Environmental hazards have become a major global issue this century. Pakistan is one of the highly vulnerable countries to climate change.Major environmental issues currently confronting Pakistan include climate change, water, energy, pollution and waste management, salinity and water logging, irrigated agriculture, biodiversity and more that are too numerous to count. These hazards are not only impacting the national, social and economic landscape but the human being living here especially Women.Man-made interferences in this natural systems are the chief reasons behind this problem.
The developing world's 1.3 billion rural poor make up the world's largest group of natural sources managers. Understanding their roles and responsibilities including the gender discrimination of natural resource management . It is a starting point for reserving environmental degradation. Women have a major role in this regard. Women manage natural resources daily in their roles as farmers and household providers . Typically they are responsible for growing subsistence crops and often have unique knowledge of local crop species.To meet family needs, rural women and girls walk long distances to get fuel, wood and water. Women have less access to and control over Natural Resources than men. Being the resident of mountainous area I'm eye witness to this. Usually it is men who put land water ,plants and animals to commercial use which is unfortunately more valued than women for domestic uses .
Gender inequality is most evident in access to land . Our custom prohibits women for owing land . Landless rural women often depend on common property resources for fuel wood, fodder and food. Without secure land rights ,farmers especially women farmers have limited access to credit and little incentives to invest in improved management. Women are more likely to make environmentally sound land, management decisions when they have secure ownership and know they can benefit.
Improved water management, especially irrigation is critical to higher agricultural productivity. Women farmers have limited access to irrigation networks . Women's limited water entitlements force them to use subsistence agricultural practices that may lead to soil erosion , a major source of instability in watersheds .To protect the natural resources rural women and men must be empowered to participate in decisions that affect their needs and vulnerabilities .
In a survey, balancing work life with family life is the number of career concern for both men n women with about half of both genders saying it is a major concern. Yet on a variety of indicators women seem more concerned about achieving it. Women can manage home better as well as job as compared to men .Even these women can play their role in kitchen gardening. It is an efficient and productive way of earning for women who are usually illiterate and have farming skills.
The survey also reports that women are more stressed out on finances than men, the more ability to pay of credit card, debt or student loans as a big concern. They are also more concerned about getting a raise and given a gender wage gap, this is not surprising . In another survey 31% of women said they thought they would be paid more if they were a man .The imbalance ends up affecting women more than men who are still thought of as the default caretakers . While more than 20% women are out of workplace and 0.8% men are taking care of children. Working mothers spend double the time than fathers do on raising children and they end up putting in half the hours that men do in paid employment .
If these women are given equal opportunities to men they can excel in this field.
Modern Technology should be introduced .They should be given modern trainings and skills.
They should be provided with small scale loans and other such incentives so that they can work independently .
If these women are given equal opportunities to those of men they will bring revolutionary changes in the field of Agriculture as well as maintaining favourable Environment .
Women are the best human being who can save environment. Women should be encouraged and empowered to utilize their skills in productive works especially undertake the pro-environmental activities that are beneficial not to their surroundings only but bring an overall positive impact.
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