Ecofeminist Perspectives on Sustainability

Abstract

Environmental degradation has emerged as an urgent global issue threatening the very survival of human species on earth. In light of the fact that natural resources are finite on this planet, sustainability has emerged as a major theme. While the mainstream theories to address environmental sustainability are based on technological fixes, they lack gender aspects in analysis. Seen in this light, ecofeminism provides an alternative perspective to view the issues of sustainable development. The framework of ecofeminism links environmental degradation and the social inequalities such as poverty and gender inequality to modernisation projects which result in pollution, urbanisation, deforestation and so on. Ecofeminism is different from other feminist theories which are based on the hierarchical worldview of the Western world. Ecofeminist theories argue that environmental destruction is closely related to gender equality and women's disempowerment created by patriarchal structures perpetuated by mainstream concepts of science and development. On the same lines, environmental sustainability cannot be achieved without gender equality and women's empowerment. Ecofeminism maintains that environmental destruction is a direct result of a world view which devalues feminine values and principles. In light of continuously increasing scarcity of natural resources on earth, ecofeminism calls for a shift in the world view imposed by the western concepts of development. As a point of departure, the aim of this paper is to present an overview of the eco-feminist perspectives on science, development, environment and sustainability. At the same time, this paper shall explore the eco-feminist literature for major points of divergences between the western and Indian ecofeminist literature.