By Dr Shobha Vijender*
Protecting women and the environment are not separate issues. We need to tirelessly inculcate a green-conscious, eco-friendly mindset among people. The participation of the housewife can be utilised for a better outcome – to raise awareness of environmental conservation.
When we try to remember someone who has always nurtured us and given us everything so that we grow up well, surely our mother would come to mind. A mother is a selfless being who cares more for her children than herself, willing to take every pain for her child. Mother Nature, who sustains the entire life on earth, is one who doesn’t discriminate between any living being on earth. She gives and only gives. Even when we torture her with pollution, industrialisation, deforestation and commercialisation, she does not lash back aggressively. Slowly, she dries up and her pain comes to us in waves of global warming, natural disasters and alarming changes in geography. Glaciers are melting, carbon dioxide levels are rising, plastic is swarming the oceans and groundwater levels are falling dangerously. All life is suffering.
Water – an extremely important resource for life on earth – is in the red zone. The world is facing water scarcity. We are at a juncture where every move made by us counts. It is crucial that we take cautionary measures. One might think that he/she is unaffected by all of this. That is not true. Water affects everything, especially our food. The nutritional value of all the food is reducing day by day. Soil has become dry and its fertility is slowly dropping. Agricultural dependency on manure and fertilisers has increased. It is a matter of great concern. According to a report, if current rates of soil degradation continue, all of the world’s top soil could be gone within 60 years, therefore, bringing in another crisis of food shortage.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, India experienced a shortage of oxygen. As a result, many of our dear ones passed away. As a matter of fact, only plants can provide us with oxygen. Increasing levels of pollution, overpopulation and deforestation reduce oxygen levels. Simply put, more plants will result in more oxygen.
In conclusion, human life is interwoven in the web of nature. Our survival depends on nature. We need to save water, soil and plants, need to save the environment so that our children and grandchildren don’t have to fend for themselves in the seemingly dystopian future.
We need efforts to be made personally as well as jointly by the Government, Social groups, the Non-Profit sector and the corporate sector. There needs to be more awareness and a proactive approach to tackling the threats to the environment. Every attempt, every endeavour counts no matter how big or small.
In pursuit of our objectives, we at ‘Sampurna‘ have organized a ‘Recycle and Reuse’ competition. Participants are required to make a flower pot from waste materials present in their house like utensils, buckets, mugs, tyres, bottles etc. In the flowerpot, a plant should be grown from seeds which are generally thrown away in the kitchen waste like papaya seeds, melon seeds, cherry seeds etc. Best flowerpots with a healthy plant will be awarded.
In this manner, we want to convert waste materials present in the house of nearly 500 individuals and produce 500 brilliant, healthy and green plants. Through projects and competitions like this, we want to instil a sense of a greener lifestyle in the hearts of millions of women. Women, who are at the centre of a household, can further propagate this message to their children, husbands, parents, siblings and neighbours.
We must protect Mother Nature ourselves. Humans have reached the moon. Saving our own planet, and our environment should not be a difficult feat for us. When we come together as a whole, we can turn the tide of events. United we fought for and won our freedom, united we stood for justice for Nirbhaya, united we braved the terror of COVID-19.
United, we can save our Mother Nature.
*Dr Shobha Vijender is the founder and president of Sampurna NGO established in 1993. Having done her Doctorate in Social Work, she believes that timely education and counselling are indispensable for a better marital life. Sampurna NGO though set up initially for empowering the entire womanhood, now believes women and the environment are not separate issues
