Lu Chen and Mette Halskov Hansen co-authored an article based on three case studies from Zhejiang Province where women have taken the (local) lead of environmental initiatives. They argue that the Chinese government’s environmental turn has opened up some new space for female agency, but there are very strong limitations due to the combination of patriarchal and hierarchical political structures.
One of the case studies is based upon a Buddhist organization, Tzu Chi, which mainly consists of women. Under the cosmopolitan vision of "the mother of all", the Earth, these female volunteers are actively involved in and even lead government-sponsored environmental education projects. They are committed to mobilizing fellow citizens to engage in recycling and other environmentally friendly activities. These women find space to develop their own subjectivity and contribute to “the common good” while consciously avoiding any direct confrontation with existing political and gendered structures.
This article is published on the open access journal Social Sciences.
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