By Nyasha Dube, Zvishavane
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) says women need to be at the forefront advocating for environmental justice as they are the most affected by poor conservation of the environment.
Addressing a group of women from Zvishavane at a community engagement supported by Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe recently, Zvishavane district environment officer Sally Maguvu said the change taking place in the environment can either get better or worse in the coming years, depending on how people preserve the environment.
“Women are the most affected by a poorly preserved environment as they are the primary users of natural resources like land, water and the forest as such they should be champions of environmental justice,” said Maguvu.
She also urged them to take responsibility of the part they play in destroying the environment.
“Sometimes it’s us women who poorly dispose diapers and lead to land pollution, and this comes back to bite us,” she said
Section 73 of the constitution of Zimbabwe provides every citizen with the right to a clean environment which is not harmful to their health of wellbeing, an environment which is protected so it can benefit the present and future generations.
In most developing countries, women are the primary users of natural resources as they are responsible for primary food production, fetching firewood, water among others.
The women closely relate to the environment as such supporting ecofeminism movements and capacitating women at the grassroots with knowledge, skills an resources to protect the environment could go a long way in sustainable conservation of natural resources.
In an effort to come up with sustainable development solutions that can improve the livelihoods of women, EMA challenged women to voluntarily become environment monitors so they can hold accountable those found at the wrong side of environmental laws.
“When women monitor their environment they can easily report to us or to their councils so that the perpetrators are brought to book,” said Maguvu