Mothers Take A Stand: Pune Joins Worldwide Movement For Climate Justice
Pune, 13th May 2023: Warrior Moms, mothers, and allies from around the globe joined together in solidarity to demonstrate their commitment to a sustainable world for present and future generations.
Mothers’ Rebellion for Climate Justice comprises mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, grandmothers, and their allies.
In Pune, the Mothers’ Rebellion took place today at Municipal Ground, Pashan, Pune, from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. Similar actions are also taking place in Australia, Finland, Germany, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Uganda, the USA, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These actions align with Mother’s Day, a celebration honoring motherhood and maternal bonds. A key principle of Mothers’ Rebellion for Climate Justice is recognizing our connection to Mother Earth and taking responsibility for creating the necessary changes to ensure the well-being of all inhabitants and the health of our planet.
In 2022, Mother Earth experienced the 6th warmest year on record. It brought devastating floods in Australia, China, Mozambique, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, intense heatwaves in India, Europe, Japan, and southern South America, destructive cyclones in Madagascar and Malawi, erratic rainfall in southern Africa, wildfires in the western USA, storm surges in southern Florida. Mothers’ Rebellion is taking action now to draw attention to the climate crisis and inspire others to join us.
Raj Bali, a concerned grandmother at 75 years old, has actively participated in most of the climate change protests in Pune. She opposes deforestation and urges the government to prioritize public health over supporting polluting businesses for profits. She worries that pollution and the climate crisis jeopardize the future of our children and grandchildren.
Reena Joseph, a mother to a teenage daughter, said, “The term ‘Warrior Moms’ itself is powerful, and their actions are even more so. They are taking action for climate change so that our children have a better future. More power to this group, and I urge everyone to contribute in any small way possible through their time, skills, and efforts.”
Sangeeta Wankhede, another mother, stated, “This movement has energized me to contribute more individually and raise awareness among the children around me.”
Her husband, Siddharth, also joined the mothers’ protest today. He expressed, “I salute the mothers who are volunteering to spread awareness and protect Mother Earth, providing a healthy environment for future generations!”
Pune’s Warrior Mom Anuja Bali spoke about the lack of action on part of municipal corporation and limited awareness among citizens and how to bridge that gap. “City administration must gear up to provide the basic civic facilities. Since waste isn’t managed correctly, people are burning garbage and garden waste. That is a major source of air pollution. Since LPG is unaffordable, poor households are burning chulha which adds to the air pollution. Warrior Moms circulated #KnowYourRights SOPs for PMC and PCMC so that citizens can report violations causing air pollution. People do report but when no action is taken on their complaints, they feel unheard and ignored. Local administration needs to take prompt and strict actions on policy implementation and penalise the polluters.”
Even while we were talking, there was smoke in the background from fire in the heap of garbage in the corner of this PMC playground. One of the moms shared that the garbage fire has been going on for a few days but no action has been taken. The playground was littered with broken glass, plastic, trash, cardboard, and thermocol. When I asked the youth playing cricket, they said people come and drink every night. There is no electricity so no one dares to come to stop those miscreants.”
Educator and Mom Netra Kulkarni said, “Warrior Moms initiative made me realise that small steps do make a larger impact! The discussion of considering the air, water and Earth as our Mother and Life givers were pretty impactful!!”
Shruti Deshpande, mom to a tween and teen was happy to be part of today’s gathering. “Such exchange of thoughts should happen frequently with common aim to protect our environment, preserve nature and natural resources and most important to bring awareness in the next generation.”
Since 2022, Mothers’ Rebellion has been raising awareness in public spaces, reminding people that we can and must respond to climate change now, and that ordinary people – not just politicians – will make it happen. A crucial aspect of their mission is addressing climate justice, recognizing that climate change disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color worldwide, which are the least responsible for our climate emergency.
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