5.1 Introduction
The world is unique for every human being, but, in general, women’s lives greatly
vary from those of men because of the patterns of socialization related to gender. In
developing countries, women are affirmed to work more closely with their environment because, in most cases, they rely on the environment for their subsistence
(Glazebrook 2011). Land and local resource-based developments are severely
threatened due to environmental degradation (Wickramasinghe 1997). Without
setting up new policies in place, the growing worldwide demand for resources will
be threatening the world’s environmental health to an unprecedented extent,
whereby such new policies could have devastating implications for human development. Therefore, women and children can be very active participants in defense of
the environment and stop, or even reverse, the degradation of our natural resources
(Chelala 2011). Many studies have inferred that women play a massive role in
protecting and preserving the environment. Dowlati and Hemati (2012) investigated
the factors that affect the participation of rural women in the stable management of
subterranean water sources in their study. They deduced that age, the number of
children, and the literacy level have a significant positive relation with the participation of rural women in the stable management of subterranean water sources.
Damisa and Yohanna (2007), who conducted a study on the role of rural women in
management decision-making in farms, validated that the economic-social features
of women are effective on the amount of their participation in village issues. Oloko
et al. (2017) investigated the role of rural women’s contribution in protecting the
environment where they had deeply examined on how women in Nigeria particularly
in the Makarfi Local Government Area (LGA) at Kaduna State can be interacted
with their environment at different levels and how such interactions may contribute
in protecting the environment. Sixty women shared their experiences and knowledge
about the environment and how their traditional knowledge has helped them manage
their interactions with the environment respectfully and sustainably. The participants
reported that their activities under those capacities help them interact closely with the
environment at different levels (Oloko et al. 2017). As part of their efforts to protect
their environment, these women engage in activities such as tree planting, manure
application, sustainable harvesting, and environmental sanitation to give back to the
environment. Ghanian et al. (2008) looked at the role of rural women in preserving
and reviving desert natural lands and verified that women play a role in preserving,
reviving, and destructing activities in the region.
A fairly considerable number of studies on women activities and environments
(Dankelman and Davidson 1997; Omran et al. 2006; Ghanian et al. 2008; Rahmani
and Majidi 2009; Chelala 2011; Oloko et al. 2017; Akramolmolok and Narjes 2017)
have contended that women are significant actors in natural resource management
and major contributors to environmental improvement, protection, and conservation.
Dankelman and Davidson (1997) observed that women play a major role in
64
A. Omran and F. I. Sharaf
The world is unique for every human being, but, in general, women’s lives greatly
vary from those of men because of the patterns of socialization related to gender. In
developing countries, women are affirmed to work more closely with their environment because, in most cases, they rely on the environment for their subsistence
(Glazebrook 2011). Land and local resource-based developments are severely
threatened due to environmental degradation (Wickramasinghe 1997). Without
setting up new policies in place, the growing worldwide demand for resources will
be threatening the world’s environmental health to an unprecedented extent,
whereby such new policies could have devastating implications for human development. Therefore, women and children can be very active participants in defense of
the environment and stop, or even reverse, the degradation of our natural resources
(Chelala 2011). Many studies have inferred that women play a massive role in
protecting and preserving the environment. Dowlati and Hemati (2012) investigated
the factors that affect the participation of rural women in the stable management of
subterranean water sources in their study. They deduced that age, the number of
children, and the literacy level have a significant positive relation with the participation of rural women in the stable management of subterranean water sources.
Damisa and Yohanna (2007), who conducted a study on the role of rural women in
management decision-making in farms, validated that the economic-social features
of women are effective on the amount of their participation in village issues. Oloko
et al. (2017) investigated the role of rural women’s contribution in protecting the
environment where they had deeply examined on how women in Nigeria particularly
in the Makarfi Local Government Area (LGA) at Kaduna State can be interacted
with their environment at different levels and how such interactions may contribute
in protecting the environment. Sixty women shared their experiences and knowledge
about the environment and how their traditional knowledge has helped them manage
their interactions with the environment respectfully and sustainably. The participants
reported that their activities under those capacities help them interact closely with the
environment at different levels (Oloko et al. 2017). As part of their efforts to protect
their environment, these women engage in activities such as tree planting, manure
application, sustainable harvesting, and environmental sanitation to give back to the
environment. Ghanian et al. (2008) looked at the role of rural women in preserving
and reviving desert natural lands and verified that women play a role in preserving,
reviving, and destructing activities in the region.
A fairly considerable number of studies on women activities and environments
(Dankelman and Davidson 1997; Omran et al. 2006; Ghanian et al. 2008; Rahmani
and Majidi 2009; Chelala 2011; Oloko et al. 2017; Akramolmolok and Narjes 2017)
have contended that women are significant actors in natural resource management
and major contributors to environmental improvement, protection, and conservation.
Dankelman and Davidson (1997) observed that women play a major role in
64
A. Omran and F. I. Sharaf