Nandini Azad, president of the Working Women’s Forum – Indian Cooperative Network for Women, participated in a high-level dialogue at the Natesan Institute of Cooperative Management in Chennai on Friday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Cooperatives are not merely economic enterprises but powerful vehicles for social justice and resilience, said Nandini Azad, president of the Working Women’s Forum – Indian Cooperative Network for Women (WWF–ICNW), here on Friday.
Ms. Azad participated in a high-level dialogue at the Natesan Institute of Cooperative Management (NICM), organised as part of the ongoing celebrations of the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives 2025.
According to a press release, the event, held under the theme ‘Cooperatives Build a Better World’, focused on the critical and interconnected challenges of climate change, the pervasive issue of gender violence, and the path toward a gender-responsive UNFCCC COP30, which is scheduled to be held in Brazil in November this year.
Addressing the event, Ms. Azad said, “For millions of poor women we serve in the informal sector, climate change is not an abstract concept; it is a daily threat to their livelihoods, health, and safety.”
As climate-induced disasters intensify, so does the risk of gender violence and displacement.
The cooperative model, with its principles of democratic control and community concern, offers a tangible, scalable framework for gender-just climate adaptation and mitigation, she added.
Published – October 12, 2025 04:48 am IST