Dakar : Khady Camara mobilise les femmes pour une justice climatique
The "historic women's march for climate in Senegal" took place on Saturday in Dakar, just days before the opening of the COP31 international climate negotiations in Antalya, Turkey, to demonstrate that women across the African continent are mobilizing against climate change and that it is everyone's responsibility. Organized by the Vacances Vertes association, chaired by Khady Camara, this annual gathering aims to "demand climate justice based on action and solidarity" as the international negotiations approach.
Women from Senegal and Africa, mobilized
The 6th edition of the "historic women's march for climate in Senegal" mobilized women from Dakar and across the country. During this event advocating for climate justice, the marchers highlighted the vulnerability of communities to soil salinization, acidification, and the threat to food security. They called for concrete commitments to the ecological transition and an equitable distribution of resources in preparation for upcoming climate conferences.
"Faced with the climate emergency, there are no women by his side."
According to Khady Camara, ecofeminist and president of the Green Holidays Association, the climate crisis is at the intersection of a social and environmental crisis. "If women in rural areas are mobilizing, it is because the climate crisis is at the intersection of a social and environmental crisis, because it raises questions about jobs, poverty, energy insecurity, democracy, the lack of solidarity, and because it reinforces existing inequalities and discrimination," she emphasized.
She adds: “The continent’s climate indicators, and those of the country in particular, are flashing red, and the vulnerable are sinking deeper into poverty. Women’s fundamental rights are not always respected. They are often violated (beyond social, legal, and cultural constraints, they have more limited access than men to land, productive and financial resources, education, health, rural extension services, markets, climate adaptation initiatives, and employment opportunities) due to an out-of-control (liberal) economic model. I’m referring to fiscal liberalism.”
Driven by a desire to change their daily lives, these women, primarily from rural Senegal and across Africa, are committed to climate justice. "As we prepare to discuss implementation and concrete action in a few days, extreme weather events are devastating lives and farmland, multiplying the misery of our communities struggling to survive. In many countries in the region, food prices remain higher than the five-year average. Our respective countries have experienced above-average rainfall and devastating floods, claiming hundreds of lives and disrupting livelihoods," Khady Camara explained.
For the ecofeminist, these "hotspots" have displaced tens of thousands of people from their homes and decimated more than a million hectares of farmland in a region already gripped by an unprecedented hunger crisis.
To illustrate the stakes, the president of the Vacances Vertes association points out that the IPCC's sixth assessment report for West Africa highlights a critical vulnerability. And the region is already undergoing major climate changes that directly threaten the economy, food security, and infrastructure.
Faced with these threats, Khady Camara demands a COP31 where priority will be given to: global electrification (“35 by 35”); climate finance and just transition; operationalization of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) from previous summits that COP31 must implement and distribute these funds fairly; support for vulnerable countries; the Loss and Damage Fund; accelerated phase-out of fossil fuels, among others.
In line with the commitments of the Paris Agreement, it wants the negotiations to focus on establishing binding timetables to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and organize the gradual reduction of their production.
Through this march, Senegalese and African women understood that hope lies in action. "It is not only necessary, but imperative to review our modes of production and consumption. This is essential to commit resolutely to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to protecting our resources and ecosystems," insisted Khady Camara.
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Faut vous engager en tant politique. Le Sénégal a besoin d’une présidente de la République comme vous . Je vous ai dit sur X il ne faut pas avoir peur. Je suis derrière vous !
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