This Women’s History Month, environmental organizations are speaking about feminism. For example, the Natural Resource Governance Institute took to celebrate people fighting for gender equality in the natural resource and extractives sector. They highlighted several colleagues, partners, and training alumni who engage in this work.
FUNDAR is a good example of one of these organizations. In the NRGI blog post for International Women’s Day, Alicia Ojeda of FUNDAR explained how their organization seeks to “transform the social norms that perpetuate inequalities, for example through hegemonic narratives that minimize women’s role in their land and for their defense…” and explained how “progress can be made through the fight for the environment and the defense of land, recognizing that there are particular types of violence experienced by women who lead these struggles” (Ojeda). There are systemic problems intertwined with environmental issues, one being sexism. FUNDAR takes an intersectional approach to land rights, exploring how the extractives industry impacts women. Recognizing this particular violence can help us understand the full extent of environmental degradation.
We can’t speak about environmentalism without talking about feminism and gender equality. It is all intertwined. This is why environmentalism needs to be “intersectional,” a word coined by scholar and advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw. We need to study the extent of this environmental sexism to understand specific struggles women face. To tackle the environmental crisis, we need to listen to women and empower them.
At UD, there are many professors studying feminism and sexism in the Department of Women and Gender Studies (WGS). Professor Lindsay Naylor, of the Department of Geography & Spatial Sciences, is affiliated with WGS, studying feminist geopolitics among other things. And this Spring, UD offers WOMS 356 Global Genders and Sexualities, which touches on many topics, including feminism and environmental justice.
