Photos by Sa ' adia Khan
WHAT DOES GIRLS ’ EDUCATION HAVE TO DO WITH CLIMATE CHANGE ? by Alice Thomas
ACROSS THE GLOBE , people are feeling the effects of climate change — from hurricanes to flooding to droughts to wildfires . Tragically , the poorest , most marginalized people are often the hardest hit .
In the regions of Central Asia where CAI works , extreme weather is a part of life . But as the climate changes , poor and vulnerable communities are finding it harder to cope . Adding to the problem is that governments in this region have limited capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters .
For example , Afghanistan is currently facing a severe drought that comes on the heels of the 2018-2019 drought . As of early September 2021 , some 7 million Afghans who depend on agriculture and raising livestock to survive required humanitarian assistance . i With lowerthan-usual harvests expected this fall , Afghan farmers are bracing for the worst this winter . Even before the government fell to the Taliban , former President Ashraf Ghani acknowledged that the government lacked the funds and capacity to manage the impending crisis .
While climate change is impacting all regions in the world , ecologically fragile , high-mountain areas face unique risks . Nowhere is this more evident than the remote and mountainous areas of Afghanistan , Pakistan , and Tajikistan , where CAI has long focused . The Pamir , Karakoram , and Himalayan ranges are part of the broader Hindu Kush Himalayan ( HKH ) region , which is known as the “ Roof of the World ” because it has some of the tallest peaks on Earth . Many are covered with deep glaciers and serve as water towers on which billions of people living in the broader Asia region depend for fresh water and food .
But in recent years , warmer temperatures have accelerated glacial melting , resulting in more intense flooding and , over the long term , depletion of water sources . The United Nations recently warned that even conservative scenarios for future global warming indicate that the region will lose one-third of its ice volume by the year 2100 . ii
“ I have noticed that the number of glaciers is decreasing , and the glaciers are melting and causing natural disasters like mudslides ,” explained one senior geologist from Tajikistan who helps communities prepare for the effects of climate change . “ The water level of the rivers is getting higher , washing out the roads and the crop fields .”
Farmers in the region are noticing the changes as well . Gulru and her family have been farming their plot of land for more than 60 years . “ The climate has changed a lot ,” she said . “ Before we had very good harvest from our little field , but this year our field was destroyed by a mudslide . Then , after we cleaned the field and planted vegetables , the harvest was not good . There wasn ’ t enough rain and all the crops dried up . So , this year we have to buy our vegetables from the market .”
But what does the issue of climate change have to do with women , girls , and education ?
In the HKH region and other poor and ecologically fragile parts of the globe , women and girls bear the brunt of extreme weather and climate change .
28 | JOURNEY OF HOPE CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE