CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND ITS IMPACTS ON RURAL WOMEN LIFE IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Climate change is among one of the most important issues for the Pakistani rural women's life. Always changing weather and unpredictable rain always impact the agriculture over which majority women are dependent.  The ability of the rural women to plan crops production are affected by this abrupt change that impact the food availability. Climate change impacts the events like droughts and floods. Even the lack of water that is the effect of climate change impacts rural women as this was their duty to collect water  for domestic activities. Now she has to walk farther to obtain water due to shifting water availability patterns, which adds to their workload and has an adverse effect on their health. The degradation of natural resources like forests and land due to climate change reduces women’s access to essential resources for agriculture, fuel and fodder leading to increased tediousness and economic hardships. The effects of climate change on rural women in Pakistan are deep as they touch the various aspects of their lives from livelihoods. These impacts require comprehensive working to intermingle special risks that contribute to climate change with the intention to adopt the new policy.