The Smoke my Mother Breathes

The climate crisis is not something I learned from books or television. It is something I have watched happen in my own home.

My mother is a caterer. For years, she has cooked with firewood and charcoal to provide for our family. I grew up watching her sit for long hours beside the fireside, preparing food for people and the worst period was when she fried doughnuts consistently for her clients and while doing this, smoke filled the air around her.

Over time, I starts noticing the effects.

I watched the smoke irritate her eyes after long hours beside the firewood and charcoal. Sometimes her eyes would turn red from the heat and smoke, yet the next morning she would return to the same fireside because our survival depended on it. The constant heat even burnt the hair on her legs.

As a child I did not fully understand what this truly meant but today I do.

This is the reality of many women in Cameroon.

In many homes across the country, women are the ones cooking with firewood, charcoal, or kerosene because cleaner energy is either too expensive or unavailable. The smoke from these cooking methods affects women and children the most, causing respiratory illnesses, eye problems, and other health complications.

Environmental challenges affect women differently because the roles society places on them and the economic realities many families face.

In rural communities, many women survive through small-scale farming but the seasons are becoming unpredictable. Sometimes the rain delays for too long, and sometimes it falls heavily all at once, destroying crops and washing away livelihoods. Soil degradation, drought, and flooding are making food insecurity worse for many families.

When clean water becomes scarce, women and girls are often the ones forced to walk long distances to find it.This reduces time for school, work, and rest, while also exposing many women and girls to danger and insecurity.

Extreme heat and harsh weather conditions also place pregnant women and young children at greater risk of dehydration and illness.

After floods or displacement, women and girls often face increased risk of violence and insecurity in overcrowded shelters or unfamiliar environments. Many women suddenly become heads of households, trying to protect and provide for children with very limited resources.

Sometimes, many people speak of climate change like it is a future problem but for many African women, it is already here.

When I think about environmental injustice, I think about my mother sitting beside the fire, enduring smoke and heat just to make sure her children can eat.

Women are carrying so much of the burden of climate change, yet their voices are still not heard enough in conversations about solutions.

I dream of a future where women like my mother no longer have to choose between their health and survival. Cleaner cooking methods, better environmental policies, and stronger support for women farmers could protect both people and the planet.

And I believe stories matter too.

Because when women share their realities, the world can no longer pretend not to see them.