The violence done to women and to the environment is closely inter-connected. Eco-feminism as the word implies is all about environmental and women’s concerns. The term was first used in 1974 by French writer François d’Eaubonne to describe women’s potential to effect environmental change.

The growing awareness of women’s problems is closely connected to the growing awareness of environmental destruction. Both women and environment are suffering violence. In many cultures, we hear the groans of women and the groans of creation. The destruction of the environment has a particularly serious effect on women. Women suffer the most when clean drinking water, fuel and healthy surroundings are not available. Women know what shortage of water means, they know how the health of their families is affected when the environment they live is not safe. They know what it means when the delicate balance of nature is tilted precariously.

The women in poorer countries  are doubly affected by the ecological crisis, for they cannot afford to buy bottled water, organically grown food, or pay for medical care. The injustice being done to the environment is aggravating the injustices being done to women and in particular to the poorer women.

The present eco-feminist movement has contributed to a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness  between all of creation. And so, the present eco-feminist movement seeks to promote new relationships between women and men, between human beings and nature, relationships of mutual respect, relationships that give LIFE!  

CRITICAL AREAS FACING WOMEN:

1. Poverty:  60% of 1 billion rural poor are women.

2.Education: of 960 million illiterate adults 70% are women. Out of the 130 million children not attending Primary School, 70% are girls.

3. Health:
- 500,000 women die each year because of complications from pregnancy.
- 500 women die each day due to unsafe abortion

4. Violence: 1/3 of all women are physically abused. One woman is physically abused every 8 seconds. One woman is raped every 6 minutes. There are 110 million girls and women who have been mutilated (genital organs); 2 million continue to be mutilated each year. More than 1 million babies die each year from malnutrition, neglect and abuse that would not have died if they had not been born girls.

5. Armed and Other Conflicts: Women make up 80% of the 100 million displaced people (within their country) and of the 29 million refugees in the world. US$800 billion a year is spent on weapons and the international community does not have US$ 6 billion needed to provide every girl child with education.

6. Economic Participation: Women are paid 30-40 percent less than men for doing the same work. Women do 2/3 of the world’s work but get only 10% of the world’s income and own 1% of the world’s land. If women’s unpaid work in the household was given economic value, it would be worth US$11 trillion, and add 70% to global output.

7. Power-sharing and Decision making: Women’s share of seats in the world’s parliaments in 1996 was 12 percent.