No Climate Justice without Gender Justice: Examining Policy of Climate and Gender Justice from an Intersectional Lens in Malawi

Introduction Climate change poses a formidable challenge in the 21st century, giving rise to complex issues of justice and equity within and between generations, as well as across global and economic divides (Doussa, Corkery, and Chartres 2007). Those least responsible for climate change often suffer the most from its impacts, with the world's poorest and lowest carbon-emitting countries facing heightened vulnerability. This exacerbates existing inequalities and disproportionately affects the poor, the disadvantaged, indigenous people, immigrants, and women—groups that are among the first to be impacted and the least equipped to adapt to a changing climate (Klein and Stefoff 2021; Kaur 2020). The consequences of climate change manifest in more erratic and extreme weather patterns, resulting in chronic water, food, and financial insecurity for millions. This crisis further propels individuals into poverty, enflames conflict over depleting natural resources, forces migration, and compounds pre-existing gender discrimination (Matekair and Carey 2022). Women, in particular, experience severe impacts on their livelihoods due to existing gender relations, including increased tensions within families and increased instances of gender-based violence. Droughts and flooding resulting from climate change contribute to food insecurity, pushing women and girls further into poverty and exposing them to transactional sex for goods, human trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, and child and forced marriages (Njikho 2020).