Media can advance role of women in climate change: Pranjivan-Sharma
The media plays a huge role in advancing the role of women in climate change, says legal officer Raumanu Pranjivan-Sharma.
Speaking at the 4th ABU Media Summit on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction at the Sheraton Fiji Resort, Ms Pranjivan-Sharma challenged everyone to take a more active role in educating their communities and people groups. She is from the AttorneyGeneral's office. Ms Pranjivan-Sharma brought home this important point while talking about a mobile app that has been designed to help women understand climate change.
"It is a basic app that is available to everyone to download. It serves as a resource for gender, climate policy, women's participation statistics in climate policy and gender contributions,” she said.
“The medium provides a perspective that can influence and forge a partnership that will explore best practices.
"In 2017 at COP23 in Bonn, the first gender action plan was announced highlighting the multi-faceted role of women in climate action. “While it has taken almost 16 years to progress this far, slowly but surely, the world of policy making is starting to realise the usefulness of viewing climate change through a gender lens."
"By this I mean not accepting the common misconception that gender equals women. But instead, examining how gender differences are thought of, experienced." Ms Pranjivan-Sharma said policy makers needed to give more audience to the voices of women when it comes to climate action. "Women continue to face a higher risk when responding to natural hazards, and greater burden for the impacts for climate change,” she said.
“Although they have intimate local knowledge and are managers of common natural resources, they are often left out of the picture when decisions on climate change are being made.
"There is a need for women to be represented in all aspects of the convention process." Feedback: lusiana.banuve@fijisun.com.fj