Women in Nepal, who are the backbone of the agriculture sector, are faced with an escalating challenge: the climate crisis. 

For rural farmers like Gnaga Maya Adhikari, the impacts of climate change are already a harsh reality: “Over the past 5 years, my coffee production has been on the decline primarily due to the harsh cold experienced during the winter months. This extreme cold was an unfamiliar event for me in Lamjung and resulted in the unfortunate death of numerous coffee plants due to frost.”

Nepal ranks as the fourth most vulnerable country globally to climate change, affecting 80 per cent of the population. While the climate crisis spares no one, its disproportionate impact on women intensifies existing gender inequalities. Agriculture, which employs 75 per cent of Nepal’s female labour force, is particularly vulnerable to changing weather patterns. Women farmers bear the brunt of these challenges due to limited access to resources, information, and technology. 

Their economic vulnerability is compounded by societal norms that confine women to subordinate roles, and the gender wage gap - with women earning 25 per cent less than men. These women face a higher burden of unpaid work, both in their homes and family farms. In Nepal, six million women are unpaid family workers, primarily in agriculture, compared to 2.8 million men. Often, women work on family farms owned and managed by their husbands or male relatives, receiving little to no financial benefit for their contributions, while also shouldering household responsibilities.