Urban Heat Islands & Gender Inequality: A Call for Climate Justice in MENA Cities

When I first began exploring the issue of urban heat islands in MENA cities, I quickly realized that the story was about much more than rising temperatures. It was about inequality. Women, low-income households, and displaced communities are often the most exposed to the dangers of extreme heat, while having the least access to cooling solutions or decision-making spaces. This realization guided me throughout my journey in the Mediterranean Youth in Action (#MYA) program, supported by the Anna Lindh Foundation and the European Union. 

As part of this journey, I developed my first-ever policy paper, focusing on how urban heat islands intersect with gender and social justice in Cairo, Amman, and Casablanca. But research on paper was not enough. The next step was to bring these findings into dialogue with people who could reflect, challenge, and add to them. 

The first stage was an academic dialogue hosted at the #Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate in Cairo. It was an enriching space where professors, experts, and practitioners gave me valuable feedback that sharpened the arguments of my policy paper. Their comments pushed me to think not only about climate science but also about governance gaps, data limitations, and the voices that are often excluded from planning processes. 

The second stage was even more transformative: a civil society dialogue held at #Climutopia, bringing together community members, activists, and practitioners. In that room, I heard stories that statistics could never capture—women in informal neighborhoods struggling to keep their children safe during heat waves, refugees facing unbearable living conditions in overcrowded shelters, and young people experimenting with creative solutions like urban greening and rooftop cooling. These conversations reminded me that climate justice is not abstract; it is lived daily in our streets, homes, and bodies. 

What I learned through both dialogues is that solutions must be inclusive and gender-responsive. Planting trees or installing reflective roofs can reduce temperatures, but without involving women, low-income families, and marginalized groups in the design of these solutions, we risk reproducing the same inequalities. Climate resilience requires listening to those most affected and equipping them with the resources to lead change. 

Personally, this experience has been a turning point. It was not only an opportunity to produce research and organize events, but also to grow as a practitioner and facilitator. I learned how to translate academic findings into conversations that matter, how to engage diverse stakeholders, and how to balance between evidence and lived experience. 

This journey was made possible thanks to the support of the Anna Lindh Foundation and the #European Union, who believe that young people in the Mediterranean can be drivers of change. Their support enabled me to connect research with practice, and to amplify voices that are often silenced in climate discussions. 

As we face more frequent and intense heat waves, I believe the lesson is clear: climate action must also be climate justice. I hope that the dialogues we started in Cairo can inspire similar initiatives across the region—bringing together academics, civil society, and communities to design solutions that are fair, inclusive, and sustainable.