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<address class="title entry-title"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://mronline.org/2021/03/15/women-and-nature-towards-an-ecosocialist-feminism/">https://mronline.org/2021/03/15/women-and-nature-towards-an-ecosocialist-feminism/</a><br>
</address>
<h1 class="title entry-title">Women and nature: Towards an
ecosocialist feminism</h1>
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<div class="byline"> <span class="pubdate">Posted <abbr
class="published">Mar 15, 2021</abbr></span> by <span
class="coauthors"><a href="https://mronline.org/author/editor/"
title="Posts by Eds." class="author url fn" rel="author">Eds.</a></span>
<div class="byline-tags"> <span class="subject"> <span
class="before"></span> <a
href="https://mronline.org/subject/feminism/" rel="tag">Feminism</a>
, <a href="https://mronline.org/subject/lgbtq/" rel="tag">LGBTQ</a>
, <a href="https://mronline.org/subject/marxist-ecology/"
rel="tag">Marxist Ecology</a> , <a
href="https://mronline.org/subject/race/" rel="tag">Race</a>
</span> <span class="geography"> <span class="before"></span>
<a href="https://mronline.org/geography/global/" rel="tag">Global</a>
</span> <span class="category"> <span class="before"></span> <a
href="https://mronline.org/category/newswire/" rel="tag">Newswire</a>
</span> <span class="tag"> <span class="before"></span> <a
href="https://mronline.org/tag/ecofeminists/" rel="tag">EcoFeminists</a>
, <a href="https://mronline.org/tag/ecosocialists/" rel="tag">Ecosocialists</a>
, <a href="https://mronline.org/tag/karl-marx/" rel="tag">Karl
Marx</a> , <a href="https://mronline.org/tag/marx/"
rel="tag">Marx</a> </span> </div>
</div>
<div class="reposted"><span class="source-label">Originally
published:</span> <a class="reposturl repostname"
href="https://rupture.ie/articles/women-and-nature"
target="_blank"><span class="repostname">Rupture by Jess Spear</span></a>
<span class="repost-date">(March 10, 2021)</span> <br>
</div>
<div class="reposted"><br>
</div>
<div class="reposted"><img
src="https://mronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/lady-nature.png"
alt="Marxist ecofeminists" title="Women and nature: Towards an
ecosocialist feminism" class="woo-image thumbnail aligncenter"
width="600" height="400"></div>
<div class="reposted"><br>
</div>
<div class="reposted">[...]</div>
<div class="reposted">
<h2>The rise of ecofeminism</h2>
<p class="">Wherever the forces of destruction attempt to cut down
trees, pollute our air and water, and rip away the earth for
minerals, women have been leading the resistance. In the cities
and communities, women have fought for clean water, air, and
land for their families to flourish. From the very first “tree
huggers” in the <a
href="https://feminisminindia.com/2019/07/11/chipko-movement-indigenous-women-movement/">Chipko
Movement in India</a> and the <i>Comitato dei danneggiati</i>
(Injured Persons’ Committee) protesting pollution in Fascist
Italy<sup><a id="_ednref1" class="endnote-link"
href="https://mronline.org/2021/03/15/women-and-nature-towards-an-ecosocialist-feminism/#_edn1"
rel="footnote">(1)</a></sup> to the peasants in La Via
Campesina, the people of Appalachia fighting mountaintop removal
and indigenous defenders of the Amazon, women have been and are
today leading communities in struggle against capitalist
destruction of our environment.</p>
<p class="">The rise of second-wave feminism alongside
environmental movements in the 1970s led to the emergence of
‘ecofeminist’ politics which saw “a connection between the
exploitation and degradation of the natural world and the
subordination and oppression of women”.<sup><a id="_ednref2"
class="endnote-link"
href="https://mronline.org/2021/03/15/women-and-nature-towards-an-ecosocialist-feminism/#_edn2"
rel="footnote">(2)</a></sup> The term ‘ecofeminism’ was
coined by the French feminist Françoise d’Eaubonne in her book <i>Le
Féminisme ou la Mort</i> (Feminism or Death) published in
1974. One of the first ecofeminist movements is the Green Belt
Movement – aimed at preventing desertification by planting trees
– in Kenya started by Wangari Maathai in 1977.</p>
<p class="">Of course, many men are also fierce campaigners
against capitalist destruction, organising mass movements to
defend the forests and land, like Chico Mendes in the Amazon and
Ken Saro-Wiwa in the Niger Delta, who were both tragically
murdered for their activism. However, the most well-known
environmental activists today are undoubtedly women: Vanessa
Nakate and Greta Thunberg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Naomi
Klein, and Vandana Shiva. Even here in Ireland, Maura Harrington
helped to lead the Shell to Sea campaign and today the most well
known radical environmental activist is arguably Saoirse McHugh.</p>
<p class=""><a
href="https://mronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Big_chipko_movement_1522047126.jpg"
rel="lightbox"><img class="alignright size-medium
wp-image-122068"
src="https://mronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Big_chipko_movement_1522047126-350x233.jpg"
alt="Big Chipko Movement"
title="Big_chipko_movement_1522047126 | MR Online"
width="350" height="233"></a>That both women and nature are
dominated and exploited is undeniably true. The question for
ecofeminists and ecosocialists is why and what can be done about
it?</p>
<p class=""><br>
</p>
<p class=""><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-122069"
src="https://mronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-2153824-350x350.jpg"
alt="Harvesting" title="pexels-quang-nguyen-vinh-2153824 | MR
Online" width="350" height="350"><img class="alignright
size-medium wp-image-122071"
src="https://mronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-ganta-srinivas-4511053-350x350.jpg"
alt="Indian Women Dancing"
title="pexels-ganta-srinivas-4511053 | MR Online" width="350"
height="350"></p>
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