Unequal Earth

Unequal Earth: Gender, Ecology, and Climate Justice in Africa examines how environmental degradation and climate change intersect with gendered inequality across Africa. Focusing on desertification, pollution, extractivism, biodiversity loss, and climate-related vulnerability, the book demonstrates how ecological crises are shaped by colonial histories, racialized and classed hierarchies, and contemporary neo-colonial and capitalist forms of environmental governance. Drawing on ecofeminism, feminist political ecology, intersectionality, and decolonial theory, Anthonia Folasade Ibitoye develops an interdisciplinary account of climate justice that foregrounds African women’s lived experiences, environmental knowledge, and political agency. The book critiques technocratic and depoliticized approaches to sustainability and advocates justice-oriented frameworks that recognise gender-sensitive perspectives, Indigenous African epistemologies, and grassroots practices of ecological care. Through its focus on rural, Indigenous, informal, and underserved communities, Unequal Earth explores how African women are disproportionately exposed to environmental harm while simultaneously contributing to resistance, adaptation, innovation, and sustainable futures. It places gender, ecology, coloniality, and geopolitical power at the centre of Africa’s unequal environmental realities, offering a critical perspective on climate justice and sustainable development. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of African studies, gender studies, environmental humanities, climate justice, political ecology, development studies, and decolonial thought.