Women as Nurturers of Nature: The Traditional and Vital Role in Environmental Care

Across cultures and continents, women have historically been recognized as Earth’s primary caretakers. This connection goes beyond mere tradition-it’s woven into daily survival, spiritual beliefs, and the very fabric of environmental protection. From gathering water at dawn to leading massive environmental movements, women’s relationship with nature remains both vital and demanding.

The sacred bond between women and nature 🔗

Throughout history, women have been revered as embodiments of divine energy or ‘shakti,’ responsible for creation and sustenance. This spiritual identity links them intrinsically to nurturing and protecting the natural world. In many cultures, the earth itself is personified as a female entity-Mother Earth-reflecting profound respect for nurturing qualities that mirror maternal attributes of providing and sustaining life.

This connection isn’t merely symbolic. The World Bank recognizes that women play an essential role in managing natural resources, including soil, water, forests, and energy. Their daily tasks in agriculture and animal husbandry establish them as key managers of family living environments. This positions women as daily stewards of the environment, maintaining direct and constant contact with natural resources through their household responsibilities.

Daily managers of the earth’s resources 🔗

Women’s environmental stewardship manifests most clearly in their daily tasks. Through collecting water, gathering fuelwood, and managing household necessities, they maintain an intimate relationship with natural resources that most urban populations have long forgotten.

In rural areas, women 15 and older spend an estimated 3.3 hours per week gathering water, compared to 1.6 hours for men. This disparity reflects deeply rooted gender roles that place resource management squarely on women’s shoulders. In Africa specifically, women perform 90 percent of the work gathering water and wood for household and food preparation.

The expertise born from necessity 🔗

This constant interaction with natural resources has cultivated extensive traditional knowledge. Women develop intimate understanding of local ecosystems, knowing which plants are edible during scarcity, where water sources persist during drought, and how to sustainably harvest forest products. This knowledge, passed down through generations, becomes critical for family and community survival during environmental crises.

Frontline responders to environmental crisis 🔗

Women demonstrate heightened capacity to perceive and respond to environmental degradation. When natural disasters strike or resources become scarce, it’s women who first adjust their daily routines, walking longer distances and working harder hours to meet their families’ basic needs.

Women and girls around the world collectively spend 200 million hours collecting water each day. During dry seasons or environmental crises, this burden intensifies dramatically. Their ability to adapt, improvise, and mobilize community resources often determines whether families survive periods of scarcity.

Climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately impact these women. As deforestation advances and water sources dry up, women must travel increasingly longer distances. Research shows that deforestation results in a 33 percent increase in time spent collecting wood fuel, as it takes longer to find resources in degraded forests.

The physical toll of environmental stewardship 🔗

The work of fetching water and fuel comes at a severe cost to women’s health. Medical research has documented permanent damage to women’s health from carrying water, ranging from chronic fatigue and spinal deformities to effects on reproductive health. In some parts of Africa, women expend as much as 85 percent of their daily energy intake just fetching water, leading to high rates of anemia and other health problems.

The physical burden is staggering. Women often carry loads weighing 15-25 kilograms on their heads, frequently traveling several kilometers multiple times per day. Studies reveal that 69 percent of water carriers report spinal pain, 66 percent experience neck pain, and many suffer from chronic headaches and joint problems. Head-loading, the most common transport method for women, subjects them to higher risks of musculoskeletal injury compared to methods typically used by men, such as bicycles or carts.

Beyond physical health 🔗

The burden extends beyond physical ailments. The stress of water and fuel scarcity contributes to depression and anxiety, particularly among women. The fear of violence while traveling to remote collection sites, the worry about family needs going unmet, and the exhaustion from endless labor all take their toll on mental wellbeing.

Leaders in environmental movements 🔗

Despite-or perhaps because of-their intimate connection with environmental resources, women have emerged as powerful leaders in ecological protection movements. Two landmark examples from India demonstrate this leadership.

The Chipko Movement 🔗

The Chipko Movement began in the 1970s when rural women in India’s Himalayan region literally embraced trees to prevent their felling. The Hindi word “chipko” means “to hug,” reflecting the demonstrators’ primary tactic of wrapping their arms around trees so loggers couldn’t cut them down.

Women were most affected by rampant deforestation, which led to lack of firewood, fodder, and water for drinking and irrigation. In 1974, near the village of Reni, women led by Gaura Devi refused to leave the forest when more than 2,000 trees were scheduled for felling. When authorities summoned the men away for compensation, the women stood firm, eventually forcing loggers to withdraw.

This women-led resistance achieved remarkable success. It led to a 10-year ban on commercial logging in the Alaknanda valley and influenced the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. The movement became recognized as one of the first ecofeminist movements, highlighting women’s crucial role in environmental conservation.

Narmada Bachao Andolan 🔗

Medha Patkar spearheaded the Narmada Bachao Andolan, a movement against dam construction that would displace hundreds of thousands of people. Founded in 1985, this movement opposed the construction of large dams on the Narmada River, particularly the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Patkar organized numerous fasts, satyagrahas, and peaceful protests, facing arrest multiple times for the cause. Her leadership brought international attention to the social and environmental costs of large-scale development projects. In 1993, her efforts led the World Bank to withdraw funding from the project, marking a significant victory for grassroots environmental activism.

The movement raised critical questions about development, displacement, and environmental justice, with women playing central roles as both organizers and participants in this sustained resistance.

Recognition and the path forward 🔗

The dual reality of women’s environmental role is striking: they are both Earth’s most dedicated caretakers and among those most burdened by environmental degradation. Their traditional knowledge, daily management of resources, and leadership in environmental protection movements demonstrate their vital importance in conservation efforts.

Yet this recognition must translate into meaningful support. Providing accessible water sources, sustainable energy alternatives, and including women in environmental decision-making processes aren’t just matters of equity-they’re essential for effective environmental conservation. When women spend less time on resource collection, they can pursue education, economic opportunities, and community leadership roles that benefit everyone.

The movements led by women like Gaura Devi and Medha Patkar remind us that those closest to environmental challenges often hold the most valuable insights for solving them. Their resistance wasn’t just about preserving trees or rivers-it was about protecting entire ways of life and the ecosystems that sustain them.

What do you think? How can we better recognize and support women’s environmental knowledge and leadership? What changes would help reduce the physical and time burdens women face while caring for natural resources?

References

1. https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/63449/2/Unit-11.pdf
2. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/environment
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8507830/
4. https://iucn.org/news/pakistan/202107/women-nurture-nature
5. https://water.org/our-impact/water-crisis/womens-crisis/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipko_movement
7. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chipko-movement
8. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Medha-Patkar
9. https://rightlivelihood.org/the-change-makers/find-a-laureate/medha-patkar-and-baba-amte-narmada-bachao-andolan/