April Reading List on Climate Change from a Feminist and Activist Perspective
Curated by Everystory Sri Lanka team.
Young Feminist Network is hosted by Everystory Sri Lanka. The Network brings together young women and girls in Sri Lanka interested in issues of gender, feminism and activism together to learn from each other, collaborate on projects, be connected to funding and other opportunities, mentoring opportunities, how to better shape their ideas and work, tools they can use and more. We are an informal network built collectively with the members and their ideas/needs.
This Reading List first appeared in the Young Feminist Network by ESSL newsletter for the Month of April 2021.
With climate change issues becoming an increasingly pressing issue, as feminists, we recognize that these issues often have the most significant impact on those who are most reliant on natural resources for their livelihoods. This also includes those who have the least capacity to respond to natural hazards, such as droughts, landslides, floods, and hurricanes. Alongside this, women and girls also tend to face higher risks and more significant burdens from climate change impacts in poverty situations. The majority of the world’s poor are women. You can read more about the link between gender and climate change in this brief from the United Nations Climate Change website.
The relationship between feminism and climate change is beautifully captured by Vanessa Daza and Ariana Athena Lippi in a piece entitled, Two fights in one: feminism and environmentalism”, published in Dejusticia, a Colombia-based research and advocacy organization). They describe it as “two sides of the same coin” and begin to explore the concept of ecofeminism, “founded on the premise that forms of oppression are connected.”
For an introduction to ecofeminism, this article by Regiane Folte is a great start. Folate explores the link between women’s inequality and natural devastations, and the term ecofeminism being first coined in the late 1970s by French feminist Françoise d’Eaubonne.
Still not convinced climate change is a feminist issue? This article by Sarah Lux-lee is sure to change your mind and offers practical actions on how we as feminists can begin tackling it.
Who are the climate change warriors? We think you should read, listen to, and learn more about these amazing women! Starting this list is Vandana Shiva, an Indian physicist, and social activist. Shiva founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy (RFSTN). This clip of her talking about the “stupidity that riles us today” in the context of world hunger is compelling.
Image credit: worldfuturecouncil.org
Who wants to miss an opportunity to talk about the indefatigable Dr. Asha De Vos — marine biologist extraordinaire? Keep up with her work through her organization Oceanswell, and follow them on Instagram as well! We are also fangirling over Anya Ratnayake, a wildlife biologist and founder of the Urban Fishing Cat Project. Both she and Zainab Akbarally (environmental scientist, conservationist, and environmental educator) will be featured in the first release of Everystory Sri Lanka’s flagship Stories of Sri Lankan Women project, due for release this May.
Image credit: scubadiving.org
Image credit: fishingcats.lk
There are many more amazing women leading the fight on climate justice that we are obsessed with — from; Himali De Silva (founder of Apé, a sustainable clothing brand focused on circular consumption of clothing), to Alina’s unique Instagram content, and Piyumani Ranasinghe (founder of Just My Nature, a woman-run environmental news platform). We are obsessed with the Just My Nature Medium blog with some easy-to-read pieces to rethink our contributions to the climate change struggle.
Making waves right now is also the fearless Bhagya Abeyratne. This young woman appeared on the Sirasa Lakshapathi show. She spoke frankly about the Sinharaja Forest Reserve’s deforestation, facing much harassment from the State for this, including being questioned by the Police. She refuses to be cowed and continues her environmental activism.
Are you looking for something more visual? This short documentary by Hands-On profiles five women from four continents, tackles climate change through policy, protest, education, and innovation. Are you looking for more movies? Tatler’s list — “6 Films That Will Trigger Your Inner Eco-Feminist” is a great place to start, followed by this list from Women Across Frontiers.
We also loved this podcast series — 10 Solutions for Feminist Climate Resilient Recovery — that focuses on building resilience to crisis. Mothers Of Invention is another brilliant podcast focusing on the stories of black, brown, and indigenous women and girls globally who have been innovating from the front lines of climate change.
We wind up this month’s reading list with some of our favorite literature with a climate change focus. This poem “General in Late Winter” by Dr. Lei Yanni makes us feel profoundly and spiritually moved, as do these poems from young people written as a way of coping with this crisis. Finally, check out this list of female sci-fi writers who bring a new perspective to the issue.
As we attempt to build our Collective through the challenges of a pandemic and remote working whilst remaining true to our feminist values, we find ourselves leaning on the ideas and advice of our feminist peers at FRIDA (who also happen to have given us the seed money to start EverystorySL, and continue to generously and kindly fund us). We hope our little YFN community can offer you the same. Our inbox is always open for any questions, to bounce off ideas, or give you any support you may need.
In solidarity x