Domestic Environment and Health of Women and Children

H. N. B. Gopalan and Sumeet Saksena (eds). Tata Energy Research Institute, Darbari Seth Block,
Habitat Place, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110 003. 253 pp.

To the editors of this book goes the credit for bringing out a timely document on domestic environment
and its influence on women and children’s health for several reasons. Works that systematically
document the linkage between health and domestic environment issues are few and far between,
since women’s health is considered a ‘soft issue’. Further the gender and child-specific approach
adopted has greatly enhanced the value of this document since there is increasing realization about
the need for gender disaggregated data amongst researchers and policy makers. Macro analysis with
quantitative indicators, micro level qualitative analysis through case studies and the link between
research and policy framework have been very well set out.

The authors have included four sections namely, housing, biofuels, water sanitation and nutrition
within the ambit of domestic environment. Within each section they have analysed the existing
scientific documents and policy literature. While the authors have correctly pointed out the need for
including a wider and complex set of factors in understanding linkages in order to plan effective
interventions, they have made only a superficial observation about the relationship between available
data and policy conclusions. In the chapter on housing (page 17) for example, the editors argue that
policy literature recognizes the differential impact on women and children though there is very little
corroborative scientific literature. This argument appears to be based on the presumption that policies
are based on scientific data alone.

Other powerful factors such as political ideologies, personal commitment of individual policy makers
and efforts by people’s groups have played a vital role in policy/programme formulation, e.g. the
provision of adequate maternity leave and child care support for women engaged in economic
activities greatly enhanced the health and nutritional status of women and children, leading to a
natural adoption of the two child norm, in the erstwhile Soviet Union. This was possible only because
the Communist countries viewed women as workers and considered the provision of child care
support a state responsibility. The introduction of the state-sponsored ‘noon meal’ scheme in Tamil
Nadu, to improve the health and school attendance of children was due to the personal commitment
of the then Chief Minister and not based on any scientific data. Organized struggle by people against
industrial pollution and social action movements such as ‘Chipko’ have influenced policy decisions
and the enactment of environment friendly legislation.

In analysing gender dimension within the household, the multiple roles of women and lack of support
from the men/family of the household have received only a passing mention. While it is true that data
on these issues is inadequate and incomplete, far more than what is quoted is available with regard to
women’s work, its invisibility, its lack of monetization, women’s management of multiple roles and its
impact on health and nutrition. A separate chapter on these issues would have added more depth to
the gender analysis.

In the section on nutrition, the editors have pointed out the shift in perception in recent times, about
women’s health. Women’s health should not be perceived from a narrow standpoint of maternal and
child health but from a wider perspective of their social roles and activities. However even this shift
has a built-in gender bias, since even here the thrust is on how important it is to improve women’s
health in order to help them carry out other functions smoothly, such as providing care and nutrition
for their family members.

As a result, the fact that women need to have better health/nutrition simply because they have a right
to it like any male, irrespective of their performance or non-performance of roles, has been missed
out. Access to good health, nutrition and educational opportunities is the birth right of every child and
individual and is endorsed in the constitutions of nations. Creating an enabling environment for all is a
must for all societies and Governments, irrespective of whether the individuals are productive or not.
The UN slogan on ‘Rights issues of women and children’ summarizes the spirit of any gender
analysis.
As a consequence, though there is thin reference to issues such as lack of participation by males in
household chores (page 213), the suggestions for interventions are largely on what could be done ‘for
women’ rather than ‘about women’. For the age-old gender bias, inequity and discrimination to
disappear, policies and programmes should target men especially husbands, fathers, professional
groups such as doctors, employers, administrators, etc. While it is true that empowering women
directly through formation of women’s groups, training, etc. is very important for achieving gender
equality, other measures such as sensitization of the males at all levels of society and working
towards changing social attitudes in the long run will have to be contemplated for achieving a truly
gender-neutral environment.

