ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that adopting a human rights-based and gender-responsive approach contributes to equitable goals and results in climate change governance. Climate change is one of the world’s most urgent human rights challenges. Malawi’s high reliance on natural resources makes it particularly vulnerable to climate change. This has social and economic impacts, including loss of assets and livelihood, resulting in exacerbated poverty, food insecurity, and irreversible health consequences. These climate-related shocks and stresses disproportionately affect women who already suffer multiple forms of discrimination due to their gender.
This chapter relies on a socio-legal approach to analyse Malawi’s laws, regulations, policies, and institutions related to climate change from a human rights and gender perspective. A human rights and gender-responsive approach to climate change is essential to address the gender-differentiated impacts based on established duties and obligations of justice and equity. The approach advances meaningful, informed, and effective participation based on gender equality in decision-making processes in climate change governance that leads to effective interventions for environmental sustainability and equitable outcomes. Women’s voices and agency are crucial to ensuring gendered responses that consider the most vulnerable and most affected in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. Malawi’s legal framework guarantees women’s participation in shaping policies and implementation, but there is a disjunction between the blueprint and practice. Overreliance on experts’ views and strategies and patriarchal norms undermine women’s voices, agency, and gender equality in climate change governance.
