Date: 18/11/2021
Duration: 13:00-14:00 (GMT); 18:30-19:30 (IST)
Location: Online
The impact of climate change on air-pollution and maternal health and how this is contributing to rising gender insecurity
This webinar will be presented by Commonwealth Alumnus Pratha Garkoti and will provide an analysis of the link between climate change and the rise in air pollution in the Global South and its impact on maternal health and gender security.
Studies have started highlighting a positive correlation between air pollution and hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. As a permanent resident of the Indian capital city New Delhi, which breaks yearly Air Quality Index records, Pratha believes this issue is not receiving the attention it truly deserves.
Topics regarding sexuality and reproduction are often seen as a taboo in South Asia, and problems relating to pregnancy can be blamed on women, and in some cases lead to physical and mental violence against women, or gender insecurity. As part of the webinar, Pratha will discuss the relationship between air pollution and rising gender insecurity.
The webinar will last for approximately one hour, including a Q&A session.
The CSC’s Climate Action webinar series will provide a platform for Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni working and conducting research in areas related to climate change to present on their work and impact in this field to the CSC community.
You can watch previous webinars, delivered as part of the monthly Knowledge Hub webinar series, on the CSC’s YouTube channel.
Pratha Garkoti is a Gender Mainstreaming Intern for Natural Resource Management and Biodiversity Projects at UNDP in India. She is a (Women in International Security) 2021 Next Generation Gender-Peace-Security Fellow, where she is examining the issue of climate change, a national and international security challenge, from a GPS perspective to bring forward the importance of the gender-security nexus. Pratha is also voluntarily working as a New Developments Reporter for the Global Policy Review at the IWI: International Women’s Initiative, a UK based women’s rights advocacy think-tank, where she regularly writes about any new development affecting women’s rights and gender equality globally.
Pratha Garkoti is a 2018 Commonwealth Shared Scholar from India. She completed her MSc in Gender and International Relations from University of Bristol.