RAMA NARAYANAN

3rd Cross Street,

Taramani Institutional Area,

Chennai 600 113, India

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The environment and health for children and their mothers

The issues

More than three million children under five die each year from environment-related causes and
conditions. This makes the environment one of the most critical contributors to the global toll of more
than ten million child deaths annually -- as well as a very important factor in the health and well-being
of their mothers.

Polluted indoor and outdoor air, contaminated water, lack of adequate sanitation, toxic hazards, disease
vectors, ultraviolet radiation, and degraded ecosystems are all important environmental risk factors for
children, and in most cases for their mothers as well. Particularly in developing countries, environmental
hazards and pollution are a major contributor to childhood deaths, illnesses and disability from acute
respiratory disease, diarrhoeal diseases, physical injuries, poisonings, insect-borne diseases and
perinatal infections. Childhood death and illness from causes such as poverty and malnutrition are also
associated with unsustainable patterns of development and degraded urban or rural environments.

Major environment-related killers in children under five years of age

 Diarrhoea kills an estimated 1.6 million children each year, caused mainly by unsafe water and
poor sanitation.
 Indoor air pollution associated with the still-widespread use of biomass fuels kills nearly one
million children annually, mostly as a result of acute respiratory infections. Mothers, in charge of
cooking or resting close to the hearth after having given birth, are most at risk of developing
chronic respiratory disease.
 Malaria, which may be exacerbated as a result of poor water management and storage,
inadequate housing, deforestation and loss of biodiversity, kills an estimated one million
children under five annually, mostly in Africa.
 Unintentional physical injuries, which may be related to household or community environmental
hazards, kill nearly 300 000 children annually: 60 000 are attributed to drowning, 40 000 to
fires, 16 000 to falls, 16 000 to poisonings, 50 000 to road traffic incidents and over 100 000
are due to other unintentional injuries.
Health-damaging exposure to environmental risks can begin before birth. Lead in air, mercury in food
and other chemicals can result in long-term, often irreversible effects, such as infertility, miscarriage,
and birth defects. Women's exposure to pesticides, solvents and persistent organic pollutants may
potentially affect the health of the fetus. Additionally, while the overall benefits of breastfeeding are
recognized, the health of the newborn may be affected by high levels of contaminants in breast milk.
Small children, whose bodies are rapidly developing, are particularly susceptible - and in some instances
the health impacts may only emerge later in life.

Furthermore, children as young as five years old sometimes work in hazardous settings. Pregnant
women living and working in hazardous environments and poor mothers and their children are at a
higher risk, as they are exposed to the most degraded environments, are often unaware of the health
implications, and lack access to information on potential solutions.

Improving children and mothers' environmental health by addressing and tackling issues affecting their
health, presents an essential contribution towards the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).

The solutions

In many cases, low-cost solutions for environment and health problems exist. For instance, simple
filtration and disinfection of water at the household level dramatically improves the microbial quality of
water, and reduces the risk of diarrhoeal disease at low cost. Improved stoves reduce exposures to
indoor air pollution. Better storage and safe use of chemicals at community level reduces exposures to
toxic chemicals, especially among toddlers, who explore, touch and
taste the products found at home. Personal protection from malaria WHO action links
through the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets has a proven Water, sanitation and health
track record of saving lives, particularly children's. Vector-borne disease
Indoor air pollution
Education is also key - mothers who receive the information they Chemical safety
need to understand the environmental risks present in their homes Health and Environment
and communities are better equipped to take appropriate action to Linkages Initiative
reduce or eliminate exposure. Ultraviolet radiation
Nutrition
Joint WHO-ILO tripartite
WHO action meeting on occupational health
of health workers: Geneva, 6-9
WHO's programmes and initiatives on water and sanitation, vector- July 2010
borne diseases, indoor air pollution, chemical safety, transport, Food safety
ultraviolet radiation, nutrition, occupational health, food safety and Injury and violence prevention
injury prevention all address issues critical to the environmental
health and well-being of children. These programmes support
awareness raising, training and advocacy; prepare tools for
identification of key hazards and assessment of health impacts; and
provide guidance to policymakers, professionals and communities on "good practice" solutions.

