Women are holding up our skies, so why are we letting oil companies run them down?
In this blog that examines the gendered inequelities of oil exploration, OMAR ELMAWI argues for the dismantling of the structures that allow oil companies to profit while women suffer, “because when women rise, communities rise… and if we are to tackle the climate crisis, we must begin with those holding up the sky”
Have you ever heard of the “Matthew Effect”? It’s a sociological principle based on a biblical verse: “To those who have, more will be given; and from those who have not, even what they have will be taken away.” While ancient in origin, it finds painful modern expression in Africa’s frontline communities grappling with fossil fuel extraction. Here, Big Oil enriches the powerful while deepening the poverty of those least responsible for climate change. And among the worst affected are women, the invisible labourers, caregivers, food producers, and water carriers who are forced to bear the burden of environmental degradation and socio-economic exclusion.
In many African communities, the impacts of oil exploration and production are not gender-neutral. The intersection of fossil fuel capitalism, patriarchal systems, and climate injustice creates a crisis that hits women hardest, and yet their stories are often missing from boardroom discussions and global climate forums. It’s time to centre their voices.
In Africa, the environment isn’t just a setting, but life itself. It provides food, water, income, and identity. Yet when oil companies move in, that life-support system is often destroyed. Consider the Niger Delta in Nigeria, where decades of crude oil extraction have turned rivers into oily graveyards. Once-abundant fishing grounds have become wastelands, suffocating a tradition where women played a central role. A 2011 UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) report showed that cleaning the Niger Delta could take 30 years. Meanwhile, the women there must endure each day without safe water, food, or reliable income.
In many African cultures, land is communally held, yet patriarchal norms dominate decision-making. When oil corporations offer compensation, they negotiate with men. Women, though deeply dependent on that land for survival, are not consulted. In some cases, they are not even informed.
This imbalance fuels an intergenerational cycle of poverty, especially for women-headed households, which are rising across Africa. Displacement means not just the loss of shelter, but also the loss of access to land for cultivation, water sources, and community support systems. The World Bank estimates that up to 60% of agricultural work in sub-Saharan Africa is done by women. So, when land is lost, their entire economy collapses.
The price of resistance? Violence and femicide
Women are not passive victims, as they are often the first to resist fossil fuel projects. They march, organise, and mobilise against pipelines, drilling, and land grabs. But standing up comes at a deadly cost.
In Uganda, the women-led group Glam Women faced harassment after protesting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), while in Kenya, female land defenders have been arrested, intimidated, and physically attacked for opposing oil prospecting. According to Global Witness, 40% of environmental defenders killed in 2022 were women, and the number is rising.
This violence isn’t random. It is systemic. Women’s resistance threatens patriarchal structures and profit margins alike. And because frontline communities are often isolated, crimes against women activists go unreported and unpunished.
The environmental degradation wrought by fossil fuels comes with severe health consequences too, including contaminated water, poisoned soil, and toxic air. In many rural African communities, access to healthcare is already minimal. Add to that the burden of pollution, and women find themselves at the epicentre of a health crisis.
As primary caregivers, women must nurse sick children, cook with polluted water, and manage family hygiene with fewer and fewer resources. In communities near oil installations, cases of miscarriage, birth defects, and respiratory illness are on the rise. A study by Amnesty International documented elevated levels of heavy metals in the blood of women living in Nigeria’s oil-affected regions.
Women are also the backbone of Africa’s food systems. From planting maize in Zambia to harvesting cassava in Nigeria, they ensure families eat. But oil production has crippled food systems across the continent.
Polluted soil and water mean lower yields. Increased flooding or droughts due to climate change worsen the situation. Food becomes expensive, scarce, and unreliable. The burden falls on women to fill empty plates, often sacrificing their meals to feed their children. This feminisation of food insecurity deepens malnutrition and undermines community resilience.
For a just future, women must lead the way
The story of fossil fuel extraction in Africa is not just about barrels and pipelines, but broken bodies, homes, and promises. The real cost is measured in the lives of women who carry the burdens of a dying system.
But women are also the key to a just future. When women lead climate justice movements, they prioritise sustainability, equity, and care. As Kenyan eco-feminist Wangari Maathai once said: “When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and hope.”
African governments and international donors must recognise the gendered impacts of oil extraction. Climate finance must be directed toward women-led initiatives, agroecology, renewable energy, and local economies.
Let’s dismantle the structures that allow oil companies to profit while women suffer. Let’s amplify the voices from the frontline, not just as victims, but as visionaries. Because when women rise, communities rise. And if we are to truly tackle the climate crisis, we must begin with those holding up the sky.
Do you agree with these sentiments? Send your feedback to Omar at (omar.elmawi@gmail.com). Follow him on X (@OmarElmawi). And follow our social media pages (@PowerShftAfrica) for more thought leadership.
