Accelerate action for women’s access to clean energy

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is ‘accelerate action,’ which presupposes the enormity of the need to achieve social justice for women and girls. According to the World Economic Forum, it is estimated that with the current rate of progress, it will take five generations to achieve gender equality.

Rights, equality and empowerment for all women and girls stand at the centre of actions that should be accelerated. Violence against women, discrimination, exploitation of women's labour, time and bodies — as well as deprivation of basic needs — are clear manifestations of inequality that we must confront and combat.

To effectively act on these issues, we need to support access to comprehensive capabilities and resources that empower women, including social capital (relationships, networks, equitable norms), political capital (leadership, voice), financial capital (productive assets, credit, income), natural capital (land, energy, water), and human capital (education, skills, health).

I wish to focus on equitable access to clean energy as a crucial means of climate mitigation and resilience. This choice does not diminish the importance of other aspects but rather highlights the urgency of addressing climate change. Additionally, I want us to carefully consider this specific issue and the actionable steps we can take.

Climate crisis

Desertification is encroaching on previously productive land, rain patterns are unpredictable, and temperatures are rising. It is estimated that 80 per cent of victims of displacement due to climate crisis are women, and they are more susceptible to climate shocks (UN). Growing up in the villages of the then-lush rural Eastern province of Kenya, I remember noticing normal seasonal weather patterns.

We would collect firewood from nearby bushes and woodlands that seemed unending and water cattle from a reliable supply. We had rivers that flowed closer to our home, which have since dried. Since there was no electricity, we depended on smoky paraffin tin lamps or lanterns to complete schoolwork, and for many, paraffin was hard to afford.

I witnessed the same struggle in the villages of North-eastern Kenya some months ago while on a research assignment. Despite my own experience being over 30 years in the past, the memories still provoke uneasy feelings when I think about how others now face even more challenging circumstances as a result of climate change.

This feeling emboldens my commitment to my efforts towards social justice and women's empowerment. Through my work with a clean energy-focused charity in London, UK, supporting clean energy solutions for women, I never lose sight of the challenges women and girls face in rural Kenya, where I grew up, and others in the global south.

For such women and girls, we must act to change the situation so they can experience a better life than we did. Our lens should be that of hope and unwavering determination to catalyse lasting impact.

In the recent past, there has been some good progress in rural electrification in Kenya, yet few can afford electricity powered appliances that improve productivity and efficiency. According to the World Bank data, about 75 per cent of Kenyans have grid and off-grip electricity access. This progress can yield more value if energy is used in productive ways.

Due to historical gender inequalities, women and girls lag in accessing productive use of solar or main grid electricity. They undertake the responsibility of collecting firewood and water far from homes, exposing them to risks of gender-based violence in transit. Time-use studies have found that it takes about 15 human hours to collect firewood per week. Imagine how many more hours women and girls take carrying out other labour and time-intensive domestic activities.

Solar-powered cooking appliances

These hours can be reduced by using solar-powered cooking appliances and reallocated for income-generating activities. For a school-going girl, these freed-up hours can be used for studying or playing. 

Other women-dominated activities, such as smallholder farming, have been adversely affected by climate change, necessitating innovative use of solar energy to improve farm productivity and reduce postharvest losses. These innovations and appliances are expensive, and few financing instruments are willing to take the risk with smallholder farmers, especially women, who often lack collateral due to limited land ownership rights.

Acting on these problems for women and girls is both a matter of social justice and a moral imperative. So let us accelerate financial inclusion so women can afford clean energy-powered appliances. Let us accelerate strong social networks for women and call out norms that disadvantage them. 

Let us accelerate actions that build women’s skills and capacity to utilise energy and time-saving energy assets. Let us accelerate partnerships that rally around women-centred solutions that catalyse access to technology, resources and finance. Above all, let us accelerate actions that build hope!

Dr Thamari is a social scientist.