WHO and its partners also lead and coordinate research and global knowledge-sharing about the long-
term impacts of major environmental hazards on child health. For instance, long term children's studies
to examine the relationship between environmental factors, childhood health and development are being
promoted in ten pilot countries, where thousands of pregnant women and their children will be recruited
in the next few years.

Long-term children studies

To tackle indoor air pollution, WHO is supporting the thorough assessment of the health and broader
impacts of household energy solutions, such as improved stoves or ventilation. Bringing together the
evidence from projects around the world by 2010 will enable policymakers, households and women in
particular to make informed choices about the most suitable good practice solutions.

Addressing the links between indoor air pollution, household energy and human health

WHO is helping improve water and sanitation in several ways. A WHO-led international network has
brought together more than 60 collaborating organizations in a new International Network to Promote
Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage. The Network engages with decision-makers, raises
grassroots awareness, and supports research. Currently, projects to improve household water
management - and thus reduce rates of diarrhoeal disease - are under way in 50 developing countries,
involving the mothers as key players in these initiatives.

Household water treatment and safe storage

The storage of drinking water in the domestic environment has an important implication: in many
countries, the Aedes mosquitoes breed in small water collections in and around the house that transmit
the dengue virus. Its most virulent form (Dengue haemorrhagic fever) is very severe. Outbreaks are on
the increase, and children are the main victims. Yet, keeping these household water collections free from
mosquito breeding only requires simple measures: storing drinking water under cover so that
mosquitoes cannot deposit their eggs. Pregnant women and mothers, as the caregivers providers, play a
key role in carrying out such simple actions that can have tremendous benefits for their own health, as
well as for their child's.

In initiatives that cut across all sectors, a WHO-led environmental burden of disease study is providing a
more comprehensive assessment of the contribution that environmental hazards make to specific
childhood diseases and disabilities. Capacity building among professionals is another important activity.
For instance, a Training Package for Health Care Providers enables those on the "front-line" of maternal
and child health care to recognize, assess, prevent and treat environmentally-related diseases.

WHO also coordinates two interagency partnerships specifically related to children and environmental
health. These involve a range of UN institutions, governments and NGOs. The partnerships include the
Healthy Environments for Children Alliance (HECA), launched at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD), that aims to raise awareness and support policymaker and community action on
children, health and environment issues. HECA is now supporting country-level projects that focus on
addressing multiple risks in an integrated and cross-sectoral manner, in home and school settings.

Also launched at the WSSD summit, the Children's Environmental Health Indicators (CEHI) Initiative
aims at improving country-level assessment of children's environmental health issues through better
monitoring and reporting of key childhood environmental health indicators. This initiative is closely
linked to the preparation of national profiles on the status of children's environmental health, that enable
countries to do rapid assessments on the situation of their children and the means available to provide
solutions. Regional pilot projects to improve monitoring and reporting of such indicators are already
under way in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America.

Healthy Environments for Children Alliance

Global Initiative on Children's Environmental Health Indicators

The way forward

There are over 600 million children under five in the world today. They represent the future of the planet
and boundless human potential. However, only mothers who are themselves healthy, and in a position
to provide a healthy, clean and safe environment can preserve their child's right to life. In order to
achieve this goal, it is important for decision-makers at international, regional and national levels,
together with non governmental organizations, communities and families to join efforts in recognizing
and addressing key environmental hazards. This may include policy action, advocacy, prevention, and
grassroots participation.

Action to reduce and eliminate the key environmental hazards to childhood and maternal health will help
"Make every child and mother count."

REFERENCES

World Health Organization Statistical Information (WHOSIS)

WHO(2002) Healthy Environments for Children - Initiating an Alliance for Action. World Health
Organization, Geneva.

