ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND WOMEN VULNERABILITY IN RIVERS STATE: THE WAY FOWARD
Keywords:
Environmental-Pollution, Vulnerability, Challenges, Prospects.Abstract
In recent times, most of the health challenges bedevilling the inhabitants of Rivers State and other crude oil-producing states have been attributed to the increasing rate of environmental pollution. This paper, therefore, focuses its attention on the impact of environmental pollution on women in Rivers State. To provide a theoretical foundation for the study, the study adopted the Ecofeminism theory to explain the untapped role of women in an attempt to eradicate environmental pollution and degradation. Three local government areas: Gokana, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, and Emohua from the three senatorial districts in Rivers State were purposefully selected and 300 respondents were accidentally selected for the study. The study adopted the simple per cent through the aid of a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25 to analyse the demographic data, and the three research questions stated for the study. The study concludes that environmental pollution affects socio-economic activities of people, such as fishing and farming. The study, therefore, concludes that since women are the closest gender to the environment, the impact of environmental pollution is felt more by women than men. The study, therefore, recommended, among other things, that the women should be included in the share of royalties accrued from multinational companies to enable them to engage in secondary sources of livelihood.
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