Francoise Eaubonne, a French feminist, invented the word “Ecofeminism” in 1974. It examines cultural and social issues pertaining to the connection between the oppression of women and the destruction of the natural world. One of the main goals of the ecofeminism movement was to highlight how differently men and women are affected by the exploitation of natural resources. The systematic inequality that women experience that limits their access to resources heightens this distinction. As a result, women are marginalised on two fronts: by the exploitation of natural resources and by their gender.
In India, one of the earliest ecofeminist movements emerged during the 1970s. Known as the Chipko Movement, it sought to be a non-violent protest against deforestation in the Uttarakhand region. The word “chipko” implies hugging. It was among the earliest protests against the depletion of natural resources in Uttarakhand where the majority of the leaders were women. Due to an increase in demand for commercial logging, there was widespread tree-cutting in the Himalayan region during the 1960s and 1970s. In the area, many deciduous kinds of wood were cut down, which resulted in waterlogging and a lack of natural soil cover. As the principal resource managers in the area, women were particularly affected. The women in the Uttarakhand district of Reni protested openly by embracing 2,000 trees that were slated for removal in response to the growing commercialization and shrinking forest cover. This movement attracted national attention and sparked parallel movements across the nation, assisting in spreading awareness of the value of protecting forests.
Although Chipko attracted significant media coverage at the time, the ecofeminist “movement” has now all but disappeared. While there have been following movements against ecological damage that included women, none of the movements took into account the problems that women face. Their problems have been homogenised under themovement’s overarching narrative.