Healthy Environments for Children - Initiating an Alliance for Action

2002 World Health Organization, Geneva.

FURTHER LINKS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PROTECTION OF THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT

BACKGROUND
Women stand on the front line in the battle with environmental degradation. Their health depends on the
health of the land, forests, air and water around them. As those in closest contact with the land and the
natural world they are usually the first to suffer from its degradation.

Deforestation increases the amount of time women must spend in seeking both fuel and water: when the
trees are felled water sources also dry up. In Gujarat, India, women now have to devote four or five hours a
day to collecting fuelwood, whereas not long ago they only had to go out to get it every four or five days. Every
day in South Africa alone, the country’s women walk the equivalent of going to the moon and back 16 times
over to fetch water for their families. Both tasks cripple the health of the women who have to carry the heavy
loads.

The water is often unsafe, killing more than 3 million people a year, mostly children. And pollution from the
fuelwood and other biomass – which 2.5 billion people have to use because they lack modern forms of energy –
disproportionately kills women and children, who spend most time in the home.

Women, who tend to carry more fat, are also more vulnerable to the toxic chemicals that build up in it, and so
are their unborn babies. In countries as different as the United States and the Sudan increased neonatal deaths
have been found among the children of women farmers exposed to pesticides. High levels of dioxins and other
hazardous chemicals have been found in breast milk in a wide variety of countries, while women exposed to
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) around North America’s Great Lakes have given birth to children with
delayed motor development and dramatically lower intelligence.

Yet women are often also at the forefront of the fights to conserve health and the environment. They have led
the Chipko movement against the felling of forests in northern India and similarly are campaigning against
chemical-intensive agriculture across the subcontinent. The soil in women’s plots in Ghana has been found to
retain its fertility longer than the soil in men’s ones, while half of all the United Kingdom’s organic farmers are
female, ten times the proportion in the country’s agriculture as a whole.

Geoffrey Lean

Women and the environment through history

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Environmental history books have mostly focused on men’s roles, and generally women’s
involvement with nature has been ignored. Even historical texts have been deficient in
writing about women participation in environmentalist actions. So, the result is that women’s
role in environmental struggles and debates about nature has been hidden from history.
However, in reviewing recent centuries’ environmental crises, we can see women of every
social class, nation, or color had raised their concerns about the environment more noticeably
and openly. According to Bella Abzug, one of the founders and regional co-chairs of U.S.
based Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), women by their
increasingly nature-focused activities want to prove to the world that they can make a
difference, and be a powerful force for positive changes in the environment and the world
around them.[1]

Contents
[hide]

 1 Women’s attitude and the environment

 2 Environmental change and women
 3 Gender and perception of the environment
 4 Women environmentalists
o 4.1 Rachel Carson
o 4.2 Maria Cherkasova
 5 Ecological movements initiated by women
o 5.1 Chipko movement
o 5.2 Green Belt movement
 6 See also
 7 References
 8 External links

[edit] Women’s attitude and the environment

The deep connection between women and men comes from the daily interaction between
them[citation needed] . In recent decades, environmental movements have increased as the
movements for women’s rights have also increased.[2] Today’s union of nature preservation
with women’s rights and liberation has stemmed from invasion of their rights in the past.[3]

