of the responsibilities for their families and communities, yet are overlooked in resource allocation and policy-making. For example, the lack of land rights prevents many women from accessing climate funding, which limits their ability to address climate challenges.
However, women are not just victims of the climate crisis; they are also creators of solutions. In fields such as agriculture and environmental conservation, women have shown extraordinary resilience and innovation. For instance, women farmers in Kenya have increased food production through regenerative agricultural techniques, while also addressing the challenges posed by extreme weather. In Tanzania, women-led community projects have established sustainable water resource management systems, significantly improving the quality of life for residents. Mwanahamisi believes that these success stories demonstrate that women’s voices should be central to global climate action.
Advancing Fair Climate Finance and Policy Reform
During the Gender Day discussions, Mwanahamisi emphasized that the equitable distribution of climate finance is key to achieving gender justice. She called on the international community to increase gender-specific climate funding, particularly for securing women’s land rights and supporting grassroots women-led projects. She pointed out that when funds are genuinely directed toward women-led sustainable initiatives, the climate actions within local communities will have a more lasting impact.
Furthermore, Mwanahamisi criticized certain market-driven climate policies, such as carbon trading, arguing that these policies overlook the needs of grassroots communities and may even exacerbate inequality. She suggested that climate finance should be distributed transparently and equitably, ensuring it improves the living conditions of women and marginalized groups, rather than becoming a tool for the benefit of a few elites.
Gender Justice: Leading a New Direction in Climate Action
One of the key outcomes of COP29 was the ten-year extension of the Gender and Climate Change Lima Work Program, marking an important step forward in integrating gender equality with climate action globally. Mwanahamisi was a key advocate for this plan, and she believes that this framework is not only a victory for women but also a significant milestone in advancing global climate action toward fairness and justice.
She urged the international community to redefine the role of women in climate action, viewing them as a core force rather than simply as beneficiaries. She stated that true climate justice must place the needs and contributions of women at the heart of action; otherwise, no policy will achieve its intended outcomes.
From Grassroots to Global: How Women Are Transforming Climate Action
Mwanahamisi has repeatedly emphasized the leadership role of women in grassroots communities, illustrating with vivid examples how, when women are given resources and power, they can drive innovative and sustainable climate solutions. For instance, women’s groups in Uganda have used solar technology to address energy shortages and have created more employment opportunities through small-scale businesses. In Nigeria, a women-led fisheries cooperative successfully restored climate-impacted aquatic ecosystems, bringing both economic and environmental benefits to local residents.
Mwanahamisi pointed out that these grassroots women’s successes are not just victories for individual communities but also microcosms of global climate action. She called on international policymakers to use these examples as references, incorporating them into the climate action framework and ensuring that women’s voices truly influence global decision-making:
“Women are not bystanders in the climate crisis; they are creators of solutions. The women from the grassroots are changing the world with their actions, and their voices should not only be heard but should become the core force driving global climate action.”
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