Hema Limbu
Author Bijay Hitan’s Blue Planet is a collection of fifteen environmental stories. Seven of them deeply resonate with the principles of ecofeminism. Theory of ecofeminism links the exploitation of nature with the oppression of women in patriarchal societies.
In the name of modern development and economic gain, nature is increasingly destroyed by male authority figures, leading to pollution, climate change, and social imbalance. As Blue Planet shows, women are disproportionately affected by these environmental crises, often forced to cope with the consequences in silence and isolation. The stories vividly portray their pain, suffocation, struggle, and resilience, revealing the deep connections between ecological and gender injustices.
This article explores three central research questions drawn from my thesis:
- What aspects of ecofeminism are reflected in the stories?
- How are the women and nature victimized by male authority?
- Why are both nature and women exploited?
Ecofeminist Themes in Blue Planet
Each selected story in Blue Planet highlights different dimensions of ecofeminism. In A Grim Tale Concealed by the Water Spring, Deepa- a pregnant woman- faces both environmental and domestic hardship. As the village’s water spring begins to dry due to climate change, she is forced to walk farther for water. Her late return home from fetching water sparks cruel accusations from her husband and mother-in-law, ultimately leading her to take her own life. Her suffering mirrors the village’s ecological decline.
In A Daughter-in-Law Discarded by the City, Greta struggles with the suffocating air pollution in Kathmandu. Her husband Raj, who profits from sand and gravel extraction from the Bagmati River, ignores both her failing health and her pleas for environmental responsibility. The polluted river becomes a symbol of Greta’s own deteriorating health condition.
Stories like Carbon Footprint and the Emission of Jealousy and A Deep Landslide further emphasize this parallel suffering. Neelam’s relationship with her husband is strained due to his flirtation with his colleague Anne during an environmental seminar trip, reflecting how even climate-conscious actions are entangled with gendered power dynamics. In A Deep Landslide, two female Ward members suggest sustainable waste management and tree planting, but their male Ward chief dismisses them in favor of profit-driven road construction leading to a disastrous landslide.
In Environmental Martyr, Ajit murders an environmental activist Dilip to pursue both nature (through illegal mining) and a woman (Karima). Karima, like the environment, is commodified and controlled. Similarly, Bagmati Blues draws a direct comparison between a girl on a date and the heavily polluted Bagmati River- both exhausted and struggling to breathe.
The selected final story Blue Planet presents a metaphorical view of Earth as a woman- beautiful, violated, and suffering. The narrator reflects on how urbanization, industrialization, and the COVID-19 pandemic have transformed places like Wuhan in China into despair spaces devoid of natural life.
Patriarchy, Pollution, and Power
These stories expose how male dominated development policies in both politics and domestic spaces marginalize women’s voices and harm the environment. Women are often left to bear the brunt of climate change. Deepa, for example, suffers because of a dried spring, yet the blame is placed on her character rather than the failing environment. Greta is sickened by pollution, but her husband prioritizes profit. Women are frequently silenced, mistrusted, and overburdened, while their insights into sustainability are dismissed.
Nature too is treated as something to be exploited- mined, polluted, redirected- just as women are treated as weak, passive, and disposable. In the name of economic development both are sacrificed.
Why are Nature and Women Exploited?
The root cause lies in our male-controlled social and political structures that value control, profit, and dominance over care, community, and conservation. Women in these stories are given domestic responsibilities that connect them closely with the environment- fetching water, collecting firewood, cutting forage, and agricultural works. This proximity makes them more aware of environmental changes and more vulnerable to them.
Yet, their knowledge is undervalued, and their suffering is normalized. Whether through climate change, pollution, jealousy, violence, or displacement, women and nature alike are treated as obstacles to progress or resources to be consumed.
To conclude- Blue Planet offers a compelling and timely critique of how patriarchal development exploits both women and the natural world. Through rich storytelling and emotionally resonant characters, Bijay Hitan exposes the dual crises of gender inequality and environmental degradation. The stories demand that we not only recognize these interconnected injustices but also reimagine a more equitable and sustainable future- one where both women and the earth are respected, protected, and allowed to thrive.
(This article is based on the thesis entitled EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN AND NATURE IN HITAN’S BLUE PLANET prepared by HEMA LIMBU which was submitted to the Department of English, Mahendra Multiple Campus, Dharan on Jan 2025.)