In developing areas of the world, women are considered the primary users of natural
resources (Land, forest, and water), because they are the ones who are responsible for
gathering food, fuel, and fodder.[1] Although in these countries, women mostly can’t own the
land and farms outright, they are the ones who spend most of their time working on the farms
to feed the household. Shouldering this responsibility leads them to learn more about soil,
plants, and trees and not misuse them. Although, technological inputs increase male
involvement with land, many of them leave the farm to go to cities to find jobs; so women
become increasingly responsible for an increasing portion of farm tasks.[4] These rural women
tend to have a closer relationship with land and other natural resources, which promotes a
new culture of respectful use and preservation of natural resources and the environment,
ensuring that the following generations can meet their needs.[5] Besides considering how to
achieve appropriate agricultural production and human nutrition, women want to secure
access to the land.[6] Women’s perspectives and values for the environment are somewhat
different than men’s. Women give greater priority to protection of and improving the capacity
of nature, maintaining farming lands, and caring for nature and environment’s future.[7]
Repeated studies have shown that women have a stake in environment, and this stake is
reflected in the degree to which they care about natural resources. Ecofeminism refers to
women's and feminist perspectives on the environment - where the domination and
exploitation of women, of poorly resourced peoples and of nature is at the heart of the
ecofeminist movment.

[edit] Environmental change and women

Today, women struggle against alarming global trends, but they are working together to
effect change. By establishing domestic and international non-governmental organizations,
many women have recognized themselves and acknowledge to the world that they not only
have the right to participate in environmental dilemmas but they have different relationship
with environment including different needs, responsibilities, and knowledge about natural
resources.[6] This is why women are affected differently than men by environmental
degradation, deforestation, pollution and overpopulation. Women are often the most directly
affected by environmental issues, so they become more concerned about environmental
problems. Studies have shown the direct effects of chemicals and pesticides on human health.
[5]
According to United Nations Chronicle journal researchers have found an association
between breast cancer and the pesticide DDT and its derivative DDE; and also one study by
the World Health Organization has found that women who are exposed to pesticides face a
higher risk of abortion.[5] These kinds of health problems cause women to feel more
responsible regarding environmental issues.

[edit] Gender and perception of the environment

Given the environmental degradation caused while men have had dominance over women,
and women’s large investment in environmental sustainability, some have theorized that
women would protect the Earth better than men if in power. Although there is no evidence
for this hypothesis, recent movements have shown that women are more sensitive to the earth
and its problems. They have created a special value system about environmental issues.
People's approaches to environmental issues may depend on their relationship with nature.
Both women and nature have been considered as subordinates entities by men throughout
history, which conveys a close affiliation between them.[8]

Throughout history men have looked at natural resources as commercial entities or income
generating tools, while women have tended to see the environment as a resource supporting
their [[basic needs[citation needed]. As an example, rural Indian women collect the dead branches
which are cut by storm for fuel wood to use rather than cutting the live trees.[9] Since African,
Asian, and Latin American women use the land to produce food for their family, they acquire
the knowledge of the land/soil conditions, water, and other environmental features.[1] Any
changes in the environment on these areas, like deforestation, have the most effect on women
of that area, and cause them to suffer until they can cope with these changes. One of the good
examples would be the Nepali women whose grandmothers had to climb to the mountain to
be able to bring in wood and fodder.[1]

An example of female proeminence in the defense of natural forests comes from India in
1906. As forest clearing was expanding conflict between loggers and government and peasant
communities increased. To thwart resistance to the forest clearing, the men were diverted
from their villages to a fictional payment compensation site and loggers were sent to the
forests. The women left in the villages, however, protested by physically hugging themselves
to the trees to prevent their being cut down, giving rise to what is now called the Chipko
movement, an environmentalist movement initiated by these Indian women (which also is
where the term tree-huggers originated).[10] This conflict started because men wanted to cut
the trees to use them for industrial purposes while women wanted to keep them since it was
their food resource and deforestation was a survival matter for local people.[10]

Gender-based commitments and movements such as feminism have reached to a new

approach through the combination of feminism and environmentalism called Ecofeminism.
Ecofeminists believe on the interconnection between the domination of women and nature.
According to ecofeminism the superior power treats all subordinates the same. So,
ecofeminism takes into account women subordination and nature degradation.[2] Remarking
all these different reactions, one can see that however, most policy decision makers are men.

