Feminization of hunger in climate change: linking rural women's health and wellbeing in India

Abstract

The links between climate change, food security and women’s wellbeing remain an under-investigated area. This paper contributes to this area through a thorough examination of how women experience food insecurity in farming households in rural India. The households are located in four agro-climatic regions in India. These regions experience varied climatic pressures, and this diversity allows us to explore a wider variety of women’s experiences in their attempts to maintain household food security as the climate changes. The study finds that women, even in comparatively more food-secure households, suffer from food insecurity. One of the reasons for this is that women’s food habits and mealtimes have altered in recent years due to the increase in their work pressures. The worst effects are to be found in drought-prone areas, and there are greater vulnerabilities among women-headed households, indicating that the impacts of climate change are exacerbated by cultural norms that further hinder the role of women in farm activities.