The connections I see between the oppression of women and the oppression of nature in our readings for this week, is that these women are fighting FOR nature, and in doing so dealing with the consequences of the patriarchy. Those in society that view women’s movements as an outlandish act, that these women are not acting how they ought to in society creates chaos. This chaos that stems from noble acts such as the Chipko movement, and the Green Belt Movement to end the defamation of nature results in brutal hate crimes, and violence against these resilient women. One of the readings I found exceptionally upsetting was The Brazilian Slum Children. “Many of them wade through garbage to eke out a living just as Paulo does, but it was only after his image appeared in the press that the local government and international authorities took notice of their plight. In response to the photo and the accompanying article, the government promised to place Paulo, his mother, and his five siblings on welfare (Corrêa)”. So, this quote tells me that the government has to see a child physically wading around in WASTE to grant them and their mothers and families basic needs? Seriously, how messed up is the world we live in that a child swimming through garbage is the big “wake up call”?
Women fight for nature, whereas the patriarchy simply overlooks it, much like they overlook women’s fights for equality. The Chipko movement was one of the first of many to connect women with nature, and their fight to protect it. “From their origins as a spontaneous protest against logging abuses in Uttar Pradesh in the Himalayas, supporters of the Chipko movement, mainly village women, have successfully banned the felling of trees in a number of regions and influenced natural resource policy in India (edugreen).” Even after the odds were stacked up high against them, the courage of these women had a domino effect, allowing more and more people to step forward in the fight to prevent the destruction of nature.
The Green Belt Movement was another strong advocacy project where women, even after receiving horrible threats and acts of violence, refused to be silenced and fought for their beliefs that nature had just as much a right to respect as anyone else. “Following the incident, Moi’s ruling party parliamentarians threatened to mutilate her genitals in order to force Maathai to behave “like women should.” But Wangari Maathai was more determined than ever, and today continues her work for environmental protection, women’s rights, and democratic reform. From one seedling, an organization for empowerment and political participation has grown many strong branches. — Kerry Kennedy”. Despite these horrible acts and threats, the bravery and drive of these powerful women is what carves a path for us as ecofeminists in the future.
Hi Rachel,
I was also very moved after reading about the Brazilian Slum Children. As a mother of young boys, it was painful for me to think of that being the daily life of a child and it brought up a philosophical conversation at dinner that night. My boys could not believe that children and people live that way. As a parent, I’ve often found myself shutting off certain parts of my brain because some things are just too painful to keep at the front of my mind. I am not ignorant to the happenings in the world but I sometimes don’t let myself see the “real people” behind the atrocities. As my kids are getting older, I do find myself being more open to the details and I want to know more therefore, I want to do more. I guess part of my “not wanting to know” was a survival technique I needed to use to get me through the infant/baby/toddler years. My point in telling you this, is that I think a lot of people do this (not letting themselves see/feel the truth) but there hopefully comes a time to let those walls down and they are forced to see the truth to the point that they feel the urge to do something about it. It’s an out-of-sight out-of-mind plight and it is easy to achieve when you live some place where these horrific things are not part of your personal daily life. I think as women we are more susceptible to seeing things and feeling the need to make changes in part because of the difference in our brain chemistry as well as being born nurturers to an extent. As many governments (ours included) tend to be male dominated it makes sense that they would not see the value in human life and nature as passionately as women do. Which is why, I believe women are at the forefront of humanitarian issues. “And now, we see the government reacting to what the environmentalists are saying: that the remaining forest not be degraded, that open spaces not be privatized, and that the forest not be interfered with or privatized. This pressure is coming from ordinary people. We started by empowering women. Then the men joined in because they saw that the women were doing some very positive work (Maarthal).”
Hi Rachel,
Oh my gosh, I felt way too many emotions when I was reading about the Brazilian Slum children. It makes me angry to think about the fact that other countries/places aren’t coming to help them. It’s so disgusting because if that were happening in America, many countries would get involved and help. I also could not believe that this was only my first time hearing about the Green Belt Movement! These women are incredible and are truly making our world a better place.
Great post!
Hi Rachel,
I really like your connection between violence against women and women’s activism. In certain countries, women put themselves in harm not just physically but politically if they speak out as we learned from the Greenbelt Movement. But, even in the U.S. where women who have the right to freedom of speech, face danger from police brutality as we have learned from the women of Standing Rock, “Law enforcement used automatic rifles, sound cannons, and concussion grenades against water protectors,”(Stand With Standing Rock). Do you think that the police are more violent when it is a majority of women of color protesting?
Stand With Standing Rock: Protect Protestors Rights, ACLU. https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/rights-protesters/stand-standing-rock
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