[edit] Women environmentalists

[edit] Rachel Carson

One of the outstanding women environmentalists is Rachel Carson. Rachel Carson (1907-
1964) was a scientist, writer, and ecologist. Rachel Carson went to the Pennsylvania College
for Women, majoring in English, but she was inspired by her biology teacher so she switched
her major to biology. She became more interested and focused on the sea while she was
working at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Massachusetts. Her eloquent prose let to the
publication of her first book, Under the Sea-Wind: a Naturalists’ Picture of Ocean Life , in
1941. In 1949 she became chief editor of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Her second
book, The Sea Around Us, won the National Book Award and sold more than 200,000 copies.
After that she retired from FWS and became a full time writer. After her third and final book
about the sea, The Edge of the Sea, Carson focused on effects of chemicals and pesticides on
the environment. That is when she wrote her book about environment, Silent Spring. The
book was about what man has done to the nature and eventually to himself, and started a
modern environmental movement. Carson believed that human and nature are mutually
dependent on each other. She argued that industrial activities such as pesticides use can
damages the earth ecosystem and will have far-reaching ecological consequences such as
future human health problems. Today, scientific studies have demonstrated these
consequences.[10]

[edit] Maria Cherkasova

Maria Cherkasova (1938 - ) is a journalist, ecologist, and director of Centre for Independent
Ecological Programmers (CIEP). She is famous because of coordinating a 4-year campaign to
stop construction of hydro-electric dam on the Katun River. After Cherkasova's involvement
in the student movement on environmental protection in 1960’s, she began to work for the
Red Data Book for the Department of Environmental Protection Institute. She researched and
preserved rare species until she became the editor of USSR Red Data Book. She co-founded
the Socio-Ecological Union, which has become the largest ecological NGO in the former
Soviet Union. In 1990, she became director of CIEP, which arrange and drives activities in an
extensive range of ecologically related areas on both domestic and international fronts.
Cherkasova recently has shifted her focus on children rights protection to live in a healthy
environment and speaks for both inside and outside Russia.[10]
[edit] Ecological movements initiated by women

People in Western countries think they originated the environmental movements without
knowing that the villagers in mostly poor and developing countries gave birth to these kinds
of movements.

[edit] Chipko movement

One of the first environmentalist movement which was inspired by women was the Chipko
movement (Women tree-huggers in India). "Its name comes from a Hindi word meaning “to
stick” (as in glue). The movement was an act of defiance against the state government’s
permission given to a corporation for commercial logging. Women of the villages resisted,
embracing trees to prevent their felling to safeguard their lifestyles which were dependent on
the forests. Deforestation could qualitatively alter the lives of all village residents but it was
the women who agitated for saving [End Page 163] the forests. Organized by a non-
governmental organization that Chandi Prasad Bhatt led, the Chipko movement adopted the
slogan “ecology is permanent economy.” The women embracing the trees did not tag their
action as feminist activism; however, as a movement that demonstrated resistance against
oppression, it had all the markings of such.".[11]

It began when Maharajah of Jodhpur wanted to build a new palace in Rajasthan which is
India’s Himalayan foot hills. While the axemen were cutting the trees, martyr Amrita Devi
hugged one of the trees. This is because in Jodhpur each child had a tree that could talk to it.
The axmen ignored Devi and after taking her off the tree cut it down. Her daughters
environmentalists like Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Sunderlal Bahuguna

[edit] Green Belt movement

Another movement, which is one of the biggest in women and environmental history, is the
Green Belt movement. Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai founded this movement on the
World Environment Day in June 1977. The starting ceremony was very simple: a few women
planted seven trees in Maathai’s backyard. By 2005, 30 million trees had been planted by
participants in the Green Belt movement on public and private lands. The Green Belt
movement aims to bring environmental restoration along with society’s economic growth.
This movement led by Maathai focused on restoration of Kenya’s rapidly diminishing forests
as well as empowering the rural women through environmental preservation, with a special
emphasis on planting indigenous trees.[12]