Urdu Poetry and Emerging Ecofeminist Consciousness
Nusrat Zehra*

In recent years, consciousness about feminist literature as well as ecofeminism has increased. The digital age has greatly transformed and impacted how issues of feminism and ecology are being expressed in Urdu poetry in the context of 21st Century challenges and opportunities.

This paper discusses the impact of climate change and how issues of ecofeminism are expressed in Urdu poetry of the 21st Century, especially by female poets. Pakistan has been facing climate change consequences in the form of irregular rains, extreme weather, floods and droughts. All these patterns are linked to women’s lives directly. Women, especially from developing countries like Pakistan, face more problems in case of any natural or man-made disaster due to the patriarchal system, dependency and illiteracy.

This paper supports that it is time to study and discuss the writers and poets who are writing about emerging issues such as patriarchal structures, and raising their voices for gender equality vis-a-vis environmental changes. It also discusses the impact of ecofeminist literature on contemporary Pakistani society in a digital era. 
* Ms Nusrat Zehra is Board member of the Indus Cultural Forum - a group of cultural and linguistic rights activists based in Islamabad, Pakistan. She is also Chairperson Board of Governors, Bedari - a women rights organisation. She has one literary book to her credit which is collection of articles and speeches on Pakistan’s mother languages and peoples’ narrative. She has conducted research on ‘media and right to information’; and ‘digital era and sports women’. By profession, she is a Communications Expert.