Nature is the very essence of all the entities that make up the universe. Mother Nature is the mythical personification of nature that has created, managed, distributed and even regenerated all the ecosystems in the biosphere. From ancient times, images of women that represent "mother earth" or "mother nature" are timeless. In fact, long before people begun to record history, goddesses were worshipped, as they were associated with fertility and agriculture. Even today people use the name of nature as being equivalent to a divine power that is able to guide the adaptation of species when these are subjected to natural environmental change or when they suffer serious damage due to the changes human exploitation has produced.
Along history and during the human evolutionary process, the world has witnessed countless numbers of peoples, tribes, ethnic groups, cultures and empires. In fact, a variety of cultures the common denominator of "mother nature" is illustrated in the scripts of different civilizations like Incan, Assyrian, Babylonian, Slavonic, Roman, Greek, and Indo-European fertility religions. Some were governed by matriarchies, with groups of women in many communities assuming enormous responsibilities-taking charge of their people's survival-always aiming in finding ways of providing them with food and drink, helping them to grow and develop, and taking care of the elderly and the sick. Women, in short, have taken on the responsibility of guiding people's development, whatever the costs.
Since its early introduction and although the term "mother nature" is not a scientific one, it has been used in science-related papers in effort to explain the natural phenomena humans have witnessed. Storms, river floods, tornados, and winds are some of the extreme natural phenomena related to the term "mother nature." But apart from the plethora of extremely powerful incidents, the miracle of birth, tenderness and kindness are also illustrated with the use of the same term.
Social and anthropological studies discuss the interaction between the terms "man" and "nature" in an effort to portray the relationship between mortality and ever-going change. But the environment, as discussed by experts entails the force of natural progress and the role women have played in this evolution has generally been examined in a variety of scientific experiments. The use, management, exploitation, administration and, of course, the care, of natural resources has historically been attributed to the role of women in a society and just as nature itself is in charge of management, distribution and problem solving, so have women faced and continue to encounter the need to manage, distribute and solve whatever comes in their way so as to ensure the welfare of their families.
According to ancient Greek myth, Demeter, the earth mother, had the power to produce or deny from humankind the fruits of the harvest. This representation of women as nature is directly related to the fact that they are able to conceive life and that their daily actions profoundly affect the natural, social, economic and cultural environments they live in. In fact, until today, active women are the main promoters of the protection of natural resources-whether in the big cities of industrialized countries or the most marginalized communities. They experience today's dire environmental situation and directly suffer its consequences. This is the reason why women have often inspired a spirit of leadership, activism and action to find a solution to common problems. But nevertheless, taking care and protecting "mother nature" is a responsibility that must be shared and assumed equally by women and men alike.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 July 2006 )
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