Women Speak: African women workers fight climate-induced violence
BWI asserts that the climate crisis is not gender-neutral, a sentiment echoed by women in Africa. Uwitonze Claudine, a union member from the Union of Construction, Carpentry, and Craft Enterprises Workers in Rwanda (STECOMA), observes, "I have seen how climate change has worsened OHS standards and worker turnover in my sector. Construction sites may experience extreme temperatures, requiring abnormal shifts and impacting workers' economic positions."
Abigail Oke Amadi, a woman leader from the Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA), notes, "Nigeria, identified as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, exposes women in the construction sector to biohazards, ocular infections, and heat-related illnesses. Women lack social protection and are easily dismissed without wages."
Sabina João Chinguvo, a trade union member from Sindicato Nacional (SINTAICAF), Mozambique, explains, "Female workers in the forestry sector face challenges due to climate change, such as flooded fields and damaged transport routes. Pregnant workers are at risk of complications due to environmental conditions."
Along these challenges, women workers in Africa endure gender-based violence exacerbated by the climate crisis. Acknowledging the hardships, these women trade unionists are ready to lead and find solutions. Uwitonze Claudine emphasises the need for capacity-building in Rwanda's construction unions to negotiate agreements on proper rubbish disposal, resilient buildings, tree planting, and allocating finances to green women's jobs.
Abigail Oke Amadi proposes capacity-building in national institutions related to erosion and watershed management and promoting green jobs for youth and women. CCESSA includes clauses safeguarding wages during flooded/unworkable worksites.
Sabina João Chinguvo advocates for negotiating 'Disaster Salary/Wage' policies, gendered medical protection, and climate change budget allocation. She suggests implementing climate disaster water management systems in Mozambique to redirect floodwater into reservoirs for supply to other African countries, improving productivity.
In the face of climate change, African women refuse to become the usual victims; they are leaders ready to shape a sustainable future.
#WomenSpeak is an online platform that regularly publishes articles on gender issues and concerns authored by BWI’s different affiliate women workers. It seeks to provide women workers more spaces to express their thoughts and concerns on a variety of issues that are important to them as workers and most especially, as women.