Indigenous women-led climate crisis solutions: A decolonial perspective from the Garo Indigenous community in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper explores the critical impact of climate change on land-based culture and matriarchy within the Garo Indigenous Community in Bangladesh. Using a decolonial perspective, we explored how Garo Indigenous women are deeply rooted in land-based traditions and social structures and face unprecedented challenges. Through a decolonial lens, we explore intersections between climate change, land-based practices, and the matriarchal land-based practice. It shows the Garo Indigenous community’s land-based adaptive strategies and resilience in climate change. This paper emphasizes the importance of centering Indigenous perspectives in climate discourse, advocating for decolonization as a crucial framework for understanding and addressing the multifaceted impacts of climate change on land-based cultures and matriarchy. By providing decolonial analysis from the Garo Indigenous land-based perspective, this research contributes to a broader understanding of the effects of climate change on Indigenous communities, creating a decolonized and traditional land-based approaches to climate adaptation and mitigation policies. The paper calls for action to recognize Indigenous land-right, traditional matriarchy family leadership to safeguard the unique cultural heritage and gender dynamics of the Garo Indigenous community while addressing the broader implications for global climate justice.