Tribal artistes take to canvas to depict climate & gender
Ranchi: The Dr Ramdayal Munda Tribal Welfare Research Institute in Ranchi buzzed with artistic energy on Tuesday as 19 tribal women unfurled their sketchbooks and paintbrushes to translate the complex intersections of gender and
climate change
into visual art.
The event will conclude on Thursday with a public exhibition.
Inaugurating the artist workshop on 'Gender and Climate Change,' Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji emphasized the urgency of giving Adivasi women a platform to tell their climate stories.
"I really congratulate the organisers for coming up with this unique idea to talk about such an important issue. Through art, these young women can offer perspectives that are often overlooked in policy and public discourse," she said.
The workshop, jointly organized by Asar and Deshaj Abhikram, invites the participants, mostly tribal women from across Jharkhand, to reflect on the disproportionate burdens that climate change places on rural and indigenous women. From erratic rainfall to shrinking forests, these realities often intensify the challenges women face in their everyday lives.
Srijita Mal, a student from DSPMU, said, "I plan to depict how deforestation has made daily household chores like collecting firewood or water more exhausting for rural women.
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It's about showing the invisible labour and how it's becoming harder due to vanishing forests." Nishi Kumari, another student from DSPMU, described the space as empowering. "This is the first time I've had the opportunity to talk about climate change through art.
It's giving our thoughts a canvas," she said.
Manita Oraon from Ranchi University said her focus would be on contemporary issue, rising temperatures, and how they affect education of girls. "When schools shut or water becomes scarce, it's the girls who are often pulled back from studies," she said.
Mansi Toppo, another participant, said, "It's a platform for women to speak through their art, and to reflect their truths in ways words can't."
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